Her lips twisted up in a wry grin. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that.” Her hand squeezed his shoulder. “You have strength, intelligence, and me. What else could you need?”
Unsure if she was poking fun at him or not, Ethenn pressed his lips together in a false smile. He focused on the steps,carrying them over the grass in a box-like pattern. Ilain was a graceful dancer, as he would have expected. It was as if her lithe figure was made for it. She moved like a flame over a candlewick, seamless and graceful, her body seeming to float.
Vayden completed the “Ol’ Barrow’s Reel” and began a second, slower song before Ethenn could suggest stopping. He sang in Schonese, the words flowing with a languid poignancy. Isla joined in with harmonies, her voice smooth and sultry, perfectly complementing his deep, steady timbre.
Ethenn kept his eyes on Ilain, working to ignore the more romantic lilt of the ballad. A gentle breeze swept some of her fire-bright hair across her cheek, but she didn’t bother to fix it. To his searching gaze, her expression remained unreadable, the sharp planes of her face almost ethereal in their exquisite refinement. His heartbeat ticked up as the cool of magic niggled at his mind. Being this close to her, touching her, always brought out the Warrior in him. And that worried him. If he was already attached to her now, what would happen once they Bonded? Would his magic overtake him completely? Would he become a brute he didn’t even recognize in his pursuit of her? Was he willing to accept that possibility?
“You’re staring at me very intently,” Ilain said, breaking Ethenn’s concentration.
He stumbled over the next step but managed to gain his footing once more. “I’m trying to focus,” he said.
“By using magic?” she asked.
“No,” he replied. “Just, you know, on the dance.”
“You could use magic,” she suggested. “It’d make it easier.”
“Wouldn’t that be cheating?”
Her nose wrinkled as she smiled. “When given the opportunity, I always cheat.”
“That’s not very honorable of you.” Ethenn couldn’t decide if her admission was a character flaw or not.
Her hand shifted higher on his shoulder, sending a short burst of chills through his coat and underneath his tunic. “Perhaps not. But it’s made me very successful, and I find I’ve yet to regret it.”
The corner of his mouth lifted in amusement. “You’re a very strange woman, Ilain,” he said.
“Only to those who don’t understand me,” she returned.
Ethenn tipped his head in an acquiescent motion. “I suppose you’re right. I don’t understand you.”
Her smile didn’t falter, but something in her eyes flashed darkly. “You haven’t taken the opportunity to know me in such a manner,” she said.
Knowing that she was right, he averted his gaze. The rest of the troop had moved on from their dance, enjoying Vayden and Isla’s singing while they relaxed around the campfire. Deckard and Evylin swayed slowly, enjoying the ballad in each other’s arms. Thom, Rafferty, Auden, and Brea played a game of Crooks and Crowns.
Feeling somewhat comfortable given their distractions, Ethenn turned back to Ilain. “I haven’t,” he admitted quietly. “But it isn’t because I don’t want to.”
Ilain’s jade green eyes drifted over his face. “Then why haven’t you?”
“Because I’ve been afraid to,” he said without guile.
Her lips parted slightly, but he continued before she could interrupt. “You’re impossible, Ilain,” he said. “You’re a stunning, clever, all-powerful Mage. The moment I saw you, I knew I could never have you. So I didn’t bother trying to get to know you because why torture myself?”
She stared at him with something like awe, which didn’t make much sense to him. He’d already told her that he loved her. She’d married him. Why should this truth surprise her?
“I didn’t want to understand you,” he said. “But I fell in love with you anyway.”
Ilain sucked in her bottom lip and let out a small hum of thought.
Unsure what that meant, Ethenn raised his brow. “Hm?” he repeated.
Blinking as though drawing herself out of a stupor, Ilain blew out a scoff. He didn’t know if it was in derision of him or herself. “Well,” she said, tone falsely lighthearted. “It seems you ought to come to understand me, then.”
“Probably,” he agreed.
“And I should come to understand you.”
Ethenn hesitated, then reluctantly said, “Yes.”
