‘What does it feel like when you…’ He was lost for words and gestured to my hand on the grass.
‘It’s different every time.’ I drew a little of my magic back so I could focus. ‘Depending on where I connect, it changes. Sometimes it’s emotion, and sometimes it’s memory. Here, it feels like timeless tranquillity.’
River looked intrigued, running his palm across the ground as though mimicking what I was doing, as though it might help him understand me. I wondered what had sparkedsuch a change in his attitude towards witchcraft. He used to recoil at the mere mention of it, yet now he sat beside me, watching it unfold with subdued fascination.
It was uncanny.
I considered offering to share the feeling, just as he had shared his fire, but it felt too soon. It would require a level of trust neither of us had in the other.
Then his brows drew together as he stared at my hands. ‘So it's a feeling you get?’
I followed his gaze to the tiny jade-coloured bursts pulsing beneath my palm like faint neon light. ‘Not always. Sometimes it's information, and sometimes the other side is trying to tell you something.’
‘But how do you know what you’re getting into?’ His puzzled expression made me laugh softly.
I breathed in the fresh air, catching the faint scent of him on the breeze. ‘That's the beauty of it. You don't.’
A bee landed on my shoulder for a brief moment, evidently prompting the king's next question. ‘Could you connect to animals, or people?’
The fact that he seemed genuinely interested, rather than expecting me to hide this part of myself, soothed a fear that had refused to stop gnawing at me. Witchcraft was as much a part of me as being fae. I could never pretend to be anything else.
‘Technically.’ I paused, trying to explain. ‘Nature is simple, stoic, and predictable. There’s no vegetation out to get you. But animals and people are much more complicated.’
‘How so?’
Deciding the conversation deserved my full attention, I withdrew the last remnants of my power from the ground and turned my focus to the king. ‘When you connect, you reach the innermost part of their being, what some call the essence of life. It’s a strong force that can kill you in seconds ifprovoked. With people or animals, that essence isn’t always pure. It can be malicious and mean harm.’
He grew thoughtful. ‘Have you ever risked it?’
‘Not exactly,’ I said quietly. Unwilling to elaborate, I let my gaze drift back to the lake and its inhabitants.
After a long pause, I looked at him again. ‘You've shown me more today than I expected. Why?’
‘Because I want you to see my kingdom for what it really is,’ he said as his hands shifted uneasily in his pockets. ‘I know you don’t think highly of it yet.’
The admission sent a blush to my cheeks; I felt them heat even more under his stare. Summoning my courage, I asked, ‘Why would you care?’
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he took my hand and let his fire trace the lines of my palm. My small embers reached for him instinctively, merging into bright sparks that danced between our joined fingers. They twined and separated, two flames moving as one.
I began to suspect his fire longed for mine as much as mine longed for his. Watching the energy blend left me quietly spellbound.
‘Why do you do that? I thought you hated me.’
‘Fire doesn’t respond to reason,’ the king said with a laugh as my flames curled around his. ‘Needy much?’
It was nerve-wracking; I couldn't believe either of us allowed it to happen.
‘I warned you. The day I forbid them from playing with yours, they might make me spontaneously combust.’ When I tried to pull away, my flames only chased his harder, making him chuckle again.
Shortly, his hand held onto mine a little tighter, and the fire shifted from red to green, mirroring my witchcraft.
‘You can do that?’ I asked,amazed.
‘There isn’t much I can’t do with my fire,’ he teased, pushing his energy through mine until my embers glowed with the same hue.
‘That’s incredible,’ I whispered, watching the serpentine glow move between our fingers. ‘Does everyone in your court have this much control?’
He shot me a questioning look.
