Page 59 of A Sunwoven Ascent

“Lorena says I’m improving with summoning, but she still insists on watching every time. Apparently I push too far.”

“Shocking,” Holden said from where he leaned against a tree with his arms crossed. “You? Ignoring the limits of your own power?” He tipped his head. “If you want to avoid shifting, keep your claws tucked in and your fangs under control. The small things are always the first to show.”

Cillian groaned. “I know.”

Holden smirked, though there was something softer under it. Alaric appreciated that. Holden knew how to tease without losing the lesson. He played the fool well, but there was substance under it. And lately, he had been kinder.

“Well,” Holden said after a brief silence, cutting a pointed glance toward Alaric, “there are other females here, in case you decide my sister is not your final answer.”

Alaric snorted despite himself.

Obren and Kaldrek wandered over to join them. “If you require recommendations,” Obren said easily, “I would be delighted to assist.”

“You truly provide a public service, Obren,” Alaric replied dryly, earning a laugh from Kaldrek.

“Let it go, Holden,” Kaldrek said. “The man’s had enough thrown at him lately.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Holden muttered, waving it off.

Kaldrek cleared his throat. “I’ve been training my magic as well,” he said lightly, as though he had not just shifted the entire conversation beneath them. He glanced at Cillian. “I think yours may have stirred my own rather inconvenient witch blood awake.” A wry tilt touched his mouth. “I do not fully understand it yet, but Evelyne has been helping me make sense of it.”

Holden looked at him in disbelief. “I’m sorry, what?” His voice was clipped, and there was something wounded under it. “And this is the first I’ve heard of it?”

Kaldrek stayed perfectly composed. “I had no desire to speak of it before I was ready.”

Holden exhaled. “Fair,” he said after a beat. “Still, I’ll admit I’m a bit bruised by that. But continue.”

“That’s all, really. Just working on wielding.”

Cillian’s face brightened. “I know I’m hardly in a position to offer an alpha advice, but do not give up. Frustration will be the hardest part at first. Once you push past it, you’ll understand why the effort matters.”

Kaldrek gave a single nod.

Holden lifted a brow. His grin returned, easy and teasing. “Sounds like the beginning of a miserable little journey. The sort that usually requires a female’s patience.” He let out a theatrical sigh. “Lucky for you it isn’t me, because it has been far too long since I found a lady willing to tolerate all this.”

“Oh, please,” Heidara cut in as she slipped up beside the group. “Maybe it’s time you tried the males instead, brother.”

Obren wiggled his brows at Holden in exaggerated suggestion. “I wouldn’t mind something different.”

They all erupted in laughter.

Heidara crossed her arms, surveying them. “And what exactly is this? While the rest of us are working?”

Holden lifted his hands. “Easy. We were on a break.”

“She’s right,” Kaldrek said, already throwing a pack over his shoulder. “Back to work.”

A chorus of groans followed, but the group dispersed without much resistance. Heidara alone remained. She lingered near Alaric, waiting until the others had drifted away, and he felt her nearness at once, as though the space between them had begun to stir. When she stepped closer, the playfulness in her expression gave way to something softer, something earnest, and she lifted her eyes to his.

“About last night,” she began, twisting her fingers together. “I… I was hoping—”

Alaric didn’t let her finish. Waiting had become unbearable, and wasted time felt like its own kind of torment. He closed the distance in two quick strides, cradled her face in both hands, and tilted her chin up. Her breath caught the instant before his mouth found hers.

The kiss was gentle at first—almost disbelieving, as though their bodies needed a heartbeat to catch up with the moment. He drew back just enough to see her eyes flutter open—

And then she pulled him back in.

This time the kiss deepened, and certainty bloomed between them. He moaned softly when she opened for him, and he followed at once, heat spreading low beneath his ribs as their mouths moved together with effortless instinct. His hand slid to her waist and held her there, close enough that no space remained between them. The world fell away as he tasted her, as her fingers caught in his hair and the leather at his shoulders. He kissed her as though he had always meant to, with no thought at all for who might see.