Page 47 of Evergreen

Cass nodded, his excitement visible. “Do you think we’ll see the northern lights again tonight?”

“Maybe. Between my magic and yours, I don’t see why we can’t draw some in.”

I watched as Cass’s expression shifted, a familiar spark of mischief igniting in those green eyes. “Now that’s what I’m talking about,” he said, already moving to help me spread out the heavy tarp across the frozen ground. His fingers brushed mine as we worked, and I felt that jolt again.

We finished setting up our sleeping area in comfortable silence, so used to working together now that we didn’t need words to know what to do next. Once everything was arranged to my satisfaction, I pulled out the thermos of hot cider I’d packed, along with an assortment of gas station snacks that I’d picked up on our way to the grove.

Cass accepted the cup I offered him, wrapping his fingers around it and breathing in the steam. “You really thought of everything, didn’t you?”

“I wanted you to be comfortable,” I said, sitting down close to him and wrapping my free hand around his waist. “I wanted tonight to be perfect.”

We sat like that for a while, watching the sky deepen from blue to purple to black. The stars emerged gradually, first a few, then dozens, then hundreds until the entire expanse above us was glittering with light. Cass was quiet, and I found myself perfectly content to just live in the moment with him. There was so much bubbling up inside me, things I wanted to tell him about how I felt and my plans for the future. But right now, I was happy to just exist with him.

“Okay,” he said finally, setting down his empty cup. “Let’s do this. Let’s call the lights down.”

I reached out and took his hand, threading our fingers together as I stood and pulled him up with me. The night air was crisp against my skin, carrying the scent of pine and earth and what had always been home to me.

“Ready?” I asked, meeting his eyes.

“Yeah,” he said, squeezing my hand. “Let’s do this.”

We moved to the center of the clearing, and I could feel his magic already responding to mine, crackling at the edges like a storm waiting to break. I’d never tried to deliberately summon the northern lights before, but with Cass here, and our combined power, I felt like anything was possible.

I closed my eyes and reached inward, finding that familiar golden glow of my dryad magic. It came easily now, especially with him so close. I could feel the earth beneath my feet, the sap flowing through the surrounding trees, the life force that pulsed through everything in this grove. And then I reached for his magic too, letting it intertwine with mine.

The air around us began to shift. I could feel it crackling, building, becoming charged with potential. Cass’s breathing quickened beside me, and I opened my eyes to find him staring up at the sky with an expression of pure concentration on his face.

“Higher,” I murmured. “Push the magic higher, beyond the clouds.”

He did, and I felt the surge of his power like lightning through my veins. The clouds that had begun to form started to glow with an ethereal green light, and then they parted. The first ribbon of color danced across the sky, tentative at first, then growing bolder. Waves of green and purple and blue and red rippled across the darkness, painting the night in a rainbow of colors that shouldn’t have been possible.

Cass gasped, his hand tightening around mine. “Oh my god. Linden, look at that.”

“I know,” I breathed, unable to tear my eyes away from the sight. But more than that, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him, from the way the lights reflected in his green eyes, making them glow from within. From the wonder etched across his features. From the realization that I was absolutely in love with him.

The thought hit me like a truck, stealing my breath. I loved him. Not just wanted him, not just cared about him. I was in love with him. Had been for weeks, probably. Maybe since that first night in the grove when he’d kissed me and my magic had sung in response.

“Linden?” Cass turned to look at me, concern flickering across his face. “You okay? You… You’re glowing.”

“Yeah,” I said, though I wasn’t sure if I was answering his question or just saying the first word that came to mind. “Yeah, I’m okay. I just… I need to tell you something.”

The northern lights continued to dance overhead, painting everything in shades of emerald and amethyst. Cass’s hand was still in mine, warm and solid. I could feel his magic still humming beneath his skin, intertwined with mine in a way that felt permanent, like we’d been connected this way since the beginning of time.

“You’re scaring me a little,” he admitted, his voice soft. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” I said quickly, squeezing his hand. “Everything’s right, actually. That’s what I need to tell you.”

I took a breath, trying to find the right words. How did you tell someone you were in love with them? How did you make them understand that it wasn’t just about the sex or the convenience or the fact that we’d been thrown together by circumstance? How did you explain that somewhere between the first kiss and now, they’d become essential to living in a way that terrified and exhilarated me in equal measure?

“I love you, Sparks,” I said finally, the words tumbling out before I could overthink them. “I’m in love with you. I have been for a while now, I think. And I know you might not feel the same way, and that’s okay. I just needed you to know. I needed to say it out loud, especially here, in my grove, under the lights we just pulled down together.”

Cass went very still beside me. The northern lights continued their dance, but I could barely see them anymore. All I could focus on was the expression on his face, trying to read what he was thinking. Trying to figure out if I’d just made a massive mistake by putting my heart out there like this.

“You love me?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Yeah,” I confirmed, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might break through my ribs. “I do.”

For a long moment, he didn’t say anything. He just stood there, staring at me like I’d grown a second head. My stomach twisted with anxiety, and I found myself regretting every word. Maybe I’d moved too fast. Maybe he wasn’t ready for this. Maybe I’d just ruined everything by being too honest, too vulnerable, too⁠—