Page 195 of Spring Guardians & Songbirds

Lightning skittered all over the room and the outside howled with thunder. Dark deep rumbles rolled over the mountains of Taren and echoed all over the valley till the castle shook on its foundations. The black ink on Snow’s back shivered and began shrinking the more Visha chanted her craft.

My wife thrashed, her shoulders arching while she tugged on the chains holding her. Blood dripped from under her gloves, soaking the white sleeves of her blouse.

I couldn’t watch this. Damned be the realm. Damned be all for all I cared.

Visha extended a hand to the side, stopping me. Her eyes had veiled a glowing red when she turned to me. “Don’t. This is what she wants.”

What Snow wants.

Helpless as ever, I stood there—watching.

Numbness had set in by the time Snow had stopped fighting and the seal had closed and magic had faded away into whatever hole they’d opened between this realm and the Otherworld. Tugging her bounds off, I picked her up in my arms, and she snuggled her face in my neck. A small sigh came out of her as I pressed her closer to me.

Her lips moved to form a word over my skin.

“What is it, my love? What is it, my heart?”

“Spring.” The words were airy and soft.

I held her tightly against me, pressing my lips to her cheeks. “Do I still smell like it?”

She nodded.

I rested my forehead against hers and whispered, “You scared me.”

A light smile ghosted her lips. “I’m a scary person.”

Oryn stood before us, lowering his folded sleeves and glancing between Snow and I. “You need to teach her to control her magic without relying so much on the seal. Like you control your own magic.”

“It is not the same,” I said.

He pursed his lips and shook his head. “It is in a sense. Elding Aura lay on a scale between elemental and spiritual magic. But that is not her issue.” He kneeled before us. “Her issue is that she leaves rein to emotion. She is angry and thunder blasts. She is frustrated and ice blisters. She is happy and the sky is shining. Teach her to disconnect her emotions from her magic. You, my king, have already mastered that control as your magic is highly relying on emotion.” He pointed at her. “Teach her your ways.”

“What ways?” Snow asked.

“I believe your husband has to take the time to explain them to you,” Oryn said, standing. “War will come even if not led by the divine. Battles are short, but war can last for years to no end. You need to learn to use your power, not let it learn to use you.”

A knock rasped on the door and Snow tensed in my arms. “Don’t let them see me like this.”

I turned to Visha and said, “Tell them that the bargain demands I take her to Amaris for the night and that I’ll return her at dawn.”

As soon as Visha nodded in confirmation, I faded the two of us to my bedroom.

The sun had just kissed the sky with lovely hues of burnt orange and red, barely the start of sunset in Adriata. There was a fresh set of white roses on my table and a note from Atlas.

For Snowlin. Tell her I am happy she reunited with her family.

I set her down and threw my jacket over her exposed shoulders that had puckered with gooseflesh.

“He is a cute kid,” Snow said, taking a rose out of the vase.

“He will forever hold a grudge if he hears you called him a kid and cute.”

“Our secret then.”

I kissed the tip of her nose. “Our secret.”

She yawned and made a pained sound when she attempted to stretch. Immediately, panic filled me and I searched her body for injuries that I might have missed. And even though I’d found none, no part of me relaxed.