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“Yes,” Maxon replied quietly.
Wren whirled to him. “I didn’t do anything.” She felt the anger at his accusation fan her flames and tried to ball her hands in a fist to prevent their appearance. She was surprised at her temper after feeling sympathetic towards the sorcerer. Her emotions had become erratic to the point that she was unsure what she would feel one moment to the next. She was exhausted from constantly fighting the anger, fear, and pain.
“Not on purpose, of course,” he quickly corrected, a sliver of anxiety creeping into his voice.
“How am I responsible for the weather and the land?” she responded hotly.
“Easy, Wren. He’s just trying to help.” Kai turned to face her, his blue eyes cool like frost to match the snow.
“It’s all right, Your Highness,” Maxon replied diplomatically. “As you gain more of your power back, it is pulled from Valmere. The land feels its absence, and this is how it is responding.”
“How do I give it back?” she asked as if the solution would be simple.
“I don’t know. I only know that it’s not just the land you are pulling from. I have even lost some of my own power. I fear when you finally ascend, there will be nothing left in Valmere.” He didn’t sound afraid, but rather as if the topic was a puzzle he could solve.
“Ascend?” she asked.
He looked at her nervously. She could see that he did better with puzzles than with people. “It is only a theory of mine. I do not know for sure, I cannot know for sure.” He pushed at the brim of his glasses nervously. “I assume that your return and the retrieval of your magic means you are destined to have your immortality restored.”
She laughed. “That’s ridiculous. Serephina’s siblings would have found a way to kill her or torture her. Why would Lucius curse her to live as a mortal only to allow her to come back?”
“I admit, I do not know, but for what other reason would you be taking your magic back?” he asked reasonably.
“I do not do it on purpose and I do not want it.” Her anger was growing and she felt the spark light in her hands. The flames leaked between her clenched fingers seeking a way out, a way to be free.
“Your emotions are heightened right now because of the magic building in you. It can be a burden to all who are gifted with it, but we learn from early on how to channel it. You will have to learn it now,” Maxon replied gently. When she didn’t say anything, he continued, “You are like a tea kettle that needs the lid to be opened to release the pressure. You need to release the magic that has nowhere to go inside you. Try to direct all your flames to those trees,” he said, as if it was simple.
She closed her eyes and tried to imagine the now tiny flames in her palms shooting outward, but nothing happened. “I can’t.”
“You didn’t even try.” Kai’s voice was cool, but there was irritation in it, too.
She turned to face him. “Yes. I did. There isn’t exactly a book that tells you how to control your god like magic.”
He rolled his eyes. “Now you are just being dramatic.”
She glared at him. He had been different since their time in the tower. More callous towards her. “Can you just make up your mind on how you would like to treat me because I am getting whiplash from how quickly your moods change. First, you treat me as if I am not worth the dirt on your boots, then you act like you are actually concerned or care, then…” She stumbled over the words not wanting to put a name to what happened between them in the tower. “And now you treat me as if I am some petulant child.”
He smiled at her, but it was not a kind smile. “If I treat you like a petulant child it is only because you are acting like one.”
“You are impossible. I am not doing this any longer. Goodbye, gentlemen.” She turned to make her way through the snow building on the ground.
“Oh, come now, Wren. There are other ways to start flames. Wasn’t it you that told me that? I remember you being quite enthusiastic about that method the other day. Your tongue did the most delightful—”
She turned back and slapped him hard enough that it echoed amongst the forest.
“If I could take it back, I would in a heartbeat, you royal ass. You are so irritating, I cannot stand to be near you.” She shoved him hard and he laughed. “I don’t see how you think this is funny, but your moods are so chaotic, I suppose it makes sense.”
He was still chuckling when he put her head in-between his hands and turned her to face the forest. It was ablaze and the heat from the flames cast a warmth over them removing the chill from the air.
“Incredible,” whispered Maxon.
“She is,” agreed Kai, looking at her.
She stared at him as if he had gone mad, but he only shrugged his shoulders. “You needed to be mad.”
She stared at him, trying to figure out who Prince Malaki really was. “You didn’t have to be such an ass about it.”
“I’m fairly certain that is false,” he replied casually. “How do you feel?”
