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Lira nodded and turned her face against the wind which whipped strands of hair around her face. “What is an Atalla?”
“Ah.” Right, that had been part of the prophecy, hadn’t it? Elisa had said when we’d first met Lira that she had to be Sai’s Attala with the way they were drawn to each other. I hadn’t believed it, but now it seemed likely. What were the chances the two of them—with the enormous magic they both possessed—would just run into each other? It’s why I’d suspected Lira initially, but perhaps divine intervention had ordained it. “It’s… Well, I may not be the best to ask as I wasn’t raised among the fae and still don’t understand all of their culture. As I’ve heard, Atalla means half-heart in the old language. It’s a being that helps balance a fairy’s powers. Elisa tells me that powerful Atalla pairs who infused their magic together originally crafted the heart stones. I thought it was just…” I stumbled over my words and chuckled.
“A fairy tale?” Lira finished for me.
“Right.” I draped a leg down the side of the fountain. “Ironic as I live in the fairy realm now, but I thought it was just an old story.”
Lira’s pale eyes seemed distant with thought for a moment before she spoke again. “Is Sai my Atalla?”
“I don’t know. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Thank you for talking with me.” She rubbed her cheek against her shoulder. “I should try to get some sleep if we leave at sunrise.”
“Yeah. Good night.”
She rose and slipped off into the shadows, disappearing just as Sai had earlier.
CHAPTERTEN
SAI
I leanedagainst the wall and raised my face to the moon. It remained a constant, cycling through different seasons steadily, with no mind for the trials of the beings it poured light onto. I’d stood there for hours, running the last month through my mind.
I’d fucked up.
Again.
I released a sigh as a breeze trailed over me and cooled my flesh. I’d done nothing but mess up since meeting Lira. She’d compelled me, and my first thought when the haze of her magic wore off was, ‘How the fuck did I end up in this situation?’
Since we’d met, I’d thought that again and again.
Staring at her as I realized she had elemental magic.
Feeling her body warm against mine.
Creating the illusion of stealing her from the Seelie court.
Reciting marriage vows as her magic washed through me.
How the fuck had I ended up in this situation?
Perhaps the biggest one was that I was in love with her. I’m not sure when the realization settled for me. Maybe Mother’s certainty clicked the idea in place. Damn it, I’d barely known Lira for a month. Yet, I hungered for her presence and longed to touch her again. I wished to tap into my magic as deeply as I could and unwind time until I stood with her at the cabin again.
I’d tell her the truth, trust her, and confess that my feelings were deeper than I could form into words.
I couldn’t do that, however. Perhaps us focusing on each other would have messed up the heist like Neia said. If I could even unwind that much time and memories—and I doubted it—I had to resist, because ultimately getting Shaan’s zevar and one of our family’s heart stones back was more important.
Plus, we’d gotten the Memoria Globe for Luz. Then it had revealed that fucking prophecy about Lira when she’d touched it. It hadn’t even needed her blood, as if the divine waited for her to touch a sacred item to reveal the prophecy. If I tried to undo time and fix my mistakes, I might ruin everything for my court and family and people.
I dropped my head back hard enough against the wall that it ached.
Suddenly I longed for a bad habit that would offer temporary relief. I wished to breathe in smoke until the pounding misery of my body stalled, or drown myself in alcohol until I forgot the sharpness of Lira’s words, the anger in her voice.
Unfortunately, those options didn’t hold appeal for me.
My zevar pulsed at my throat, and I grazed my finger over it. The edges were sharp—a product of it being a broken piece of our heart stone—and they scraped my fingers. Then the shadows came, spooling out around me and pouring over the courtyard in curling spirals and curved pools, easy shapes that required no effort as they flooded from me.
The magic furling out felt like stretching after sitting in one position for too long.
