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“Only because this is new to you. Give yourself time. Your power rivals mine.” He sounded so certain of that, so convinced that he was right. “But you should conserve your strength right now. You need to replenish this field’sorem, and then you have training. It’s important that you’re resting thoroughly each night and consuming high amounts of sustenance. Learning new affinities demands much of a fairy.”
“So no late-night dates?” I replied hopefully. “Sandus told me the king has ordered that the Trial continue as planned, and that the Olirum Accords still stand, meaning that Ihaveto date the other males.”
The prince’s jaw flexed. “That’s correct...for the moment.”
My heart pattered as that fierce light grew in his eyes. That strange need for him followed, as though my body craved for me to step into his embrace and bring my lips to his.
What in all the realms, Ilara?
I turned away from him, my breaths coming faster as I forced myself to rest my magic. My dome disappeared.
In a blink, another formed, stronger and larger, thanks to the crown prince. A flush of warmth blew over my face, and I raised my eyebrows at him. “How did you do that?”
“Increasing the air’s particle activity produces heat.”
I sighed. “However that’s done.”
“You’ll learn.”
“But obviously not today.” I sank into the snow and pushed the powder to the side until I found gray dirt beneath it. A tangle of thorny stalks encrusted in ice lay on top of the soil.
My lips tugged down. “How long has it been like this?” This field looked even sicker than Harrivee’s.
The prince sat beside me. “Over a full season. It was the first to fully die, the fields around it dying next, as though theorem’sdeath started here.”
Digging my fingers into the cold ground, I felt for a hum of life. Unsurprisingly, I found none. “It’s the same as the field by Barvilum. Nothing’s here.”
“At the moment no, but that’s why I brought you.” He leaned back, lying on the snow as though it were a bed.
I snorted. “Making yourself comfortable?”
“Considering we’ll be here for hours, I don’t see why not.”
Sighing, I set to work. Similar to last week at Harrivee, I sank my fingers into the dirt as I would have if I were laboring back in Mervalee. Not even sure what I was doing, I simply did what I’d done before—poured my concentration into the soil and imagined that I connected with it as though it were my garden back home, and a part of me wondered if that was why my affinity had worked. I did a lot of visual imagining while I worked the fields, and perhaps I’d unconsciously called my budding affinity to the surface without even knowing it.
I worked quietly, and the prince remained silent. Outside of his bubble, the wind raged, the sound loud enough that its faint scream slipped through his Shield on occasion.
I loosened more dirt between my fingers. “You seemed to enjoy Lady Endalaver’s company yesterday.” As soon as the comment left my mouth, I wanted to kick myself.
Why did I just say that?
The prince pushed himself up on his elbows. His lips curved as he regarded me with unveiled interest. “She’s certainly not shy, is she?”
I glared at him. “It doesn’t matter to me if she is.”
“Really? Is that why you asked about her?”
“I don’t know why I asked. Forget I said anything.”
“I don’t think I will.” He pushed up more, his smile growing, and now I wanted to strangle myself. “Lady Endalaver is powerful, but she’s not as strong as you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Considering I can barely call forth my magic, that’s debatable.”
“Don’t mistake practice for strength. She’s had several decades of training on you.”
“Yet I’m supposed to catch up in a matter of months.”
“It’s imperative that you do.”
