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Disconcerted, I closed my eyes. One more lie. My heart focused on last night, when black ice had shattered my glass and frosted my skin. When Garrick’s glamour had had no effect on me. “I don’t believe I have magic. I’ve always known I was a perfectly ordinary human.”
Shavonne cackled. “Well earned.” She gestured with a hand. “You may both pass. Thank you, Mortal Ren, for amusing an ancient woman.”
I stared at her, wondering if there was more to it all. Surely the bargain wasn’t that simple. I expected a fae trick—some hidden sacrifice I needed to make, some way she’d twist my words and use them against me. But she merely grinned as Garrick took my arm and led me across the creaking bridge.
Chill wind blew strands of hair across my face as we crossed to the other side and up another incline, deeper into the forest marching up the mountainside. “You believe me about your magic?” Garrick asked after a longer silence than usual. I’d been mulling over the revelations the witch had forced me to face about myself and hadn’t even noticed he’d gone several minutes without speaking, as lost in thought as I was.
“I think, deep down, along with feeling different—and not just for my hair—I knew I wasn’t quite like anyone else. I didn’trealizethat meant magic, or fae blood, or anything like that. For a while it simply meant I didn’t fit in. I wondered if maybe there was something inherently wrong with me, thatmade me invisible or unworthy to everyone else.” I bit my lip, embarrassed for sharing so much. Maybe the witch had used some magic that was making me speak more truths than I’d normally be comfortable admitting to a man I’d just met. Or maybe, though it had only been a short while, Garrick’s charm and openness and protective nature were making me feel safe enough to tear down some of the walls around my lonely heart.
“Invisible?” Garrick’s lips quirked. “The whole town was talking about you.”
“I meant...unseen in the ways that truly matter. They looked at my strange hair and imagined what they wanted about me. They didn’t seeme. They didn’t care to know who I really was.”
Garrick squeezed my arm. “And what a shame for them. I’ve only known you for one day, and already I can tell you’re kind and thoughtful and a lot braver and more interesting than anyone in your sad little town would ever give you credit for.Andyou have magic, which makes you more powerful than the lot of them. More powerful even than me.”
He laughed, and I couldn’t help but smile, just a little. Even if my mind was overwhelmed, trying to comprehend how I carried more power in my veins than the immortal I walked beside.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Can you tell me more about my magic?” I asked as Garrick and I settled before the fire he’d started.
Evening had fallen and snowflakes were beginning to descend by the time we’d reached the next cabin, which was much like the last, except it had an entire kitchen and several bedrooms attached. Garrick had explained that this one had once been his family home, though now, when he wasn’t staying here during hunts, messengers for the royal family used it—along with the other smaller outposts—while traveling throughout the kingdom. For a short while, he’d left me before the fire to warm myself while he’d hunted, saying we needed a proper meal. He’d returned with several hares, which he was now roasting over the fire. The aroma permeated the cabin, making my stomach growl after subsiding only on a few pieces of jerky for the entire day.
While he turned the meat on a spit, Garrick considered my question. Outside, the sky was dark and heavy with clouds, and thickly falling snowflakes blocked out any views we might have had of the surrounding forest. But within, the firelight bathed the room in a cozy golden glow that now reflected in Garrick’s eyes as he watched the flames dance. “Considering I don’t have magic like yours, I’m not sure I can be of much help. But I can tell you this: your magic is tied to the land. It’s true for all fae. Our kingdoms are as much a part of us as anything. And nowthat you’re on Silverfrost ground, you’ll be more connected to your power than ever before. It’ll grow even stronger once we reach the winter solstice, because every fae’s magic is tied to the primary season of their kingdom. That means right now, the autumn kingdom fae are at the height of their power, and once winter ends, Willowbark will be at its strongest.”
I considered his words. “So I draw magic...from the land?”
Garrick dipped his head in affirmation. “Based on the ice you conjured, you likely could also wield a snowstorm. But who can even guess at the full extent of your abilities until you learn to tap into them?”
Withdrawing my hands from beneath the blanket I’d wrapped around myself, I studied my palms. “Is it dangerous?”
“All power is dangerous, Starlight. And magic is in your blood, which means it’s tied to your emotions and thoughts. It’ll take practice for you to gain control and know how to wield it confidently.” His gaze flicked to the scabbed cuts on my palm from the glass that had shattered just last night when I’d unintentionally frozen it. “Once you know how to use it well, it’ll only be dangerous if you mean for it to be.”
“If I don’t practice, will I...have more incidents like the one at the ball?”
“In moments of unbridled emotions.” He gave me a crooked smile. “I suppose I brought those out in you last night.”
As he turned the meat again, grease sizzling into the fire until it popped, I considered his words. “I’ll have to practice or risk unleashing something more dangerous.”
“Don’t practice in an enclosed space,” Garrick warned. “On a night when we stop outdoors, you can work at it.”
“Won’t we freeze if we stay outside?”
The wolf shifter flashed me a smile. “I’ll keep you warm, Starlight.”
