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Her shoulders immediately relaxed and her magic ebbed. She grinned over at him as her hair danced in the increasing wind. “Don’t trust me to stay put?”
His lips twitched. “Consider it a testament of my faith in your potential.”
She offered him a light laugh and lowered herself to the grass. “I’ll sit, then.”
He nodded at her and flicked the palm-sized, polished rock into the air, chasing its spiral with a pulse of magic. Not the most refined technique, but sufficient nonetheless. “Raoul Silje.”
The Connector Stone immediately stabilized at shoulder height, hovering in defiance of the wind as shades of gray rippled across the surface, indicating an unanswered call. The rippling stopped after only a moment, assuring Aric that his target’s stone had been found. When the gray color remained, he trickled a little more magic into the connection to up the pressure.
Raoul’s Connector Stone would be twisting through the air if it was anywhere near the man himself, bathed in a demanding shade of orange.
Another couple of seconds passed where the only sound to reach Aric’s ears was the natural rush of the waterfall archway.
Then the gray of Aric’s stone bled into a pale orange closer to coral, and a voice Aric barely knew echoed out at him. “Lord Vardanyan, my sincerest apologies! This is Raoul. What is it I can do for you? Should we be expecting you in Vanarré?”
Aric tucked his hands back into his pockets and pretended not to watch Rochelle’s head tip in his direction, or notice her raise a curious brow. “That isn’t currently my intention,” he said. Though just from Silje’s greeting, he had concerns. “How long has your shift at the Vanarré branch lasted so far?”
“Oh, well, I took command here nearly two weeks ago,” Raoul said. “We usually rotate shifts every fifth week. Were you looking for someone else?”
“No.” He’d checked in with the local military commander on his way back to Harald’s office to verify who was stationed there, but it was always good to compare stories. It was a policy which led him to his next query. “When did you last speak to Harald Lamont?”
The briefly brightened coral color faded and darkened to a shade of solid green, which indicated the speaker was not only calm but felt confident. “Lord Lamont called earlier this morning,” Raoul said. “He explained we’ll be instituting a semi-annual inspection of the border wall on the Zrynian side and asked us to prepare our team. The group of us here have been reviewing notes as per usual to make sure we bring in the best, of course. We should be ready within two months’ time, ancestors willing.”
Aric felt his fingers curl into fists as he glared at the innocent rock. The color changed to dark red with a single pulse across the surface, this time reflecting his mood. “Then it seems I have to have another conversation with Harald,” he said. “In the meantime, let me tell you what Iactuallyneed.” Then he would deal with Harald, who seemed to think a directive he didn’t understand was a directive he could ignore.
First, however, he had to find the patience to essentially tell Raoul everything he’d previously told Harald. It all felt rather redundant and only served to keep his temper boiling under the surface. By the time he was done, the Connector Stone was solidly red—a mixture of Aric’s irritation and Raoul’s rising panic.
“I-I had no idea!” Raoul said. Something crashed in the background, like shattering glass, and a moment later there was a more muted thud. “Of course, of course there’s no time to do things the regular way. I understand, Sentry. We’ll switch to emergency procedures and coordinate with any available military personnel immediately.” He drew a breath, audibly pausing. “C-can I … contact you, if I run into difficulties?”
Aric forcibly unclenched his fists. “Always.”
“Thank you,” Raoul said quickly. “I’ll be in touch then.”
The connection immediately dropped.
Aric extended his hand in time to catch his descending Connector Stone and rolled the rock around his palm. It hadn’t been his intention to leave this space until they needed to return for dinner. He also hadn’t expected to learn Harald had gone quite so far off-script.
Rochelle stepped in front of him quietly and laid her fingers over his forearm. Her rich brown eyes were warm with understanding as she smiled up at him. “I’m not in a rush,” she said. “I might like to come back to this place someday, but I certainly understand when something more important is going on.”
Something about her phrasing triggered him, and Aric slipped a hand behind her head, pulling her close. He crashed his lips to hers, nipped and teased with teeth and tongue, then forced himself to retreat. Her cheeks were a beautiful, bright pink above sweet, parted lips when he said roughly, “Youare also important, and I will keep my promise. I swear.”
****
Rochelle hurried to follow after Aric’s larger steps as they exited Harald Lamont’s office building once again. She was still reeling from that kiss he’d delivered before they’d left the arching waterfalls, her brain scrambling to process everything that had happened in the minutes since. He’d said something kind of amazing while her heart had been lodged in her throat and restricting her airway. How many people had told her she was important?
Two. Aric made two.
She nearly stumbled over the bottom step, the jarring motion helping to orient her focus for a precious moment. “Aric,” she said, noticing he was several paces ahead already. She actually wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him so angry.
He stopped immediately and turned back to her, his furrowed brow smoothing into a more neutral expression a beat later. “Sorry. I’ll get you back to Tora’s before I go after him.”
She frowned and walked up to his side, hands on her hips. “I’d rather come with you.” When had she become this bold? It wasn’t like he wouldn’t return.Yeah, and I thought I’d see Bridge again, too.Sometimes accidents happened.
“With me?” He sounded genuinely surprised.
Rochelle let her stance slacken. “You said I could observe this time.” She paused and looked away for a moment. “Unless this is something I’m not supposed to see, of course.”
“No,” Aric said. “I just didn’t think you’d want to.” She met his stare again, but of course, he had no reason to be dishonest. “My next conversation with Harald won’t be pleasant.”
