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“Like this.” I twirled my fingers in the direction I wished the snow to go. Another spike of pain slammedinto my chest, stealing my breath for a moment, but I was determined to make this work. I sucked in air. “Come on. I want you to?—”

From the corner of my vision, a figure emerged from the Tower, then stopped. Normally, I wouldn’t care who was watching, but I felt their attention like a fire burning from my feet to my head and I couldn’t help but look.

Vale was there, stepping foot outside of Riis Tower for the first time in days. He didn’t look drunk or hungover, like I’d imagined he would. His eyes were so intense that they nearly leveled me.

I sucked in a breath, and the control over my power vanished. The snow fell to the ground, and my bones ached.

“Bleeding stars,” I breathed, knees buckling.

Thantrel was there in an instant, catching me, but I remained fixated on Vale. On his heaving chest.

Was he angry?

Before I placed my finger on his emotion, Vale twisted and stomped around the tower, out of sight.

I exhaled and tears sprang to my eyes. I wiped them away.

Did he think I wanted to be who I was? That I’d planned that we’d become close, intimate even, all the while knowing our relations?

Was I the only one who still felt this forbidden bond between us?

“He’ll get over it,” Thantrel whispered, still holding me up.

Swallowing, I stood on my own and gazed at the snow.

“He needs time,” Thantrel assured me.

Tears stung my eyes before I wiped them away yet again. “He despises me.”

“He’s been drinking us out of house and home. I doubt he’s clear-headed at all right now.”

“I need him to know I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“He knows.”

I stared at the spot where Vale disappeared. “I’m not so sure.”

The fire blazed, warming the den and my aching bones, which despite a full, delicious meal and a hot bath, still had not recovered from my hours of practicing magic.

I sipped the wine from the Summer Isles and relaxed back into the armchair, watching as Clemencia, Arie, and Anna played nuchi.

Anna had learned tonight, and my best friend caught on quickly, a fact that did not surprise me but seemed to charm Arie. Despite losing badly, the middle Riis brother smiled at Anna more often than I’d ever seen him smile.

Almost as often as Luccan stole glances at Clemencia.

As though my thoughts summoned him, Luccan walked into the den. I gaped.

I’d seen him hours ago, checking on him when Thantrel and I came inside from practicing magic. Then, he’d looked exhausted, but since midday, Luccan had declined.

His skin, already naturally pale, was wan and darkcircles ringed his eyes. His gait was sluggish, and though he tried to hide it, I spied a faint limp.

I patted the seat next to me, wanting to speak with him before he began flirting with Clemencia. “Join me.”

Luccan grinned and, after pouring himself a spirit from a cabinet brimming with bottles of liquor from all over Isila, sank into the neighboring armchair with a groan.

“How are things going with the gateway?” I asked.

“Well enough. I might have it ready by tomorrow. Be prepared.”