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Earth grabbed at her feet in passing, but Arianna jumped around it, dodging his attacks whenever she scented them forming. She knew he was being gentle, letting her escape. Arianna spun around with a smile on her face when she was ankle-deep in freezing water.

Rion splashed in with her, then Arianna yanked the river up, snaking the magic around her body like a giant serpent. She sucked in breath after breath and her side stung, but the exhilaration flooding her body was worth every ounce of pain she’d feel later.

Rion smiled, but it wasn’t the wicked, sadistic pull of his lips she’d seen yesterday. No. This was a genuine smile, one she was sure he’d rarely shown to anyone.

Rion closed the distance and Arianna solidified the water at his feet, letting it crawl up his body. He snarled in response and the ice exploded from his body. She shielded her face against the flying particles then formed a sphere of ice and launched it toward him with a thin icicle following in its wake.

He blocked the sphere but barely noticed the icicle as it shattered against his magic. Arianna did it again, forming a dozen spheres but only one had several needle-thin icicles following close behind. She launched them toward Rion, hoping to camouflage her attack.

The first sphere broke against his magic, exploding in a ray of shards that fell harmlessly from his body. The second did the same. Then the third. But he didn’t seem to notice the icicles behind that third sphere. The first hit too close for her comfort and Arianna stopped attacking when the second icicle struck closer. She yanked as hard as she could, trying to melt each one into water before they could make contact, but too late.

Two struck him in the shoulder, right at the tender point that’d immobilize the tendons in the arm. Shock covered his face and the impact sent him staggering back into the water. Rion roared and fear shot through her core.

Earth encased her body, hauling her from the river. It pinned her arms at her sides but didn’t squeeze tight enough to hurt.

No…

Rion pressed one hand to his shoulder and his fingertips came away bloody. Then he turned that betrayed look on her. Pain. Longing. Fear. Arianna’s heart cracked, splintering right down the center.

Tears welled up in her eyes. “Let me fix it,” she pleaded. Arianna tried to move her body, but his magic held firm. “Please.” She’d never intended to hurt him. Not like that other female had. She never wanted to see the pained look he was giving her now. His gaze wavered, shifting from disbelief to acceptance and back to disbelief. “Rion.”

The particles loosened and he set her back on her feet, but his magic didn’t stop circling her wrists. Arianna didn’t care. She just needed to get to him and ease the pain she’d caused.

Arianna fell to her knees in the freezing water, ignoring the shock that went through her body. Her teeth chattered and his magic tightened its hold.

His breathing had turned ragged, but she knew it wasn’t from physical pain. It was fear. She could smell it all over him. The fear of being hurt by someone he cared for. Someone he loved.

His eyes flickered between hers, searching for the malintent.I won’t hurt you, she wanted to say, but she already had. And it killed her. Absolutely killed her.

Arianna summoned her healing magic and with shaking hands, pressed her fingertips over his wound. Rion hissed in pain, but she closed her eyes, letting her magic sink deep beneath the skin’s surface.

Just as they’d done before, his muscles stitched themselves back together. His body told her what it needed with temperature variations. More here, less there. Rion’s magic kept moving around her uncertainly, but his sigh of relief was like music to her ears. His shoulders relaxed when the final bits of skin knit themselves together.

Arianna sat back on her heels, her lower body numb from the cold. “I’m sorry.” Her voice cracked. “I—”

His fingertips grazed her cheek, catching the tear before it fell, then his lips pressed against hers. Both were trembling from the cold, but Rion sat long enough to stare at her with a look of awe.

“We should get out of the water.” She didn’t want to move. Not with the way he looked at her now. Arianna placed her hands into the frigid river and warmth spread from her fingertips as she heated the liquid surrounding their bodies. She watched Rion carefully. The heat from her magic cascaded over him and he followed the line of warmth as it gradually engulfed his body. Within seconds, steam rose between them. They remained still, letting the heat thaw their numb skin.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated.

“Accidents happen.” His voice was too soft.

“You didn’t think it was an accident.”

A moment of silence passed, but the hurt lingering in his gaze told her she was right.

“My demons aren’t yours to bear.”

“What if I want them to be?”

Rion dipped his hands into the warm water and flexed his fingers as if working the ice from his joints. “Are you sure that’s what you want?” He paused. “Are you sureI’mwhat you want?”

“Yes.” No hesitation. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with this male. She’d figure out the details along the way. There’d be obstacles, she knew that, but the thought of spending a single moment without him was so painful, Arianna thought she might shatter.

“You told me once that you wanted to go back to the male you were promised to.” He met her gaze. “Does he hold no sway over you now?”

Arianna shook her head. “Talon will always be my friend. Always, but you’re different. This is different.”