Page 51 of A Storm in Every Heart (Enchanted Legacies #2)
KASTIAN, PRESENT
I t takes less than fifteen minutes for the invisibility to wear off, but thankfully by then Dessa and I have already left the village.
She reappears next to me, and I blink
I’m holding her hand—mostly so we wouldn’t lose each other while we couldn’t see, but it’s strange. The moment she pops back into existence and I see her, fresh-faced with her hair braided, I get the strangest sense of déjà vu.
“You’re staring at me,” she says tightly, tugging her hand out of mine.
I shake my head and run my fingers over the stubble coating my chin. “Sorry. The invisibility wearing off surprised me.”
She nods once, and turns away from me, her gaze fixed firmly on the riverbank in front of us.
We’ve already discussed how we’re going to reach the border of Vernallis, and there simply aren’t a lot of perfect options.
We can’t fly right now while I’m not under direct threat, and even if we could I wouldn’t want to.
While it’s still light out and we’re within the borders of Hydratta, the last thing I want is to be spotted swooping around the sky.
For the same reason, we’ve decided to avoid the main road, which means walking through the swamp once more.
Neither of us wanted to spend any time somewhere so dangerous, so we made our way to the river.
Now, we walk along the edge, our feet occasionally slipping into the murky, shallow water. I suppose it’s better than quicksand.
“You can’t conjure a boat, can you?” Odessa complains as we walk.
I frown. “Probably.”
She stops and looks at me. “I was joking. Can you really? I’d kill to sit right now. My legs are still tired from yesterday and I’m going to burn these shoes when we get back to Storia. I’m never picking beauty over comfort again.”
I smile, unable to look at her without immediately thinking of what a contradiction she is.
Only the other day I was thinking I didn’t really know Odessa that well, but these last few days have been enlightening.
Odessa is bold and seemingly fearless, but she’s also delicate.
She doesn’t like to be uncomfortable, and won’t bother to contain her displeasure if everything isn’t exactly to her liking.
“You would have made a good princess,” I comment.
She reels back, her eyebrows rising into her hairline. “What on earth would make you say that?”
I’m not really sure why I said it, actually, except that it feels true. Maybe that’s why I keep calling her Princess?
“Nothing,” I say shortly. “Never mind. I think I can conjure that boat for you though, now I’m feeling better. Hang on.”
She stops walking, still looking perturbed, and leans against a nearby tree to watch me as I walk around the edge of the swamp collecting tree branches and making them into a pile on the edge of the river.
I’m not surprised that she doesn’t offer to help, but I’m not bothered either—in fact, I prefer it this way.
If she had offered I would have felt obligated to accept her help, when I’d really rather just do the job myself.
Odessa is clearly content to let me handle the boat, but I know that she’ll be genuinely grateful when I’m done—even if it is the only nice thing she says to me today.
After gathering a substantial pile of twigs and branches, I lower myself to the swampy ground, crossing my legs.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath, centering my thoughts.
The air around me tingles with energy, a subtle hum that quickens my pulse.
A surge of warmth spreads from the pit of my stomach, radiating outward
Slowly, the pieces of wood lift from the ground, rising like marionettes. They twist and turn in midair, aligning and snapping together with an audible click, gradually transforming into the sleek outline of a rowboat.
Dessa gasps. “Oh my gods, that’s incredible.”
A smug satisfaction washes over me. “Glad you’re pleased.”
Dessa offers me a small smile. “When we get back, you should definitely help Alix with her wife.”
I stand again, dusting dirt from my hands before frowning. “Her wife?”
Odessa frowns back, looking as confused as I feel. “I think that was what it was called. Wifey? She wants to use machines to play music and talk to her mother.”
“What kind of machines?”
“I don’t know, you’ll have to ask her.” She shrugs, and clambers into the front of the boat. “Throw me an oar, I’d like to get going.”
I climb into the boat behind her. “It’s fine, I’ll row.”
She’s not facing me, but her shoulders stiffen and I can tell she’s scowling. “I can help, you know. I’m not useless just because I’m not as strong as you.”
“I definitely didn’t say that. I would never call you useless.”
“Then give me an oar.”
I push our little boat off the edge of the bank and into the center of the river. “No really, I’ve got it.”
She makes an indignant sound in the back of her throat. “Excuse me, Your Majesty. I worked in the palace for years. What makes you think I’m too fragile to help row the boat?”
She’s completely misunderstanding what I’m trying to get at, but for whatever reason I can’t resist needling her. “You worked as a ladies maid, that was hardly physically taxing.”
She sniffs. “It’s not as if you did any real labor either, Your Majesty .”
I decide not to remind her that I spent decades mining for ice in Dyaspora, because I know that’s not what she meant and I’m sure the thought will sour her mood even more.
“Look, I want to row. I like having something to do, but you obviously don’t.
You’re only offering because you feel guilty for not helping build the boat, but you really don’t have to.
” She looks over her shoulder and glares at me, but I don’t let her get a word in.
“It’s not a bad thing to just relax, Princess. ”
“Because I’m not capable of manual labor, you mean?” she asks dangerously.
“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I meant, you’re…soft. I like that about you, and I don’t want help anyway.”
She scowls and her cheeks heat as she turns around again, facing the front of the boat. “You’re too blunt.”
I grin. “Yeah, but you like that, too.”
She doesn’t say anything, but the red flush doesn’t leave the back of her neck for nearly an hour as I row us down the swampy river.
F or several hours we don’t talk.
I focus on the repetitive hypnotic motion of rowing, and Odessa looks all around us, her attention darting from passing birds, to plants, to the occasional animal.
If I’m honest, I kind of like the silence.
It’s comfortable. Like, I could easily pretend we’re getting along and out on a boat ride for fun rather than because my former kingdom wants to murder both of us.
“How much longer do you think until we reach the border?” Odessa asks, when the afternoon sun has moved beyond the middle of the sky and is creeping toward the western tree line.
I clear my throat. “I don’t know, geography was never really my thing. I thought we’d get there by tonight.”
“What if we don’t?”
“I don’t know. Soon we’ll have to stop at least to eat something.”
She nods, eyeing the little bundle of leftover bread and cheese that she split between us and Jett and wrapped in a stolen pillowcase from the inn. “I’m never going to take Beatrix’s cooking for granted again.”
I chuckle. “Me too. Hopefully, we’ll be back to being force-fed third helpings by tomorrow.”
“True,” Odessa sighs. “I’m guessing Jett and the pirate took the main road, so they’ll probably reach the border before us even though they left later. I’m worried we won’t get back to Vernallis in time to warn Daemon and Alix.”
I make a sound of agreement, but I don’t really know what to say. I’m worried about that too, but evidently not worried enough to fly because even when I concentrate I don’t think I could make my wings appear. Not like they did when Odessa was in danger…
“We’ll stop at a town near the border and buy some more food and a couple of horses,” I say. “It’ll be fine.”
She lets out a long sigh. “I guess it’ll have to be. Part of me hopes that if we don’t make it back in time, Daemon and Alix will wait before launching a sudden attack on Solistine.”
“What does the rest of you think?”
She laughs darkly. “That I would be offended if they waited even ten minutes to react after finding out I was kidnapped. Does that make me selfish?”
I laugh too. “No, I think that makes you normal. And you don’t have to worry about it, everyone was really fucking quick to react once we realized you’d snuck off.”
An awkward silence falls over us for a moment, and I know we’re both remembering the reason why she left.
I want to ask her about it, but I doubt I’ll like her answer.
I know she’s not as unaffected by me as she wants to pretend, but I also know that for whatever reason she’s determined not to just give in to what both of us want.
Maybe it’s because of the soul-bond? Maybe she’s worried about starting something when I’ll never be able to bond with her.
Except, no…that can’t be it. Not all of it, anyway, because she’s been standoffish for months with no clear reason.
I used to think she simply didn’t like me, but now I’m completely at a loss.
Perhaps there’s someone else she’s interested in?
Just the idea sends a spark of jealousy shooting through me, but the feeling isn’t as intense as it would be if I really believed she wanted another man.
I’ve never seen her give much attention to anyone else, and it’s not as if she doesn’t have the opportunity.
Every time our friends visit the local pub, there’s always a line of men watching Odessa or waiting to ask her to dance, but I’ve never seen her indulge any of them.
Come to think of it, I’ve never seen her pay half as much attention to anyone as she does to purposefully ignoring me. Almost like, in a strange way, I already have all her attention.
The bond in my chest pulses, and I bite back my frustration.