Page 125 of The Dark Mage

“I love you too,” Fael whispered back, pulling her into the security of theirlove.

In the morning, she made a small, quiet offering to the lives she had taken in the glade.She set juniper, liverleaf, and velvetleaf on the ground and closed her eyes.Tears slipped down her cheeks, dripping onto the dirt and ashes.

Fael said nothing, giving her space to grieve.

Within twenty feet of where she stood, every plant had blackened to ash, every tree wrapped with black veins.The bark was crumbling, leaves nearly gone, and the ground cover had vanished in a semicircle born of her rage.It was as though every moment of abuse haunting her had risen and demanded justice from their surroundings.The death triggered her grief, and she didn’t feel embarrassed as she wept, aware of Fael’s steady presence nearby.

“I’m ready,” Ren’wyn finally said, wiping the last tears from her cheeks.

She reached out to take Fael’s hand, and he lifted her onto Patina.

The road grew wilder through this unsettled area.She knew the trees and most of the ground cover here, marveling at the way it mimicked northern plant species.Goldenrod and aster were in full bloom, but many plants were beginning to senesce as the season progressed into autumn.

They stopped in a town on the edge of the foothills.The buildings bore scars from past attacks, and the innkeeper explained that Loringan bands often came here in difficult years.It had been seven years without an attack, and the community had found healing in hospitality.Ren’wyn and Fael reveled in it, paying a little extra for wine and chocolate after theirmeal.

The innkeeper’s two children played music during supper.The lively crowd was a sign they were nearing the end of the wild and approachingRiva.

“Dance with me,” Fael said, standing and reaching for her with a sweet smile.

“No,” she responded quickly, surprising even herself.“I… no.I can’t dance.”

Not exactly the truth.

She had years of private dance lessons as well as training at Spyre.At Esrin’s parties, she had danced, and her father had even thrown an engagement ball for her and Erst.But she had always been clumsy and a little heavy-footed, and despite everything they had shared, she did not want to step on Fael’sfeet.

He leaned across the table with a dark smile.“Dance with me, or I’ll ask the barmaid.”

“You wouldn’t,” she hissed back, and his eyes glinted.

He was baiting her, but when he turned toward the kitchen, where the barmaid ogled him while fixing her hair, Ren’wyn stood.

“Fine,” she relented through gritted teeth.

Then, Fael’s arms were around her, and she stopped thinking.

Every ounce of grace he possessed with sword, bow, and fists, he carried onto the dance floor.His strength and skill made her feel weightless and free.Ren’wyn let him spin and dip her, stepping through a pattern she knew well before Fael added a new sequence, leading her with ease.She wondered if her past partners had always been lacking or if Fael was unusually gifted.For the first time, she enjoyed dancing.

Fael grinned as they moved together.His laughter skated over her skin and landed in her stomach, and Ren’wyn decided dancing wasn’t so bad.When she stumbled, he held her steady—and he didn’t laugh at her misstep.

She stared openly, unashamed to admirehim.

His skin was bronze from their travels in the sun, his brown hair curling in soft waves.The matching facial hair was neatly trimmed, and she liked that he had grown itout.

The strong planes of his face, the masculine angles of his features—Ren’wyn loved every inch.She traced his thick, dark brows, strong jaw, sharp cheekbones, and angular nose.But it was his eyes that arrestedher.

That hazel color—warm brown mixed with notes of honey and emerald—told her everything she wanted to know.On the dance floor, they sparked with fiery orange near his pupils, and her core tightened.

“I know what that look means,” he said devilishly as the music slowed.

Fael pulled her against him, one hand on her hip as they swayed to a softertune.

A girl sang in a clear soprano, her voice carrying a song of two lovers—both sad and beautiful.Ren’wyn sighed and laid her head on his chest.

And when her heart, fair brokendeep

Laid claim to her and beckoned sleep

He found her there within theVeil