Page 18

Chapter Eighteen

A s the first light seeped through the thin layer of mist clinging to the ground, I sat up with only blankets around me, my back aching from my slumber on the hard cave floor. I stole a glance at Caelum, who was already dressed and breaking down camp, his movements purposeful, though he avoided my gaze as much as I avoided his.

I could still feel the warmth of his hand on my hip, the charged silence between us as we lay cocooned in the blanket, his whispered questions echoing in my mind.

I got dressed outside of his view and then we worked in silence, our usual easy banter noticeably absent. With everything packed and secured on Sorsha, we finally set off.

The rhythmic clopping of her hooves filled the quiet between us, a sound I welcomed, hoping it would drown out the turmoil inside me. It did little, however, to quell the spark of tension beneath my skin at the feel of Caelum’s chest pressed against my back or his firm hands resting near my waist as he guided Sorsha toward Naohm.

I tried to sit as rigidly as possible, careful not to let myself touch him any more than necessary.

He definitely noticed.

“It’s okay if you lean on me, Eedy,” he finally said into my ear with a chuckle. “I won’t take it as a sign that you’ve changed your mind.”

I resisted out of spite for at least an hour more, but finally, my spine screamed for relief. Slowly, in the bright afternoon sunlight, I melted against him. There was no denying to myself anymore that I wanted him, but this was different. Leaning into him now as we made our way back home, I felt safe. Secure. I...trusted him.

Without thinking, I put my hands over his as they held the reins loosely near my hips, running my fingers over his coarse skin. He stiffened behind me, a low rumble reverberating through his chest.

After a few breathless moments, he took the reins in one hand while the other snaked around my middle until I was pulled taut against him just like the night before. He lowered his face to nuzzle into my hair on the side of my head, taking a deep needy breath through his nose.

“Gods, Eedy, you’re going to be the death of me,” he murmured.

I tipped my head back against his chest, a frenzy of want pooling in my stomach. I’d had him all to myself these last few weeks. Soon we would be back in Naohm, and it would be different. It must be. He was betrothed, and I was a witch. He couldn’t be seen curled against me like he was right now.

It would never be like this again.

My throat clogged with the realization. Once we got back, would we revert to ships passing in the night, him going one way, and I another? Would we ever touch again? Would I ever see him again?

“Whoa, girl,” Caelum said, pulling on the reins to bring Sorsha to a stop, along with my racing thoughts.

“Why are we stopping?” I said, my pulse thrashing in my ears. If he pulled me off this horse and looked at me the way he did last night, I did not think I could resist him again.

Instead, his next words left me breathless in a different way.

“I think we’re near one of the ley lines your father had mapped out.”

I blinked, surprised. “You really read all his research? And you remember that?”

He hovered over my shoulder, his fingers a light pressure against my stomach. “Of course, I read it all. I had to know what I was up against.”

I bristled. Up against?

“Why did you have such a problem with him?” I asked, frustration pouring over the simmering desire that had been overriding my senses.

For a moment, he hesitated. “It wasn’t necessarily your father I had a problem with,” he finally admitted as he spurred Sorsha on once more, navigating a thin path through the trees. “It was... you .”

My stomach tightened. “Me?”

He nodded slowly. “Your father used to visit my uncle’s home often, and every time, he’d...well, he’d go on and on about you. He’d beam with pride, telling anyone who would listen how remarkable you were, how fiercely dedicated, talented, unstoppable.”

A lump rose in my throat listening to memories of my father. If only Caelum knew how my father’s opinion had changed of me. How he’d ordered me to stay home, preferring to be alone. I craned my neck to study the prince’s face.

“I’d watch him,” Caelum continued, his eyes far away in the past, “and think how lucky you were to have a father like that. I couldn’t help but envy it. I never got to be around my father much after he became ill, but my uncle...Well, he’s never had a kind word for me, and he certainly doesn’t care about any accomplishments I might have. He only wanted to control me. I wanted what you had—someone to be proud of me.”

My heart twisted at his words. “I had no idea,” I whispered. “All this time, I thought you didn’t understand him.”

“Oh, I understood him. And it killed me.” He nodded, his eyes still on the path ahead. “And I resented you for it, which was not fair of me. I’m truly sorry I behaved that way.”

The cocky, crown prince of Eyre was apologizing to me ? I chuckled.

“All is forgiven, Caelum,” I murmured, leaning back against him. His arm around my middle tugged me closer once more, but it wasn’t fueled with desire. It was more like relief that another thorn between us had been plucked out and healed.

“I see now why he named you Eada,” he murmured.

I froze at the word, my heartbeat stuttering. It had been so long since I’d heard it. “How do you know my full name?”

Caelum’s mouth tugged up on one side, smug as ever. “It’s written as clear as day on your saddlebags. I know you never explicitly asked if I could read, but, alas, I can.” He rested his chin on top of my head. “Also, he never called you Eedy when he spoke of you. It was always?—”

“My Eada.” My throat tightened, and tears rose to the corners of my eyes. I hastily rubbed them away before continuing. “I asked everyone to stop calling me that when he died. He was always walking around saying my Eada this and my Eada that. And I couldn’t...it was too hard to...”

Eada meant world in the ancient tongue. But when he’d died, my world had collapsed.

I hadn’t realized I’d curled my hands into fists until Caelum’s one palm covered mine, his thumb sweeping over my knuckles, coaxing it to open so he could interlace our fingers. “It’s okay, Eedy. Grief changes us. But no matter if he’s here now to say it or not, you were his whole world, no matter what you call yourself now.”

We rode in silence after that, each of us lost in our own thoughts until I felt a hum pulsing through the air. I welcomed the distraction. “This is it,” I said.

Caelum helped me slip down from Sorsha and followed closely after me as I pushed through the last thicket of trees.

There, nestled in a patch of soft grass, a cluster of delicate blooms swayed gently in the breeze. The flowers’ pale blue petals had edges that glowed a faint silver, as though dusted with a pure magic. I crouched down, breathing in their sweet, floral scent, feeling a soothing calm settle over me.

“Etherose,” I murmured, tracing a finger along one of the petals.

Caelum studied the flowers with a focus I recognized now as his genuine curiosity. “Yes, the same as the ones I woke up to all those years ago,” he murmured. “But this type of flower can only grow well in grassy plains and meadows, not rocky terrain. Perhaps that’s why his findings were inconsistent. Why he had a hard time connecting every ley line.”

Plucking one free from its roots, he brought it up to his nose to smell. He shook his head, laughing after breathing it in.

“I think those fae were onto something, Eedy,” he said softly. “These flowers smell just like you.”

I offered a tight smile in reply, not wanting to think about the fae right now. Or how he knew my scent so well.

I closed my eyes, feeling a surge of energy vibrating beneath the surface. “Maybe I can try to channel it here. The magic feels different from other places. Closer.”

“Then go on,” he encouraged, stepping back with an expectant look.

Taking a steadying breath, I focused, calling the magic up from the ley line. It answered, rising to my palms just like lightning would and spiraling out of my hands in tendrils of glowing energy. I directed it upward, into the sky, where it exploded in a shimmering light. The air hummed with power as I did it again and again, throwing the magic across the clearing, illuminating the trees and making the flowers’ edges glow brighter.

I could feel it moving through me, fierce and unyielding, but I could only channel it. I couldn’t command it into something I wanted, like fire or water or healing elements. My excitement turned to frustration, my hands trembling as I struggled to shape it into something more .

Caelum stepped forward, his hand grasping my shoulder. “Eedy, it’s enough,” he said gently, his voice breaking through my focus. “We know they are here and that your father was right. You’ve proven him right .”

Breathless, I let the magic fade, my hands falling to my sides. I met his gaze, my frustration bubbling beneath the surface. “I thought proving him right would help us find a solution,” I admitted. “But now I only have more questions.”

He gave me a reassuring look. “Then we’ll answer them together. Come on. We’re not far now.”

We mounted Sorsha and began the final stretch of our journey to Naohm.

Home.

As we approached the outskirts of the village, a young boy passing by spotted us, his eyes widening as he recognized Caelum.

“Prince Caelum!” he exclaimed, his gaze darting curiously to me. “You’ve returned!”

Caelum gave him a quick nod. “Can you please run ahead and gather the council for an emergency meeting? We’ve brought important news from the fae realm.”