Page 45 of Winds of Darkness

Ashtine nodded, trying to decipher what she should do. She wanted to stay. There was a peace here that was evading her at home, but not if he wanted her to leave.

“You wish to be alone?” she finally asked.

“I simply do not wish for you to feel obligated to stay,” he answered, resting his forearms atop his bent knees.

She nodded again. “Are you opposed to me staying?”

He looked up at her, his brow pinched. “Of course not, your Highness.”

Another nod, but still she didn’t move to sit. Or leave for that matter.

“Do you wish to stay?” Briar asked after an extended stretch of awkward silence.

“I do.”

A soft smile appeared. “Then sit, Ashtine.”

“But if you wish for me to—”

“Do you always overthink?”

A frown pulled on her mouth. “I am well aware that others find me perplexing, Prince Drayce. I find social situations just as bewildering.”

“Is that what this is? A social situation?”

“I don’t know because—” Then she glimpsed the smile he was fighting. “You are teasing me,” she said in irritation.

“I would say you read social situations just fine, Ashtine,” he said with a small huff of laughter. Patting the space beside him, he added, “Please sit. It would be a pleasure to spend this time with you.”

Ashtine gave a sharp nod of her chin before she lowered down beside him, digging her toes deep into the sand.

“If you are allowing me the informality of addressing you by your given name, I am going to insist you do the same for me,” he said after several quiet moments.

“What?” Ashtine asked, confused as she watched him lift a hand and begin to toy with the surf as it rolled in. Tendrils of sea water threaded between his fingers, staying with him when the waves rolled back out.

“You called me Prince Drayce earlier. Briar will do.”

“Do others call you Briar?”

“My friends do.” He turned to look at her as the water spiraled into a mini-cyclone in his palm. “I also want you to know I do not find you perplexing in the slightest.”

“You are teasing me again,” she said, averting her eyes and dragging a finger through the sand.

“Not at all, Ashtine,” he replied. “I find you to be many things, but perplexing is not one of them.”

Lifting a hand, she let a small whirlwind of air twist in her palm, matching his water cyclone. “I do not know how to respond to that.”

“There is no need to respond to it,” he answered. “Do the winds bring new murmurings that have kept you from sleep?”

“No. Only more of the same,” she sighed.

“I can see how that would keep sleep at bay.”

“Ermir told me my mother wrestled with the winds as well, but he can offer no guidance as to how she managed them.”

“Have you found anything that quiets them?”

Ashtine lowered her whirlwind to the ground, letting grains of sand join the swirling air. “They are not as loud in the libraries, but I think that is because there are no windows or doors. It keeps them somewhat contained. Or perhaps I am simply reaching for some semblance of reprieve.”