Page 63 of Winds of Darkness

Ashtine had stopped listening though.

A prince hides in plain sight.

Beginnings and endings.

A world the gods forgot.

There must be balance.

A genesis brings death.

“Is there anything else I am needed for?” Ashtine asked suddenly, the winds so loud now she could scarcely hear herself speak.

“No,” Talwyn said slowly. “Will you come for dinner tomorrow evening?”

“Will I dine with you?” Ashtine asked.

Princes fall. Kings rise. The realms will divide.

“Why would I invite you to dinner with someone else?” Talwyn asked.

“That would indeed be odd. Dinner sounds lovely. Thank you.”

Then, before anyone else could speak, she was moving among the winds.

The rivers will run red.

The winds swirled around her.

Allies will stand on opposite sides.

They carried her where they willed.

Across the sea the cursed one rules.

She let them have her for so long, she lost track of time. Minutes became hours, and still she stayed among them because while the winds were her freedom, they were also her prison.

Across the stars, he waits for vengeance.

Ermir had spoken so much truth in that room, but one thing she was sure they were all wrong about was the winds speaking nonsense. Their chattering may be nonsense in this moment, but a decade from now, would they say the same? Or were warnings for another world carried to her across the voids and stars between the realms? Either way, she did not believe them to be nonsense. The winds were rarely wrong.

It wasn’t until she glimpsed dark skin and pale blonde hair sitting on a shore that she realized how late it was. She’d been wandering among the winds for hours if it was nearly dawn, but she didn’t step from them now. It was for the best. The winds wouldn’tlet her linger. They would pull her somewhere else soon enough, so for the briefest of moments she let herself remember what it had been like.

His lips on hers.

How he’d tasted of the sea and sun.

How he’d been demanding yet soft with how he spoke to her, touched her, when everyone else in her life was careful and wary.

How she’d wanted more. So much more.

How she had sent her magic to him, hoping he’d lose as much control as she was.

She’d been with males before. Not many due to her obvious peculiarities, and they were never more than physical needs being met or curiosity being satisfied. But this had been different, and she was unsure how to feel about any of it.

But she knew she could not meet him tonight like he’d requested.

She knew it broke laws of old.