Chapter 31

The air is divine. Crisp, and green somehow, like the trees are breathing life into the world around it. Each step I take is cushioned by the moss-covered ground. Bending down, I run my fingers over the soft surface.

"You can pet the lawn another time," Acker says, strapping a knapsack to the horse in front of him. He manages a smile, but there's an urgency in his body I don't think I've witnessed before.

Jorgen and Sven emerge with Fia on their heels. Acker motions for me to come closer, but I eye the horse. It's ginormous, bigger than the cattle we had in the paddocks in Alaha and stacked with muscle.

"Jovie," Acker says, impatient, hand outstretched as an offering to help me onto the creature's back.

Its dark eyes watch as I approach, as if the animal knows I'm intimidated by his imposing size. He knows I'm afraid, and he likes it.

Fia's inhalation of breath comes from behind me, but I'm too nervous to turn my back to the horse. Acker's brows furrow in the middle as he maintains his gaze on me. He says my name again, this time in warning. I still can't tear my gaze from the horse, its nostrils flaring, muscles twitching.

Acker yells. "Jo!"

I meet his gaze, confused. He's looking at me as if he doesn't know what to do with me .

"You're glowing," he says, answering my unspoken question.

Lifting an arm, I suck in a breath at the light emanating from my skin like a lantern without a flame, glowing without any fire. "What in the… Is this part of the awakening?"

"It's your gift," Fia says, coming from behind. "You're a light wielder."

There's a reverence to her words, but I don't dare pull my gaze from Acker. "What does that mean?"

"I think your gifts are reacting to your fear," he says. "You need to control it."

"I…I don't know how." And, as if my magic senses my panic, the light surrounding me grows brighter.

"Careful," Acker says, outstretched hand turning upright as he steps closer to me. "You don't want to burn through your clothes again."

"Or us," Sven says, a hint of fear in his voice.

I say Acker's name, a plea.

"It's okay," he says, hand hovering over my shoulder, eyes holding mine. "Close your eyes."

I don't want to close my eyes. I shake my head in protest, but all he does is nod back, slowly and deliberately, until I do. His hand makes contact with the dip of my shoulder, and I relish the comfort of his touch, the very sensation I've craved since I awoke this morning. I anchor myself to the feel of Acker's palm as it slides to the base of my neck, to the place where my collar meets my throat.

His thumb sweeps over the tender skin. "Your magic exists inside of you. Find it. Tell it you're not in any danger and to stand down."

I shake my head, not understanding .

"Mine is here," he says. Reaching for my hand, he places it on something rigid. His chest, as I realize by the rise and fall of his breaths and the warmth and tick of his heart. "Find yours."

But it's everywhere. From the shuffling of my thoughts to the tips of my toes, every piece of me feels electric. I speak to it from my mind anyway, telling it to obey like Acker instructed me to.

I'm not in any danger. I'm not in any danger. Everything is fine.

The flow of energy is hesitant, but it furls itself bit by bit, like the way a hermit crab sinks back into its shell.

"There you go," Acker says, voice low and soothing.

I open my eyes and am met with the full force of Acker's beauty. I'm so stunned my breath fails me, and I have to make a conscious decision to suck in a lungful of air. It seems to snap Acker out of his own stupor, and he takes a step back. I immediately miss the solace of his touch.

The sound of movement pulls my gaze behind me, and I lose my breath for a whole new reason as I find Fia and Jorgen on one knee, heads bowed. Jorgen's hat is in a fist to his chest. Then there's Sven, hard gaze holding mine until his knee hits the grass, losing the connection when his chin meets his chest.

My eyes flicker to Acker in an attempt to gauge the situation, but his face is set in stone, not a hint of emotion in his steely gaze. I lift my brows at him, begging him to do something, say something. I don't know the social etiquette here.

He breathes out through his nostrils and does a quick roll of his eyes. "Get up," he orders them. "You're making her uncomfortable. "

The next thing I know, Acker's hands bracket my waist as he hefts me onto the blanketed back of the horse. I'm not scared of heights by any means, but the distance to the ground is daunting. The top of Acker's head is level with my thighs when he looks up at me. The horse shifts his feet, and I cling to the hair of its mane, throwing my leg over the side so I don't fall off.

"You're fine," Acker says, stroking the horse's neck but speaking to me. "He can sense your fear. Relax."

Fia hands Acker a knapsack and a roll of what looks to be bedding, and he shoulders it. I look to the family preparing for our departure. They respected my decision to trust Acker's opinion on traveling to Kenta alone, but their worry is evident on their faces.

I clear my throat so my voice doesn't break when I speak. "Thank you for saving my life."

Fia steps forward, a sheen of moisture puddled in her eyes. "You're going to change everything, girl."

I pause, unsettled by the warning underlining her words. It sounds more like a threat than a promise.

Acker grabs a handful of the horse's mane and uses it to leverage himself onto the horse's back. "If I'm able, I'll send payment," he tells her.

"You'd only be risking whoever you sent. Spare them."

He dips his head in acquiescence, and she pats my knee once in farewell. Jorgen steps forward next and bids his goodbye as well. Fia has instructed him to remove the other horse from the vicinity before the search party finds it at their door. They embrace. Jorgen says something softly to her, and she cups his face in her hands, kissing him.

Sven doesn't bother with goodbyes or pleasantries before going inside .

What I wasn't prepared for is how closely we're seated together. Acker's legs bracket mine, the inside of his thighs hugging my rear and outer legs, arms brushing my ribcage on each side as he situates the reins over my lap.

"We're directly west of the Dark Forest," Jorgen says. "I'd stick as close as you can to it. There are fewer sentries patrolling the area."

"Should we go north or south once we hit the tree line?" Acker says.

"South. Fewer trolls."

Excuse me? " Trolls? "

Acker smiles at my reaction. "They typically keep to themselves, but people avoid them."

Jorgen gives me a look. "The smell will never leave you."

Okay, yeah. South it is.

Acker clicks his tongue, and the horse begins to walk forward. I can feel the muscles of the animal stretch and contract, creating a deep sway back and forth with each step. I look back to wave goodbye, but the cottage is gone, like it faded into the ether, Fia and Jorgen along with it.

"It's magicked," Acker tells me. "Jorgen is an illusionist. He can make the eye play tricks on itself. He does good work. Nearly missed it yesterday."

Interesting.

I can't will my body to relax when Acker's front is in complete contact with my back. Every step the horse takes creates a soft glide of his body against mine. This is a special kind of torture. I can feel the heat of my neck and cheeks turning pink, but if Acker sees it, he doesn't acknowledge it, or the stiffness in my posture .

A soft flap of wings sounds before Blue lands on the horse's neck. The horse's ears flick back, but he doesn't slow or show any signs of agitation.

"Hi." I reach out to scratch behind his neck. Jorgen's description of mutilated bodies comes to the forefront of my mind. "Good job," I tell him. "And thank you."

Acker snorts, but even he reaches over to tickle the feathers askew on Blue's head.

We move like this for hours. Blue circling overhead, Acker and I remaining quiet. It's not until the sun is low in the sky and we're deep within the forest that I begin to lose the fight to keep distance between us. The surge of energy from the awakening has slackened over the day, and the ache to use Acker as support finally wins over my stubbornness.

He doesn't react when I finally allow my body to sink into the opening of his, keeping his gaze ahead.

"Has your stance on whether you live or die changed since you cheated death?"

Oh. He means what Vad divulged about me.

"I'm grateful to be alive," I say, settling back against him once again.

I feel the deep breath Acker takes against my back. "Good."

There's a flicker of a moment where I can see from his point of view, a flash of looking over my shoulder, at the reins he has draped over my thigh. But as quick as it comes, it's gone.

"Thank you," I tell him. "Not just for saving my life, but for…taking care of me."

His voice comes out gruffer than I expect it to. "Of course."

"But, also, fuck you for not telling me I was actively dying. You could have divulged that tidbit of information to me."

"To serve what purpose?"

"I deserved to know."

There's a period of silence as I seethe to myself before he says, "I was afraid. I felt like if I said it out loud, it would make it real." He runs his thumb over my forearm. "I'm sorry. I should have told you."

His honesty douses any remaining anger I have at him. "Promise me you won't withhold information from me again. Not if it pertains to me," I clarify.

"I promise," he says, resolute.

"Good. Now tell me why in the world Fia and her family felt the need to bow to me."

He stutters out a laugh. "I think this is considered entrapment."

"You literally just promised."

"Healers are known to be zealots. They view someone who possesses one of the four main elements to be ordained by Mother Nature herself. The world was perfect by her design, a gift to her four children: air, water, fire, and earth. But legend says they constantly fought for dominance, and it created a world of chaos, not the stability Mother Nature intended. To protect the earth from total decimation, Mother slipped her own creations into the world—humans with gifts fit to control the elements."

A memory from when we were back in Alaha resurfaces. "An Heir."

"Yes." Acker pulls the reins to slow our horse into a walk when he sees the trickle of a stream cutting through the woods. He dismounts first and turns to help me down. "And the last time a light wielder walked the earth, she ruled the earth and the four elements within it."

I look up at him, aware of the fact that he hasn't removed his hands from my waist yet. "What was she like?"

He doesn't need to answer. I can see it in his eyes. Whoever the light wielder was, she was not kind. He tightens his hold on me before releasing me altogether.

Tiny fish zoom away when I kneel next to the spring. A long-necked bird takes careful steps further down the stream as the horse slurps from the spring with floppy lips. I cup the cool water in my hands to drink, and it's the purest water I've ever tasted. Pulling the hair over my shoulder, I dribble what I can from my palm to my overheated neck.

Then I see myself from behind—through Acker's eyes. I can taste the water he's swallowing from the waterskin as his eyes linger on the curve of my neck. I still have awareness of myself, like I'm in two places at once. I dip my hand in the water and pour it over my neck again, watching as the droplets of water trail down my neck, disappearing under my blouse.

I dare a look over my shoulder, cutting the connection as I meet his gaze. But his face reveals nothing as he strides toward me. Crouching down, he refills the now empty waterskin, eyes no longer on me but on the task in front of him.

I realize I prefer it when his attention is on me. "Is that why you didn't kneel?"

A smile grows on his lips before he caps the waterskin and looks at me. "Did you want me to kneel?"

My own smile threatens to reveal itself. "Not if you think I'm the incarnation of an evil ruler. "

His smile deepens before disappearing altogether, face turning serious. "You're not the incarnation of anything, and you're not evil."

"How do you know?"

"Because I do."

We're less than a foot apart, and I realize a moment too late that I'm staring at his mouth. Color stings my cheeks when I meet his eyes again, only to find he's doing the same. His eyes flit back and forth, from my mouth to my eyes and back again.

He shakes the excess water from his fingertips then moves the stray hairs out of my face. "I believe you're going to bring a world of peace to Kenta."