Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

T he coin weighed heavily on her the rest of the day. She tried both her wind and water magic to activate it—but was unable to provoke a response. She hoped again that Arie knew what he was doing when he asked her to study the coin before passing it to the Vesten Point.

Part of her doubted he did.

They made camp at the crossroads where she and Luc had stayed on their previous journey from Bury to Compass Lake. Staying on the western road would lead to Sandrin. Heading north would ultimately take them back to Bury. Rose checked her compass. They would be heading south for this journey. She set up her bedroll next to Luc’s as she tucked the compass beneath her tunic. Carter and Juliette spread out far away from each other as well as Rose and Luc.

“You didn’t come up with a response to the question you knew he was going to ask, huh?” Luc questioned as one side of his lip curled into a smile.

“I couldn’t lie to him,” Rose replied as she ran her fingers through her hair. “And like I said last night, is it really stealing if the Vesten god told me to take it?” Her tone was wry as she reminded him, “It’s his to begin with.”

Luc hmphed a laugh, but she could still see the worry lines marking his brow. The concern was evident in his quiet voice as he spread out a blanket. “You seem to be collecting godly artifacts. Do we know what this one does?”

“I was trying to figure that out on today’s ride, with no luck. I assume Carter knows, but I can’t exactly ask him.”

Luc nodded. “While you’re right, none could rightly contest you having Arctos’s artifact if he gave it to you. He’s not here right now. And I’m not sure how Carter will react when he finds out.”

“Noted. He said as much this afternoon, and he doesn’t even know I have it. He just knew I was on his property with Arie.”

“Which, I assume, he didn’t care for?” Luc asked, his voice low and teasing again, sending unexpected shivers up her spine. She wished they had more time to enjoy the newness of their relationship before heading off to save the continent.

“You assume correctly,” Rose replied, pausing their conversation as Juliette approached.

“You two seem cozy,” the Osten Point said, her gaze lingering on the proximity of their sleeping mats.

Rose fought the urge to roll her eyes. It wouldn’t help the situation. Instead, she kept her gaze locked on Juliette’s.

“We talked about this already. It’s a thing. Consider it none of your business.”

“While I’m not one to worry much about mixing of fae lines?—”

Rose cut her off. “Juliette!”

Juliette held up her hand in a gesture of surrender, as if she hadn’t just casually spoken about Rose and Luc procreating. “I find our predecessor’s concern on the matter repulsive. I’m saying I agree with you.”

“You’re also talking about my…relations.” Rose’s anger had her out of sorts, and she fumbled over her words.

Juliette laughed loudly. “You’re a Compass Point now. Who you share a bed”—her gaze slid to their mats—“or bedroll with is everyone’s business.”

“We’ve veered off topic,” Luc cut in.

Juliette sighed. “While I have little concern for the courtly legitimacy of any offspring you might have, I am well within my rights to worry about such an alliance between the Norden and Suden Points.”

“Ask your question,” Rose replied.

“Will the full power of the Suden Point come to the Norden’s aid when threatened?” Her gaze rested over Rose’s shoulder. “I can see by the flash of red in our dear Suden Point’s eyes that it will.”

She met Rose’s gaze again and continued. “Can we also assume that the mysterious dual magics of the Norden Point will defend the Suden?”

“We get it, Juliette. You don’t like that we’re united. How about we focus on all four Compass Points uniting instead of me and Luc against you and Carter.”

Juliette’s laugh echoed through the clearing. “I’ll let that pass since you’re quite new at this. You really should know better, though. You can’t expect us to forget five hundred years of court politics.” Her gaze lingered on Luc again, over Rose’s shoulder. The mistrust between the Osten and Suden was stronger than most.

“We are supposed to work together!” Rose was exasperated. She was too tired for the politics this conversation required. “That’s the whole point of our positions. Only through our combined power can we defeat a god. One or even two of us working together will not be enough to stop whatever Aterra is doing. It has to be all of us.”

Juliette assessed Rose evenly. “How do you propose we overcome broken trust and trespasses against our courts?”

That was oddly specific. Rose would need to look into the Compass Point history a little more closely. She couldn’t say she had learned of the machinations of the courts in great detail as a child. Regardless, who had wronged whom five hundred years ago wasn’t a top concern for her.

“We need to focus on the four of us—on the Compass Points as they stand now. Why don’t we start with you and me?” Rose challenged as she gestured to the open meadow behind them.

Juliette’s gaze was questioning.

“We need to find out how our magic will work together to stop Aterra. I, for one, don’t want our first test to be when we find him. I know it will take time to build enough trust for us all to wield our elements together, but you and I?” Rose gestured between them. “We both have wind—it should be easier.”

Arie may have wanted Rose to learn about Carter’s power, and she would, but learning about the Osten’s seemed just as important. Maybe even more so, given the element also ran through her veins.

She wouldn’t waste this opportunity with Juliette to learn. “You speak of alliances. You and I have the most aligned magic—ever—among the Compass Points. Why don’t we see if we can do something with it?”

Juliette’s eyes glittered at the challenge. “Let’s see what you’ve got,” she said as they moved toward the flat meadow behind them. “Show me your wind as we walk.”

This had been Rose’s idea—she couldn’t hesitate now. Reaching for her magic, Rose felt her water respond, rushing toward the surface. She sighed to herself as she tugged at her wind. It was what she would need for this challenge. With the gentle pull, wind burst forth, spiraling around her. The gust wrapped around her body. She smiled, still impressed that it came after so many years of dormancy. Rose flicked her wrist in a snapping motion, sending her power like a cracking whip towards Juliette. It enveloped her, sending her long black hair billowing in the sudden rush.

“Not too bad,” Juliette said, a smile forming on her lips. She pushed both hands outward from her hips, readying her own magic. The action seemed defensive in nature—a shield similar to the one Rose had made in her battle with Aterra. A blast of wind swept under her legs. Rose stumbled forward, unprepared for the attack, her arms barely flying out to catch her fall.

She twisted her neck to glare at Juliette from her push-up position.

“Not all wind requires grand hand gestures,” Juliette tutted as she looked at her fingernails. “You should have been ready for an attack.”

Rose scowled, shoving herself back up. “We’re not here to test my magic. We’re here to see if we can work together.” She traced Juliette’s magical scent as she spoke. Sage and citrus. Two smells that hadn’t been in the meadow moments ago.

“I think those two things are the same,” Juliette replied. She snapped her fingers, and another gust shot beneath Rose’s legs.

She was ready this time and jumped the blast, tracking it with her nose.

“You learn quickly. That’s good,” Juliette said as she readied for another attack. A cyclone came spinning across the distance between them. Its movement was jerky, but now that she knew what she was searching for, Rose could mark its progress.

“This isn’t helping,” Rose tried again. “You’re just testing your magic against mine.” She sighed, realizing what she needed to do. She would have to break this standoff. Instead of challenging the cyclone, Rose let herself be sucked into it. Relaxing into Juliette’s magic, she let it lift her feet from the ground. Luc groaned loudly from somewhere in the distance, probably at her recklessness. Her body spun in time with the circling wind. She caught a glimpse of Carter watching from somewhere over Luc’s shoulder, still keeping his distance from the activities.

The cyclone didn’t expel her—that was already good progress. Testing the flexibility of the wind tunneling around her, Rose shot her magic into the storm, matching the cadence of Juliette’s.

Their winds spun together, Rose lifting and falling within the storm as it moved. This. This was what she’d been looking for. She wasn’t sure how this would help to fight Aterra. She didn’t think they had found some weapon to use against him, but she had never used her wind with an Osten fae. She hadn’t known what it would feel like—and she loved it.

Juliette slowed her cyclone, setting Rose gently on the ground. “That was risky.”

“A lifetime’s worth of repressing my wind magic. I can’t believe I’ve never felt something like that before!” A smile lit up Rose’s face from ear to ear. She didn’t realize what she was saying until the words were out.

Juliette’s eyes widened briefly before she wiped the expression from her face—not fast enough for Rose to miss the change. Rose swallowed thickly. She didn’t want Juliette’s pity. “You may say you don’t care about mixing fae lines, but I assure you it’s not a common perspective,” Rose snapped. “My parents taught me to hide my Osten lineage from a young age. It was the only way they knew to protect me.”

“Your wind is very healthy despite your parents’ poor choices.”

Rose bristled. She wasn’t willing to hear a Compass Point speak ill of her dead parents. Her parents had loved and protected her the only way they knew how.

Juliette, seeming to realize Rose was about to explode, explained. “They did you a disservice. That’s all I mean. I can never know their experience or why they chose to teach you to hide your wind. I expect it was from a position of fear, as you say—from a desire to keep you safe. I’m only pointing out what you already know. Magic needs to be used to flourish.”

Juliette looked around the clearing. She stepped closer to Rose to make this part of the conversation more private. “If rumors are correct, you even suppressed your water magic. I knew it, at least, would still be strong, given your ability to claim the Norden Point seat. I suspect you’re also quite powerful with your wind.” Rose started to speak, but Juliette interrupted her. “Trust me, I can tell. With both of those powers raging through you, it was dangerous for you to bury them the way you did. No matter how one tries, that kind of power can’t be suppressed.”

Juliette’s glance moved to Luc with her last sentence. Rose wondered how well-known Luc’s ascension had been. Had the others known that a Suden child of so much power could not control it in the south?

“It will find a way to make itself known,” Juliette finished.

Rose stretched her neck to the side, trying to evaluate her reaction. Her body bristled again at the comment against her parents. At the same time, she understood what Juliette was trying to convey. Arie had said she inadvertently poured her wind into her weapons. Was that her power making itself known?

The Osten Point would have tested all manner of Osten fae, especially over her tenure in the position. She was complimenting Rose’s magic while criticizing her parents’ fear. Hadn’t Rose herself recently questioned why they let her live with such fear for so long? Hadn’t she also ultimately thought it the wrong call, considering the continent’s state and what she might do to help?

“I’ll thank you not to criticize my dead family when you compliment me.” Rose wasn’t ready to hear anything negative about her family from Juliette, but she wanted to take the peace she seemed to be offering over their shared Osten magic.

Juliette nodded. “Again?”

Rose gave Juliette a come-and-get-it gesture as the smell of sage and citrus rushed toward her.