Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

E xhaustion settled over Rose as she slumped to the ground by the fire. It was good that her wind was getting to flex, but training with the Osten Point herself might be more than she bargained for. Her water magic rolled through her, like waves begging to crash on the shore. She’d need to let her water have a turn soon. Luc handed her a bowl of the meal he and Carter had prepared.

“So, are we any closer to being ready to confront Aterra?” Carter asked as he scooped a spoonful of stew into his mouth. He had disappeared for a little while as they practiced, going into the forest that abutted the mountains and returning with meat. No surprise that his animal was a hunter, but what kind of shifter was he? It was rude to ask, and he had—unsurprisingly—offered no information.

At least Juliette opened up about what Osten could generally do with their power. It wasn’t some big secret, Rose supposed, but it was new information to her.

“We have to start somewhere,” Rose echoed what she had told Juliette. “We have to be comfortable enough to use our magic around each other before we face Aterra. That’s what Juliette and I are doing.” She tensed, waiting for them to yell at her or tell her she wasn’t fit for her position because she hadn’t laid out an exact plan. Moments passed in silence as everyone continued eating. Rose sighed softly—sometimes, more than half the battle was in her own head.

“You said we go south tomorrow?” Juliette asked.

Rose couldn’t believe they would let such a big question go unanswered. What did it matter which direction they went in if they didn’t know what to do once they found their quarry? “Yes, south.” She couldn’t bring herself to voice the more significant concern. The others had said their magic would know what to do when it was needed. Arie agreed. If no one else was worried about it, she would just continue to familiarize herself with each of their powers the only way she knew how.

She swallowed thickly. Taking action was her preference. Even if they assumed their power would work in a given way when it faced Aterra, they needed to test what it was capable of before then. Her shoulders scrunched as she thought about how to approach what she wanted to do. She had to tread carefully. Juliette would be most willing to listen to her, given their work together today. Carter, certainly, still didn’t trust her.

“I was thinking,” she started. “Though my and Juliette’s magics began working together today, I don’t know how that will help us, given we’re the only ones with overlapping elements.”

“It was a happy thought, then,” said Juliette dryly.

She focused on the Osten Point. “I just thought…I should try to evaluate your power. To try to understand it outside of how it connects with my own.”

“You want to make me a weapon?” Juliette gave her a searching look.

Rose couldn’t quite decipher the emotions flitting across Juliette’s face. She saw caution, understandably, but there was something else she didn’t recognize. Rose tried to sound casual. “Yeah, I do.”

“Don’t you have to be at the source—at Compass Lake—to really understand? Especially for a Compass Point?”

“I think I can do it here since we share the element. I can use my wind magic as the source.”

Juliette seemed intent on objecting as she pointed out, “You don’t have a forge.”

Rose turned to Carter and Luc. “Could you two help with that?”

Luc nodded immediately, his gaze already searching the area for stones that would be the right size and shape.

“You would make the Osten Point a weapon?” Carter asked, suspicion marking his face as he searched hers.

“I would.”

“Why?”

“I think we need all the help we can get for what comes next. And I believe my weapons will help.” She tried and failed to make eye contact with the Vesten Point. “I also think understanding Juliette’s magic will help me learn how our powers might be able to work together.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I said before—working side by side for two of the same magic is fine, but it won’t help all four of us with different elements. I need to understand her magic enough that my water would know how to work with it, not just my wind.” Rose ran a hand through her hair. “The type of evaluation I do on a person’s magic when I make them a weapon should help me understand.”

Carter appraised Rose before speaking. He must have accepted her words, saying, “I’ll help with the forge.”

Luc found or shaped stones to the size Rose directed. Carter set a fire blazing in the designated space. Grabbing the steel from her saddle bags, her fingers brushed over the blade she started for Luc. The one she was unsure he would let her finish. They hadn’t had time to discuss what happened in the Suden workshop. The early days of her new relationship were being stolen. She and Luc should be locked in his room for days without end, having time for only each other. Not roaming the continent chasing after a rogue god. Sure, it was a petty and selfish thought, but that wouldn’t stop her from adding it to the list of things she held against Aterra.

Setting aside Luc’s blade, she pulled out the extra steel. Packing this had been its own decision—one solidified by her conversation with Arie before he left. This was what she could do to help them face Aterra.

From their practice today, Rose already had some idea of Juliette’s magic. Enough so that she already knew twin daggers would suit her. Just as the wind could blow from any direction, multiple blades could support a range of attacks. A satisfied smile crossed her face as she returned to the makeshift forge with the supplies.

“You just happened to bring everything you need with you?” Carter asked, his eyes widening at her preparedness.

“I told you. I knew we would need to make our powers work together. While I’m unsure how to do that, a better understanding of them seems like a reasonable place to start.” She pushed her luck as she continued. “The real question was whether you would let me make them.”

Juliette may be first, but Carter’s present fire fueling the forge had her magic twitching to examine it too. She’d made no progress in understanding the coin on their ride. It sat dormant. Her power drifted toward the Vesten magic, wisps stretching until they danced with the flame. The coin in her pocket flared as her magic met Carter’s. Heat connected the artifact and the blaze—would the coin come alive if she set it in the fire Carter created? And how did this connect to the shifter nature of the Vesten?

The Vesten Point’s gaze was appraising. Though a step above suspicion, he still seemed far from letting her make him a weapon. There was a reason she focused on Juliette first—their shared Osten line gave them common ground.

Proving her point, Juliette effectively cut off any follow-up questions from Carter when she asked, “What do you need me to do?”

“For now, just stand there.” Rose gestured to the space beside the forge. “Do something with your magic. It doesn’t have to be an impressive display, just something to ensure your power is present and engaged while I work.”

Juliette nodded as she set a tiny cyclone circling at her feet. The now familiar scent of Juliette’s magic filled Rose’s nostrils as she began her work. Juliette’s activity wasn’t as taxing as the one Luc had selected, but it wasn’t as passive as Aaron’s either. That fit with Rose’s understanding of Juliette’s magic.

Levels of power transcended the courts. A Compass Point of any court would have more power than an average wielder. Rose couldn’t help but use this as another point of comparison for Luc’s magic too. After their work together today, Rose could tell there was a clear difference between the strength of Juliette’s and Luc’s magics.

Was anyone on the continent his equal?

Luc’s surprise that Rose didn’t fear him in their original travels hit her with new meaning. It had to be lonely if everyone saw him as an uncontrollable threat.

Juliette’s magic demanded her attention. She shook her head free of thoughts of Luc’s power. When she finished his blade—and she would finish his blade—she’d figure it out then.

Rose worked steady strokes against the first of the two daggers. The Vesten fire was excessive, dramatically speeding up the process. She fell into a smooth rhythm as she shaped each of the blades. Swing after swing, her work could be considered repetitive, but she loved it. On the island, she worked in the forge daily. The last few weeks of travel were the longest she had experienced without forging since setting up her workshop at Lake of the Gods. Her fingers gripped the hammer tighter as she realized how much she’d missed this. Time passed, but she lost track as she relished her work. The flame before her was the only light left of the day when she wiped the sweat from her brow, exhaustion taking over again.

“I don’t think I can finish these tonight,” she said, setting the twin daggers aside to cool.

“No one expected you to,” Luc said, coming up behind her, his hand moving up and down her spine. “You did more than enough for today.”

Juliette was silent, observing Luc’s hands so casually on Rose, but nodded and let the cyclone slip away. “We don’t know how long this trip will be anyway, so we can continue tomorrow.”

“Sounds good,” Rose said. “Thanks, Carter,” she added as she turned to the Vesten Point. She had a fool’s hope that observing her work with Juliette would warm him to the idea of her making his weapon. His hesitation told her she had a lot more work to do on that front.

He nodded slowly, his gaze tracking her as they returned to the campsite.

Rose pulled the compass from beneath her tunic again. When she lost herself in her work like that, she thought of Mom and desperately wanted to touch the one thing she still had from her. The compass was warm from the forge, and the needle spun as she held it in her palm. Their path hadn’t changed. Tomorrow morning, they would continue south.

“We’ll ride early,” she said as Carter and Juliette went to their separate bed rolls. “If the compass keeps us directly south tomorrow, we will probably hit a village.” She couldn’t remember their names but knew a few villages were on the southern road.

Rose looked to Luc, as the other two gave no indication they’d heard what she said. He shifted uncomfortably.

“What—”

“You’ve made great progress,” Luc said before she could get her question out.

She reached her hand out to his now that they were alone, intertwining their fingers. “We don’t know how much time we have. We need to work together faster.” She turned to face him. He looked like he would speak, but she cut him off. “Will you let me finish your blade?”

“Rose, we just established that you’re exhausted, and your forge went to sleep.”

“So, you’re not saying no because you’re afraid your power will hurt me?” Rose was tired. Too tired to dance around her real question.

Luc wiped his hand down his brow. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried,” he replied, “but I also acknowledge this is bigger than my worries. I’ll do everything possible to ensure my power doesn’t hurt you. Arie seemed confident it won’t…” His words faded.

“Occasionally, he provides helpful information,” Rose teased. She ran her hands down Luc’s chest, soaking up the contact. How badly she wanted time alone with him. They’d found their relationship footing just as they were thrown into this mess, with the entire continent depending on their success.

Luc’s gaze lingered on her hands as they explored him. “Arie knew that you’d want to evaluate everyone’s magic, and that I’d be as much a holdout as the others, though, I’d like to point out, my reasons are clearly different.” He scrunched his brow as he attempted to justify them. “Either way.” He shook his head, his hands fitting over hers as they stopped moving. “I won’t hold you back. We will be a united front in your approach to learning about the Compass Points’ powers—about how our magic will work together.”

Rose didn’t wait for him to finish. She leaned forward eagerly, her lips brushing across his. “I know you wouldn’t,” she said as they parted. She moved to his cheek and neck as her lips brushed feather-light over every inch of his skin she could access.

His hand wrapped around her waist. “The others could be watching,” he murmured, but didn’t pull away.

Who was that warning for? He hadn’t cared what the others thought. Was he still doubting she wanted to be tied to him this way in their eyes?

“I’ve already told them where I stand,” Rose said. “And they’ve made up their minds about our…alliance, as Juliette called it.” She nipped at his lower lip.

Luc glanced over her shoulder, turning her body slightly as he walked her backward to their joined bedrolls. Rose’s tongue began to explore his mouth as his hands cupped her face, repositioning them to give her a better angle. They were all lips and teeth and unable to catch their breath as they savored the first real moments of peace together since Rose became the Norden Point. Luc’s magic surrounded them—its signature scent was becoming one of her favorites. Knowing she was safe in his magic, she sank into the kiss as they fell to the bedrolls. She didn’t think twice about their landing, knowing the tendrils of his power would sweep them softly to the ground.

Luc trailed kisses down her neck as they tumbled, his magic slowing their descent, and she enjoyed every extra moment. Reaching her fingers to run through his hair, she returned his mouth to hers. His hard length pressed against her belly as he landed on top of her. Her heartbeat raced, wanting nothing more than to wring all the pleasure from this moment that she could—for both of them.

A scream broke through her thoughts. Shifting Luc, she lurched up, scanning the area, listening again for the sound. His body went rigid, his magic sprawling, seeking out the danger.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, as if he couldn’t identify a problem.

“You didn’t hear that?” she whispered breathlessly, her gaze still searching the surroundings.

He looked genuinely confused. “Hear what?”

“I thought I heard—” Rose cut herself off and stood. Her gaze landed on another figure in the distance, facing the same direction from which she could have sworn she heard the scream. “Give me a second,” Rose said as she got up and jogged toward the figure: Juliette.

“Rose?” Juliette asked as she approached.

“Did you hear that scream?”

Juliette sucked in a breath. “I was afraid of this.”

“What’s going on? Does someone need our help?”

“It’s too late to help them. The mist has taken the village south of here.”

Her bewilderment must have been written in her features, as Juliette continued without Rose even attempting to put her questions into words.

“The wind carries secrets,” Juliette sighed. “It’s one of the little-known traits of the Osten’s power. The more you strengthen your wind magic, the more I think this gift will come to you. It can be useful, at times.” Juliette paused and looked south toward the village. “Other times, it delivers information with which you can do nothing.”

“We heard the village being attacked?” Rose asked.

“We heard the desperate cry of a few villagers. Secrets only dance on the wind when there is particular passion behind them.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Would you have left me alone until you understood? Or would you have barreled in the dark until you found the danger?”

Rose gave Juliette credit. She would not have stopped until she understood what she heard.

“I thought so.” Juliette twined her fingers together as if unsure what to do with them. “Your plan to learn about our powers is the best we have. The best method to prevent”—Juliette hesitated, gesturing around her—“something like this from happening again.”

“We could have saved them, like we did at Compass Lake.”

“We are nowhere near close enough. We’ll barely make the village by the end of the day tomorrow. Even riding on the wind as I now believe you did to save Compass Lake Village, you wouldn’t have made it. Someone was already screaming. The Nebulus, Zrak’s agents, had already attacked. It was too late.”

Their gazes locked. It had cost Juliette to say Zrak’s agents . Rose heard it in the weight of his name on her lips.