Chapter 25

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

L uc ran into Rose and Carter as they were leaving the workshop.

“Thanks for letting us use the space,” Carter said, his ax still proudly resting on his shoulder.

“Glad you put it to good use,” Luc replied. Turning to Rose, he asked, “Do you have time before we meet the others?”

“We’ll catch up with you later, Carter.” Rose waved.

“Actually, wait,” Luc said. “If we’re going to test our magic, shouldn’t we do it in a less confined space?” He looked between Carter and Rose. “I know Rose wouldn’t want to damage any of those pretty books in the library.”

Rose smirked at him and then looked thoughtful. “What do you suggest?”

He gestured behind him. “We can use the training grounds here.”

Carter was contemplative. “Sure, I’ll let Juliette know, and we’ll meet you back here in a few hours?” Luc nodded, and Carter left.

“Round two already?” Rose’s smile was a challenge and a request.

Luc’s magic flared at her suggestion. He didn’t even mind his power slip—he agreed with it—but a corner of his mind still thought about his magic’s response to Rose. It was said that other relationships paled in comparison to the demands of bound fae. If that was true, he wondered how those bound got anything done. He spent so much time keeping his magic in check when around Rose. Being bound was an impossibility, given their court affiliations—but he wasn’t sure there could exist another level of wanting her. This wanting —he couldn’t explain it. Surely, it would be the death of him. At least he would die happy—or exist happily, as Carter would insist if his spirit went beyond the veil. Still, he couldn’t stop the sinful smile from crossing his face as he replied, “I’m going to need you to hold that thought.”

The heat in Rose’s eyes had him rethinking the necessity of his request. He shook his head. He wanted to show her this before the others arrived. “I want you to see something.” Rose let him lead her down the hall and into the training grounds. “This won’t be as exciting as the breaking and entering trip you took us on last time we were in Sandrin. And we already know there is no prize to be found…but I want to show you anyway.”

The wide-open space seemed to captivate her. It was a unique setup in the southernmost part of the city. He could fit the entire military in this one space when needed. It was a large, rectangular area with little to recommend it. A low stone wall surrounding the training grounds held a fighting ring and a host of more familiar practice equipment. His military held regular sparring and practice sessions here. While Rose and Carter had worked, Luc had talked to his generals to see if they could clear the grounds for the day.

“What Suden secrets are we learning today?”

Luc laughed. She was closer to the mark than she realized. “Any you want, Rose. You need only ask.” He took her hand. “But the journal entries made me think of this.”

Rose’s answering smile was brief and authentic—one that he would do anything to see more often. He turned around to face her and, leaning in, gave her an all-too-quick kiss. Her tongue teased the seam of his lips as he stepped back and reminded himself they had work to do.

As they walked across the field, he started a slightly different conversation. “I know you’ll want the Compass Points to practice merging their magic today. Assuming the key we’ve been missing is all our elements being used together.” She’d already confirmed as much by letting him change the location of the meeting to give them more space.

Rose’s gaze searched his face questioningly. “Is that a problem?” she asked.

“No, of course not. It’s the right next step.” He ran a hand down his face. “I just know I should be the one who volunteers to try with you.”

Rose’s head tilted to the side, but they kept walking.

“We already know you and Juliette can merge your powers when needed. It might be interesting to test if you could merge your water with her wind when you pull it, but it’s more important to prove that two elements with no connection can meet and intertwine. That takes trust. We haven’t discussed the details of your experiment with Juliette, but someone must be in control when magics connect that way. Someone must be directing the joined power.”

He saw recognition flash in Rose’s eyes as she nodded. “You don’t think any other pair of Compass Points will have the trust required to cede control,” she stated as a fact, not a question.

Nodding, he continued. “Carter and Juliette, no way, Carter and you…” He tilted his head from side to side. “Maybe.”

“What about you and Carter?” she asked.

“If it’s me and anyone, Rose, it will be me and you. There is no one I trust more, and as much as you want to put the politics of the Compass Points behind us, we shouldn’t discount what a display like this says.”

Sometimes, Luc wished he weren’t so aware of the perceptions of others. He wished he wasn’t always calculating what a display would mean or what others would read into a specific action. His brain couldn’t ignore the statement the first cross-element merger would make.

She stopped walking and turned to him. “I’m confused,” she said. “Of course I’d pick you—but why do you look like you’d rather not do this?”

“My power is…”

“Vast?” Rose offered.

“Dangerous,” he said.

“Luc.” She took his hands and stepped into his space. Her hands moved quickly from his, up his arms and wrapping around his neck. She didn’t press her body against his, but it was a near thing. He could feel the inches between them—wanting to close the small gap she left there with every part of him.

“Your power won’t hurt me. It’s not dangerous. It’s you. I don’t think it wise to continue to think of it as an entity apart.”

“What if I don’t want it as a part of me?” Luc whispered.

Rose’s smile was gentle as if she suspected that was the case, but maybe she hadn’t expected him to admit it so freely. He wouldn’t have—to anyone else.

“I don’t think that’s a choice we get to make. Just like we don’t get to choose who brings us into this world. But once we’re here, we can make the time and the gifts our own.”

Her words were so damn calming. When did she obtain this new power over him? One that had nothing to do with magic? He knew it was somewhere between putting him flat on his back with a shoulder roll and saving him from doing something idiotic with the archer who’d attacked them on their journey from Lake of the Gods.

He leaned his forehead against hers, so they shared breaths. “I want to believe that. All that you said. I also want to be prepared for…” He lifted his head back, shaking it. “Worse outcomes.”

She shook her head. He saw the moment she decided not to fight him on it. She must have known she couldn’t convince him to change his mind.

“How do we prepare for those?”

“I’m so glad that you asked.” He offered her his arm, and she hooked hers through it as they walked to the southern part of the wall around the training ground. “I thought we could let my magic out a little before the others got here. I can try to tire it out a bit.”

Rose nodded. “I’m more than happy to watch.” She hopped up on the wall to sit as he rolled up his sleeves. He couldn’t help the self-satisfied grunt as her eyes raked over each new piece of exposed skin on his arm. He was back at her side in a second, his lips crashing into hers.

She laughed as she kissed him back. “To my knowledge, this doesn’t use your element.”

His lip curled into what he believed to be her favorite smirk as he straightened. “We should test that.”

Her eyes lit with interest.

“Actually, before I get too distracted, I did say I wanted to show you something.” He took her hand and tugged her as she jumped off the wall to meet him. They walked together to its outside perimeter. “We already know the ring is not here, but there is a hiding place on these grounds for the Suden artifact.”

Rose stopped walking, her motion pulling Luc to a halt since their hands were linked. “You’ve known where it was for eight years? Why have you never tried to collect it?”

“Other than the fact that we know it’s not there?” he replied as her face scrunched in thought.

“You didn’t know it was missing before, did you?” She was curious. He could hear it in her words. He liked that. He wanted to read every one of her tells. Her curiosity was warranted. She’d chased down the item that showed her claim to the Norden seat. Why would he leave something like that to the chance someone else could find it?

“It’s not something I needed.” He shrugged. “My claim was not only uncontested but some would say thrust upon me before my time, due to the sheer force of my magic’s presence on the continent.”

“Well, when you put it that way…” Rose’s lip curved into a smirk of her own. Her smile faltered as she continued, “The Suden Point just tells their successor where the ring is? You don’t try to collect it together? Or better yet, why didn’t Michael have it?”

They bent down at a specific section of the brick wall. “The ring amplifies all Suden power—not just the element. As we heard from Samuel, it’s best amplification is for mind shadow. Michael had strong feelings about that ability. He didn’t want it. Wearing the ring grants it, regardless of whether it’s an ability the Suden Point already possesses.” Luc shrugged. “We didn’t go check it together. He simply told me where it was, and I was happy to assume it was still there—as did he. In my defense, I can’t say I anticipated Aterra being on the continent and coming to claim it himself.” His earth magic shook a brick free of its place, falling to the ground. Luc reached into the vacated hole, his hand returning empty.

“No surprise there,” Rose said.

“I’m a little surprised by how well Aiden can wield it,” Luc said, thinking back to their encounter with it at the Solstice Ball and Samuel’s claims about Aiden’s test.

“I assumed he could only use it when Aterra was inhabiting him.” Rose shrugged. “His eyes were definitely gray when he stabbed you at the ball.”

“Do you ever think about what memories he was trying to take from you?” Luc asked quietly.

“I did when Samuel first mentioned what happened to him, but I haven’t given it a lot of thought. Honestly, I’ve not given Aiden a lot of thought in this whole mess. I’m not exactly sure what I’ll see if I examine it too closely.”

“You don’t want him to be responsible.” It was a statement, not a question. Luc knew that Rose wanted some semblance of her childhood friendship to have been real. “At least by the ball, he’d given up on trying to kill you,” Luc said, trying to lighten her mood. He knew she would have to come to this conclusion on her own—likely whenever they found Aiden again.

Rose opened and closed her mouth. She finally settled on replying with, “You say that like taking my memories is better?”

“Of course not. I’ll end him for considering either.” Luc’s tone was calm, but he meant every word.

He and Rose didn’t talk much about what they would do to Aiden when they stopped Aterra. He wanted Rose to have time and space to decide what to do about him. No one could say for sure how much of what Aiden did was his choice and how much was Aterra controlling him. Ultimately, he made a wrong decision to align with the god, but if Rose was correct, he had done that when he was little more than a child. Luc wouldn’t blame Aiden for the unthinkable scope of one poor decision, but he would undoubtedly condemn Aterra.

Rose’s hand wrapped around his and squeezed. “Thanks for showing me this.”

“Anytime.” He stood from the crouched position by the wall. “Ready to watch me let off a little steam before the others arrive?” He took her hand as they went back to the inside of the low stone wall, wanting her calming presence.

“I have one more question,” she said.

“Ask it.”

“Are you ready to let me evaluate your power again? I need to finish your sword.”

Luc ran his hand down his face. To be fair, he’d known this was coming. She was out of other Compass Points to make weapons for. “Rose…”

“I’ve figured out how to work with larger powers. I was tired working on Juliette and Carter’s weapons, but I finished them. I think I’m ready for yours.”

“I’m just scared my magic will hurt you again. Let me think about it—it’s not like you’ll be able to start it today while we’re practicing with the others.”

She nodded. As he turned to head to the field, she tugged him to her. “You’re going to try to merge magic with me today? No matter how much power you think you let off?”

He wouldn’t let the opportunity to show such a solid united front pass them by. It would also be a good test for his magic. “I will.” His magic sagged in relief at his words. Hopefully, that meant it wanted to work with Rose, that it would behave and not overwhelm her again.

His power sprawled across the field in dense tendrils as it lifted everything it touched off the earth. His power was still a bit of a mystery. They’d barely found tidbits of information in the Vesten journals about a connection between the fae leaders and their patrons. What had Zrak said? The gods would know if their power weakened—if they spent too much time away from the lake. He suspected the other gods might not have known the extent to which that balance of power could be manipulated.

Aterra must have figured it out—given how he threatened Juliette and the Osten fae. Her ritual proved a fae court leader could share their power with their god. Of course, she did it with the goal of her god returning that power to the Osten court, but surely that wasn’t a requirement. As Juliette had said, with power, someone was always willing to abuse it to take more. Aterra had already proven he didn’t care about the balance on the continent. Luc would bet anything he was more than happy to also abuse the balance of power between a Compass Point and their patron.

The Suden god’s plan was clear, at least to Luc. Kenna said Aterra walked the continent more than most. He was closer to the Suden than seemed appropriate. Luc didn’t have to think too hard about what that meant.

Aterra sought to create his own Suden Point. A Suden sired by the god would have power significant enough to strengthen his own. Luc’s power flared around the training grounds. He looked down at his hands—hands that wielded a strength of earth magic that terrified many. There was no question in his mind whether Aterra had been successful.

He just wondered what he was willing to do about it.