“Very good, Ilara.” A grin split his features. “Are you certain you haven’t had a warrior affinity manifest?”
I laughed, then sobered when I realized his question wasn’t a cheeky one. “Are you serious?”
“I am actually. I’ve never seen a fairy move as you just did with such little training. Only warriors move like that or fae who’ve spent full seasons honing their bodies.”
My heart beat harder when I remembered what Matron Olsander had said yesterday, about sensing something still inside me that had not yet awoken. Something that was still slumbering. And while I’d never been a fighter, there was something about what Sandus had just taught me that spoke to me. As though a connection had just been forged inside me that had always been there but had only needed a guiding hand to make the path.
“I don’t know,” I finally said. “How would I—”
A sneeze cut me off, and I twirled toward the courtyard’s doors. My jaw dropped when I beheld Daiseeum, the crown prince, Cailis, and Nuwin.
From the looks of it, they’d all been standing there for a while.
Daiseeum sneezed again, then dabbed at her nose with her handkerchief. “Excuse me, Ilara. The marigold blossoms always get to me, but I just couldn’t look away. What you were just doing . . . It was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I had no idea you were capable of such . . .” Her voice trailed off, as if she were at a loss for words.
“Art?” the crown prince supplied.
“I was going to say exotic dance,” Nuwin replied, which got a glare from his brother.
I cocked my head at them, and the crown prince’s sapphire gaze bore into mine. His expression was blank, yet his eyes burned with fire.
“’Tis how you appeared,” Prince Norivun added. “Like a beautiful piece of artwork come to life, not like a sultry dancer as my brother so eloquently implied.”
“Well, her breasts were straining quite regularly against her—”
“Enough, Nuwin,” the prince growled.
Nuwin just grinned and gave me a cheeky wink. I knew he meant nothing disrespectful by his comments, but a blush still tinged my cheeks.
Clearing her throat, Cailis glared at Nuwin too before adding, “What the crown prince was saying is true, Lara. I’ve never seen you move like that either, even when we danced or pretended to battle as children. You were truly—”
“Magnificent,” Prince Norivun finished for her.
Cailis gave him a begrudging nod. “What he said.”
“Oh, all right.” Nuwin sighed. “It truly did look more like art than an exotic dance.”
Wiping the sweat from my brow, I gave an embarrassed smile. “Well, thanks.” Turning to Sandus, I said, “Tomorrow then, we’ll do this again?”
“You can count on it, love.”
I eyed the crown prince, knowing that if he was here, it was only for one reason. “Are we going to another field this morning?”
He dipped his head. He hadn’t stopped watching me, not once, since I’d realized he was there, and the urge to pick at my fingernails grew. “We are. As soon as you’re ready, we’re going to Isalee Territory before your training with Matron Olsander. There’s a new field I need you to revive—the very first field that died on our continent.”
CHAPTER 6
After Daiseeum cleansed me with her magic and I consumed a quick breakfast, I was ready to depart with the crown prince.
But before I could join him in the main room of the Exorbiant Chamber, Daiseeum called, “Ilara, one more thing. Sir Featherton stopped by while you were training with Sandus. He plans to pop in again tonight after your training with Matron Olsander, to explain the rest of the Trial. Since your first date is in three nights’ time, he would like you prepared.”
My jaw dropped. “The courtship dates start that soon?”
“Indeed. Did you not know?”
All I managed was a shake of my head.
How are so many things that are completely out of my control happening so quickly?
The prince mistphased us to a field on our continent’s northernmost territory. Cold, icy wind bit into my cheeks the second the realm reappeared around us. Snow blew across a field in a raging whiteout.
The prince wore thick leggings today, which hugged his strong quadriceps. A long cloak hung around his shoulders, but the hood was down. Snow flew around his hair, which hung loose in silver waves. His dazzling blue eyes cut through the whiteout, as alluring as sapphire gems.
Like yesterday, I put distance between us immediately, not liking how his hands lingered on my hips or how a soft growl of discontent worked up his throat when I pulled away, but I didn’t move far. In this blinding snow, I would likely become lost.
“Really?” I asked, peering up at him. “You had to bring me here today? Couldn’t you at least have checked the weather first?”
I was practically yelling at him since the wind was so fierce.
He stepped closer, then leaned down until his lips brushed my ear. “It’s always like this at this time of the season. The laborers here are used to it. They commonly tie themselves together while working so no one becomes lost.”
“They work in this?” I yelled, refusing to speak into his ear as he’d done to me.
“Withstanding the fiercest weather on our continent is a source of pride for the Isalee Territory’s fae. It’s only going to get worse as winter sets in. I figured it was better to tackle this area now versus waiting until it sits under ten feet of snow. Unless you disagree?” He straightened and quirked a silver eyebrow.
Since my feet were already pushing through two feet of snow, I glared at him but surmised that he was right. If I needed to touch the soil and try once again to replenish life in this field, it was probably best to do it when I didn’t need a shovel.
I yanked a lock of hair from my face that the wind whipped into my line of sight. “Fine, although I’m likely to freeze to death first.”
“Allow me to assist.” A wash of the prince’s magic hummed along my skin.
The wind stopped.
My eyes rounded at the bubble of protective air suddenly surrounding us. Not one snowflake or breeze penetrated it. It was as though we’d become encased within a glass dome. “Why didn’t you do that sooner?”
“Maybe I like whispering in your ear.”
My stomach flipped as a memory his erection pressed against my most intimate area surfaced. I cleared my throat and hastily took another step away. “Do you think I could do that with my air element?”
He inhaled, and his lips curved before he said, “I don’t see why not.”
“How’d you do it?” I snapped, because dammit, he’d scented my arousal again.
“I called upon my air affinity and wished for an encapsulated area around us. My magic did the rest.”
I nibbled on my lip. “Is it like what Matron Olsander was telling me? How if I visualize it, my magic should follow suit?”