“It never even occurred to me to have you reach inward to your ability,” he said. “It’s a fascinating concept. Have you tried doing anything else with it?”
I shook my head. “I haven’t really had the chance.”
“Some experimentation is definitely in order. You could try—” He broke off suddenly, peering at my face. “But not now,” he added in a stern voice. “You look exhausted. You’ve already done more than a full day’s work.”
“Thanks, Teacher,” I said with a grin.
“But seriously, Cadence, what you did was incredible.” His eyes turned warm and admiring. “A lot of the elements mages are flat on their beds after their efforts this morning. From what I’ve managed to gather from the histories, very few power mages could have handled so much power at once, even without it being tainted.”
I shrugged, uncomfortable. “I did what I had to do in the moment.”
He continued to eye me thoughtfully before shrugging. “Even as your teacher, I can’t argue with that.” He ran a hand through his hair. “And I don’t think I can really claim the title. It sounds like Dara taught you more in five minutes than I’ve managed to in months.”
“It’s not that bad,” I protested. “You taught me how to add power to other mages’ efforts, and that’s saved my life once already.”
“Fine, fine,” he said, laughing. “I will accept your kind words, if I must.”
I groaned and pushed him in the chest. “If that was just you fishing for compliments, I’ll…”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me in close against him, still chuckling. “You’ll what?”
“I…” My mind seized, no words forming as his proximity overwhelmed my senses. He smelled like green things and sunlight, warmth radiating from his chest.
“Well?” he asked, looking down into my eyes as his expression slowly turned more serious, a light leaping into his gaze.
I swallowed, trying not to stare at his lips. How would they feel pressed against mine?
I frantically dredged up all the reasons why it was a bad idea to let myself fall for Zeke—the charming almost-prince who alone knew just how valuable I could be to his people. But none of the reasons seemed to hold any weight in this moment, when the one person who had always seen me and always included me held me in his arms, a smile on his lips.
“I…” Still the words wouldn’t come.
He leaned toward me, his own eyes dropping to my lips. But a piercing call made him pull back with a growl.
“Zekiel!”
“Is that your mother?” I asked, almost leaping out of his arms.
He growled again. “Probably. Don’t go anywhere.” He stalked away, leaving me alone in the thin layer of trees.
What had I nearly done? I put a hand over my eyes. It didn’t matter that Zeke felt like a safe haven from the anxiety and responsibility that plagued me. I had to be stronger than that.
“Who are you?” a female voice asked, her tone antagonistic.
I opened my eyes as the two nomads who had been watching Gia and me earlier stepped between the trees.
“I’m Cadence,” I said haltingly.
“But who are you?” she repeated, and I realized it was my status she cared about, not my name.
“Are you an apprentice?” the boy asked. “You look about the right age.”
“Oh.” I tried to look unconcerned, but fresh worry made my hands damp. The last thing I needed was newcomers asking questions about my age. “No, I’m not officially an apprentice. I’m a dependent.”
“A dependent?” The girl relaxed slightly, as if relieved by my lowly status. She glanced at the young man beside her. “You do look seventeen, though. How old are you?”
“Seventeen,” I said reluctantly.
She assumed an expression of obviously false sympathy. “It must be hard living at the Guild when you don’t have a strong enough seed for anyone to be willing to activate you. But I’m sure you’ll find someone to do it eventually. There are plenty of useful roles beyond that of mage, you know.”
“Very true,” Zeke said coolly, stepping back between the trees.
The boy looked uncomfortable for a moment, as if caught out, but the girl squealed in delight, throwing her arms around Zeke’s neck.
“Zekiel! I haven’t had a proper chance to talk to you yet. I can’t believe it’s been two years!”
“Liara.” He detached himself from her embrace, nodding to the boy. “Jaylen.”
The nomad clapped him on the shoulder. “It’s good to see you again, Zeke.”
Although Zeke smiled at him, it didn’t reach his eyes, and he took several steps to stand at my side, clearly aligning himself with me. Liara’s eyes widened slightly.
“I see you’ve already met my friend, Cadence,” he said.
My heart swelled. I had been unmoved by Liara’s obvious attempts to remind me of my unimportance—these days I could only dream of being as insignificant as she thought me—but Zeke’s defense still touched me. Maybe because he had first treated me as a friend before I had any ability at all.
Liara smiled at us both, but her expression didn’t reach her eyes either. “We’re excited to meet all your new friends, Zeke. Especially Princess Morgiana and Prince Nikolas.”
“What a delightful coincidence.” Nikolas poked his head through the trees, his eyebrows rising as he took in the four of us arrayed across from each other, battle lines drawn. “Because here I am.”
“Your Highness!” Liara dropped into a curtsy with a giggle while Jaylen gave a shallow bow.
“Master Augusta sent me to see if your duties with the nomads were completed,” Nikolas said to Zeke. “But I can see it’s quite the opposite, and my own presence is also required.”
For the first time in the awkward interaction, I felt my cheeks flush. Did Nikolas guess that Zeke and I had been sequestered alone in the trees before Liara and Jaylen’s arrival?
If he did, he didn’t seem to see an issue with it. Offering an arm to Liara with a gallant bow, he smiled with surprising charm at Jaylen. I rarely had the chance to see this side of him, but I remembered how real the charm could feel when it was directed at you.
“You already know Zeke, and you don’t want to waste your time with Cadence,” he told them. “But I have some Tartorans who would be delighted to meet two of the delegation members. If you will?”
With a few adroit moves, he had both the nomads at his side and was leading them back among the tents. Before they moved completely out of sight, however, he cast a final smirk back in my direction.
“Sometimes I could punch him,” Zeke said through his teeth.
“I can’t imagine what you mean,” I said dryly.
When he remained tense, I put my hand on his arm. “Relax. This is Nikolas we’re talking about. I’m fairly sure that smirk at the end meant he thought he was rescuing us.”
Zeke’s muscles finally loosened, his usual smile returning. “Well, he’s right about that. But does that mean we owe him?”
I shuddered. “Please don’t suggest something like that to him. Who knows what he would want us to do?”