Page 7 of Kissed By the Sun

Different plants hung from the ceiling, though I had no idea how they survived. Some of them had small delicate white and pale purple flowers that scented the air, making the room always smell fresh, while others were just vines and greenery.

The four of us scattered around the room like ashes in the wind. Thorn went over and claimed the bed, as though he wasstaking his claim even now, though he had to realize that the mage wasn’t interested in me at all, at least not judging from the way he watched Wyn, who was awkwardly standing in the middle of the room, staring up at the flowers that hung from the ceiling.

“Magic sustains them,” Volker said quietly into her ear as he passed by, moving to the window at the back as though he wanted to inspect the view. He placed his hands behind his back, his long, flowing sleeves hiding them for the most part. For a brief moment, he reminded me of an old commander I had, one who hated facing the soldiers and would pace back and forth when he spoke, with his hands always behind his back.

I closed the door behind them and went to stand with Wyn. Her red hair gleamed in the candlelight and I wanted to reach out and touch it, petting it the way I used to when we were kids, but I restrained myself. She wouldn’t appreciate a gesture like that in front of others; we’d had a discussion about it before and I knew she worried that it made her look weak or childish.

“What do you need from me?” I asked, offering her a hopeful smile.

“Nothing much, just stand there.”

I waited, knowing she probably wasn’t done.

She took a breath and added, “Maybe put on some clothes that won’t get shredded if you grow a couple of inches?”

I nodded and went to the set of drawers that were built into the wall of the room, withdrawing what was essentially an oversized tunic. It was just a shapeless rectangle if we were being honest, but it didn’t have sleeves or anything that would restrict my arms so I figured it would work for this purpose. The fact that it was much too big for me didn’t hurt either.

“Uh, can you all turn around for a moment?” I asked. I could change without them seeing anything if I had to, being in themilitary had taught me that much, but if I didn’t need to, then why force it.

Wyn and Volker politely averted their gazes, whereas Thorn just stared at me.

I raised an eyebrow at him and he just crossed his arms over his chest, making him look even more imposing.

Fine. He wanted to torture himself, that was his business. Without any other fuss, I stripped down before slipping the tunic over my head. I didn’t bother with the belt since I wasn’t sure what was about to happen.

“Ready,” I said.

Wyn turned and glanced at me, giving me a nod before looking over at Volker.

He nodded at her. “Just like you practiced.”

I couldn’t deny that Wyn being nervous made me feel nervous as well, but I also trusted her and knew that if she really thought this would cause me harm then she wouldn’t have offered to do it.

Chapter

Five

Senara

Wyn satdown on the floor, legs crossed under the billowing robe she wore. She shook her hands out and stretched her fingers against one another.

“Just relax, this won’t hurt or anything, I just need to focus so I can get the magic to do what I want.” She gave me a soft smile before she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.

After an awkward moment that had me glancing at Volker, who just nodded encouragingly at me, Wyn began to move her hands and her lips. She mouthed words without saying them aloud, contorting her fingers to create different symbols.

As soon as she held one for a few seconds she’d move on to the next; between each symbol she would wave her arms as though she was giving directions. After she’d done this a few times, I began to feel magic pressing at my back, as though I’d been pushed against a wall of it.

I glanced over my shoulder but saw nothing there--or at least that’s what I thought at first. When I started to look back at Wyn,I caught a glimmer in the air, as though heat was reflecting off a dark stone.

A bolt of amazement went through me. I’d always known that Wyn was talented when it came to magic--it was one of the main reasons she’d been able to survive so long without being caught and executed--but seeing everything she’d accomplished in such a short time in the fae lands made me wonder how much the humans were denying themselves by keeping magic outlawed.

Slowly the wall of magic that I could sense behind me began to expand and wrap around me like a cocoon. A very tight, slightly uncomfortable, cocoon.

I knew when the circle of magic around me was complete because it snapped into place with an internal click, one which it seemed everyone in the room felt, if Thorn’s reaction was anything to go by. His sharp intake of breath was the only sound in the room, and I saw his eyes widen slightly as he looked me over, reassuring himself that there was nothing wrong.

It seemed strange to think that this was the first time he’d seen Wyn do this sort of thing. It was even stranger to think that he hadn’t been by my side for every moment since we first arrived in the fae lands. Just the thought of being separated made a wave of nausea and weakness roll through me now.

As the circle pressed closer, I let all thoughts of Thorn go; I knew I needed to pay attention to what was happening. The air was shimmering even more now and it wasn’t just a simple distortion, either. Wisps of green magic floated around me.