I huffed. “Because I’m wearing your clothes?”
“Because you look refreshed. I hope you enjoyed the bath.”
“You knew I was bathing?”
He nodded. “The magic that pipes water into the washrooms is easy to feel.” I should have known. He gestured to the bed. “Would you like me to stay in the hall until you fall asleep?”
I shook my head as images of my bed combusting flashed through my mind. “Is there anything you can do to make my bed, your bed, the bed I’m sleeping on…” I trailed off. Nobody would attack me while I was inthe king’s room, right?
His hand raised, like he was going to touch my cheek, but he stopped just before I felt his fingers. He shifted his hand to wave at his bed. “I can put a barrier around it thatwill block any magic.” His voice lowered. “And should anyone be foolish enough to attempt an attack while I am here, they will not survive the event.”
His threatening growl should have made my skin crawl, but instead it eased the fears that had been hanging on me since we’d visited my razed room. I felt safer with him in sight.
I tightened his jacket around my arms and climbed into the bed. Maybe I’d crawl out of the jacket when I was under the blankets. Maybe not.
He put a hand on a corner bedpost and wrapped his bright, fiery magic around the bed. A dark red layer of magic surrounded us like a gappy fence. Then thick cords of yellow, rope-like power wove through the red, filling in the gaps and securing both colors in a wall around us. I thought he was done, but streaks of orange burst to life and flowed through any remaining cracks in the other colors. And then an even darker red sparkled across all the other colors, like evening sunlight glistening across a lake.
A satisfied gleam lit his eyes as he turned to me. “What do you see, Firehawk?”
I nestled deeper in the sheets. “You’ve made a barrier that looks completely impenetrable, with at least four different sets of magic.”
“That is an incredible gift.” He settled his hands on the top of the footboard’s rail. “I know you don’t feel like it is powerful, but I am glad you can see the protections I have layered here.” He cast a pointed look across the room and then back to me. “And should anything happen, I will be in the sitting room.”
I nudged a blanket up to my chin. He had set everything up perfectly, and a deep exhaustion pushed me toward sleep faster than I’d expected. I muttered a deliberate, “Thank you,” before closing my eyes. The last thing I saw before slippinginto a blissful unconsciousness was him standing at the foot of my bed with his hands on the rail, guarding like a soldier who cared more than he allowed himself to admit.
A thick forest fire ignited the trees around me. I spun, unsure of my location and frightened by the flames. There was no escape path.
Just as I started to panic, the flames all dissolved and a bridge appeared with flowers wrapped around a railing. I knew it was a safe bridge, so I ran across it and arrived in the gardens behind the castle. The snow had melted, and beautiful flowers lined the paths to the fountains. My mother stood in front of the three-tiered fountain.
I ran to her and threw my arms around her waist. “Motab!” I whispered into her dress. “I’ve missed you so much!”
She wrapped me in such a tight hug I laughed.
And then I realized the truth. “You… you don’t exist anymore. This must be a dream.”
She squeezed me tighter. “Oh, Callista. To be fae is to exist. We do not stop existing simply because our essence leaves the mortal realm.”
I leaned into her. “What do you mean?”
She stroked the back of my head. “I am with you in every fire, every blanket that warms you, and each ray of heat from the sun. They should all remind you of me—they are silent messages of my love for you. Fotab is with you in every book, every text you lovingly read, every note youhear on a lute, even every song. People you love never really leave you. They are with you every time you remember them.”
My eyes filled with tears. “But I still miss you. I want to hold you in real life and hear you celebrate all the good things with me… or tell me the bad and confusing will work out…” I hiccupped.
She kissed the top of my head. “I know, sweetie. It is the tragically beautiful nature of our existence.”
I leaned back and looked at her. “Tragically beautiful?”
She patted my arm. “Every wonderful moment we experience is overshadowed by the threat of loss. Every loss we experience is tempered by the joyful memories we hold.” She squeezed my hand. “Take care in your grief to both give yourself time to heal and still make room for new happy moments. Let them fill your life with meaning even while you save space to feel the loss.”
“I’m trying,” I told her. “I’m trying so hard.”
She patted my arm and looked over her shoulder. “I need to go now. Fotab has prepared a treat for us. We both love you.”
“But—”
The dream faded, and I opened my eyes to a dark, unfamiliar room.
Aedan’s room.
