“Homework?”
I nodded enthusiastically. This was by far the best part of my visit, and I was excited to share it with him. “I joined a magic lesson today. My assignment is to sit with my magic. I have a list of questions to answer before class tomorrow.”
“What are the questions?”
Gently, I combed his soft hair back and away from his face. “What does it look like? Sound like? Feel like? What’s the shape of it… Basically, as much information as I can get.”
He propped himself up on an elbow and smiled at me. “Can you teach me how?”
Cocking my head to the side, I let out a giggle. “What?” He knew how to use magic flawlessly. I’d seen it with my own eyes.
He sat up, pulling my long locks of damp hair behind my back. He divided it into three sections and began braiding. “I never went to class—I mean, I would have, but you know.”
I turned when there was enough slack on my hair to see him biting his bottom lip, releasing it withsaliva glistening over it like he was trying to entice me away from my work again.
“It seems like you’re pretty damn good at using magic.”
A side smile emerged over his face. “It’s true. But I taught myself. I’m sure there are fundamentals I could benefit from knowing. Plus, maybe it’s something we can do together.”
Pride burst through my chest. It was a lovely idea. “Let’s.”
Once he finished braiding my hair, he coiled it around my head twice before tucking in the end to hold it together.
We leaned back against the headrest, crossed our legs, and closed our eyes.
I opened one eye and peeked at Fletcher, only to see that he was peeking right back at me. We laughed and closed our eyes again.
“Don’t look at me.”
“I’m not,” he answered, threading his fingers through mine.
Concentration didn’t come easily. My mind kept wondering to Fletcher. Our bodies uniting. His touch. The idea of him inside me. Then, a torrent of jealousyslid through me, jolting my magic to spasm. Him inside the bookshop owner.
“Ow,” he yelped as he withdrew his hand with a small laugh. “You electrocuted me a little.”
“Oops. Sorry,” I said, keeping my eyes shut.
His fingers found mine again, and I squeezed his hand, hoping that this time would anchor me. I took a deep breath and tried to clear my head.
My three suitors came barreling into the forefront of my mind. Jarvy with his broken fingers against my skin. Decksin’s overpowering scent. And then there was Graff. The idea of him wasn’t as revolting as the other two, but I still rolled my eyes behind my lids at the memory of him reading my thoughts.
My magic. I had to focus on my magic! The sooner I could get a handle on it, the sooner I could leave Elizy behind and truly be with Fletcher. I took a deep, resetting breath. My magic… What had Talia said? My magic was my teammate. I had to work with it, not try to control it. Could I figure everything out before my lesson tomorrow? Tomorrow before the ceremony? I gritted my teeth at the thought—the pressure. Why did they have to welcome me home when I wasn’t staying? To stand with the king and queen in the spotlight had my stomach roiling and the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. Every part of me dreaded being advertised to all of Elizy. But if that was a step to get Fletcher’s magic back, I’d suck it up.
“Can’t feel your magic either?” He chuckled.
I gave myself another minute to see if I could get back on track before I huffed. “I can’t do this.” When I opened my eyes, Fletcher was lying on his stomach with a deck of cards fanned out, playing solitaire.
“Neither can I. Meditating sucks.”
“Hey!” I reached forward and messed up his line of organized cards.
“Ripley!” he playfully shouted, scooping me up and bringing me under him. His pelvis pressed against me. “I was about to win.”
I leaned up and kissed him. “Tomorrow, the king and queen are going to hold a welcome home ceremony for me around ten thirty. I’d like for you to be there.” I would have tempted him with the promise of his magic after, but I didn’t want this to get his hopes up in case something went wrong.
He groaned. “I wish I could, but you know I can’t enter Elizy.”
My head tilted to the left and grinned. “But you have my magic. You can enter.”
