The fire cleared. The shadows fell away.
And Isla watched the sword vanish.
...
Grim had saved her. He had used his powers, knowing it would mean giving up the sword. And it had disappeared.
“Why did you do that?” Isla said. She had bathed and changed into one of her dresses. Grim had gotten changed in his own chambers and returned here, to her room in her castle.
She was grateful he had ... but it didn’t make any sense.
Grim’s eyes locked on hers. “You think I would watch you die, for the sword? Did you think I would make any choice that wasn’t you?”
“Yes,” she said, incredulous. “You said so.”
He just looked at her. “Things changed.”
She realized then that she would have done the same. She would have chosen him.
“But your realm ... you said you need it. For you, it’s the most important thing in the world.”
“My realm does need it,” he said. He traced his fingers down her temple and said, in the quietest of voices, “But it is not the most important thing in the world.”
She looked at him, really looked at him. Saw pain in his eyes, as he assessed her for any injuries, even though he had already done so before she had bathed. Saw patience as she scowled and told him again that she was fine.
She didn’t see regret.
“I touched it. For a moment, I touched it. Maybe I’ll be able to find it again now that it knows me.”
“Isla,” he said gently. “I don’t want to use the sword anymore.”
Her brows came together. “What? Why?”
“Its cost is too high,” he said thoughtfully.
It seemed Grim had changed his mind about the sword in the time between entering the cave and saving her. It didn’t make any sense.
“How are you going to save your realm now?” she asked. “How are you going to stop the dreks?”
Grim lifted a shoulder. “I’m going to use my power, the same as always. Use myself as a shield.” He grinned, and she knew it was solely for her benefit, to make light of a devastating situation. “I make a decently good one, wouldn’t you agree?”
The thought of him, shielding his entire realm from the dreks. Only his power against theirs ...
“Will you still keep your promise?” she asked, attempting a smile back. “To help me at the Centennial?”
Grim grinned wider.
“Of course, Hearteater,” he said. “It’s going to be fun pretending not to know you. To introduce myself to you.”
He was right. No one could know they were allies. No one could know they had known each other for months. They would have to pretend to be strangers.
“To pretend I don’t know that you love chocolate, and touching your hair, and that you blush when I look at you for more than a few seconds. Or that you hate the cold and love to dance and you frown when you lie.” His words were so soft. So unlike him. He tucked her hair behind her ear. “You really do, by the way,” he said. “You should work on that before the Centennial.”
She blushed, because he had been looking at her for more than a few seconds. She felt tears stinging her eyes, because he knew her.
He really knew her. He’d been paying attention.
What a thing, to be known.
