Page 55 of The Witch Queen

She takes a deep breath, then raises a sword of light above her head. In an impressive swipe downward, she slams it against the planters, but nothing happens, the light dissipating as it reaches them. She looks at me with confusion and frustration.

“I told you, you have tobelievethe light will slice into it. Do whatever meditative shit you need to do to believe that.”

“Meditative shit?” she asks, eyebrow quirked.

“You know, your whole speech you gave me about thinking about the properties of water and light, and how they’re part of the same fabric of the world. Or whatever you said. Just think about how the light is the same as the planters, so it can slice them apart.” She only stares at me in challenge, hand propped on her hips again, then snaps her fingers. The planters slice in half again, but without her touching them.

“Like that?” she asks with a grin. Then she snaps her fingers a second time, and the planters are restored.

I roll my eyes. “Do it with the light,” I chastise.

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t watch. Go practice your ownmeditative shitin a corner.”

I give her a mock bow. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”

We practice in silent companionship for another hour, running through our own drills. When my stomach grumbles, I walk back to her in time to see her decimate the planters before restoring them instantly and decimating them again. I give her a slow clap. She turns, blushing again. “I told you not to watch.”

“I wasn’t watching till just then. I’m hungry. I need a snack.”

At that exact moment, a knock sounds on the door, and Laurel startles. She crosses the room and opens the door to a human woman holding a tray of steaming food, the smells wafting into the room. She takes the tray from the servant, who murmurs something quietly to Laurel. Laurel squeals in obvious glee.

“Thank you, Sarah,” she tells the woman, beaming. “You’re too good to me.” The woman bows, then Laurel closes the door with her foot and turns to me. “I didn’t realize how long we’d been here. Thankfully, I told Sarah to bring us lunch today, so you can havemorethan a snack.” I grunt, then take the tray from her and walk it to the small table in the back corner before setting out the plates and cutlery delivered with the food. Laurel picks up her plate, but I steal it out of her hands with a smirk.

“What was that screech about?” I ask as I dish out food for her, gesturing with my hands to find out which dishes she wants and how much. I enjoy serving her.

“It was not a screech,” she snaps back light heartedly. “It wasan expression of joy.”

I laugh hard, and she slaps my arm. When I recover, I ask, “And what were youexpressing joyover in such a screeching manner?” She rolls her eyes.

“There’s a tavern and inn in Echosa, where you entered Thayaria,” Laurel explains. “The owner’s wife Mara makes the absolutebestchocolate cake. She’s in Arberly, helping her sister clean up their family’s bakery after the attack, and she brought a cake to the palace for me. Sarah made sure we had two slices on our lunch tray.”

“You and your chocolate cake,” I mutter as I hand her a plate. She sticks her tongue out at me, and the expression is so adorable I can’t help myself as I lean across the table into her space, then whisper in a husky voice, “And will you be sharing this cake with me?”

“Not if you continue to underappreciate it,” she retorts. She licks her lips, and the motion ties me in knots. I reach for her hand, wanting to thread her fingers through mine, but she pulls away.

Fuck, stop hitting on her when she doesn’t want it.I reprimand myself for the millionth time, vowing to keep our relationship friendly. It’s not like I need a romantic complication in my life right now anyway. Or ever, for that matter. I fill my plate with the steaming rice dish, then groan at the delicious Thayarian food.

She nods at the food I just ate. “It’s one of my favorites. Can I ask you something?”

“Anything,” I tell her absentmindedly, and I mean it. I would confess any secret to her, tell her any information, even if it meant exposing myself and risking my safety. I’m not sure when that switch flipped on in my brain, if it was ever off at all.

“Why is Fionn so affected by yesterday’s attack? Not that we all aren’t, but he seems to be taking it harder, or more personally, than us.” Her question surprises me. I pause for a moment. Of course she noticed Fionn’s struggles. Nothing slips by her watchful gaze.

“Fionn wasn’t born noble or wealthy. He’s a commoner. His parents owned a fishing business. His mother was a powerful water channeler, who would sail out and catch fish for his father to sell at the Floating Market. Because of his upbringing, he cares deeply for everyday folk.”

“You mention his parents in the past tense. Did something happen to them?”

I nod as I meet her penetrating gaze. “The specifics are his story to tell, but they died in a terrible accident around the same time his power manifested. Since he was orphaned and possessed the most powerful metal channeling ability in a millennium, my father brought him to live in the palace as a companion of sorts for me. He said I needed someone who matched my power to train with, and that the death of our mothers would help us bond. But it wasn’t Fionn’s choice. He had family, an aunt and uncle, who had taken him in. They were forced to give him over to the palace.”

“That’s terrible,” she says, and I see genuine empathy in her eyes.

“It is. And wehatedeach other at first. He hated me for what I represented, and I hated him for his resentment of the only life I’d ever known. I found him arrogant, and I’m sure I was unbearable.”

She laughs, and it makes my blood sing. “That doesn’t surprise me.”

“No, I’m sure it wouldn’t.” I grin at her teasing of me, loving the way we so effortlessly shoot barbs at one another. “But over time, we realized we had a lot in common, and our friendship bloomed. We’ve been inseparable ever since. Fionn entered the Royal Guard, and I immediately appointed him as my personal guard. He was with me when I found my mother’s journal and has been with me for every terrible thing my father’s ever done. It creates a bond.”

“I feel the same way about the Chair of my Council of Advisors. Nemesia, who went to Velmara as your counterpart. She’s been my best friend since birth, really. Her mother was my parents’ Captain of the Royal Guard and General of their armies, so we were raised together.” I remember that the Thayarian General had died early in the war, before Nemesia was appointed to the role, and I feel guilt at my connection to the loss of Nemesia’s and Laurel’s parents. Could Laurel ever truly forgive me for my father’s sins? Will she ever be able to look past all that I represent?

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