Page 57 of The Witch Queen

Thayarian tradition demands that during the Winter Solstice, fae and human alike spend the day in rest. No work is done, even to cook. Thayarians are encouraged to spend the day with their loved ones.

A Brief History of Modern Thayaria

The two males blur in my vision as they whirl around the room. They lunge and parry, spin and duck. Thorne wasn’t kidding when he said the sparring we did was nothing compared to sparring with Fionn. The warrior somehow looks even more massive as he swings his blade over and over again. Thorne blocks every blow with practiced ease, but I still stand erect, anxiety coursing through my veins. At one point, Fionn summons every weapon on the rack and has them all diving at Thorne, who blocks them with shields of light that appear around him. Thorne sends his own weapons hurling at Fionn—arrows, throwing stars, orbs—all made of light. But Fionn easily dodges or blocks them with the two blades he keeps firmly grasped in his hands.

Silene stands beside me, looking bored. “It gets a bit tiring eventually, trust me,” she says. I laugh, but only for a moment before my eyes lock back on the two males weaving and bobbing around one another. If I’m honest with myself, I have eyes for onlyoneof those males. Thorne’s muscles tense with every swing of his sword. My eyes track a bead of sweat rolling down his face toward his full lips, and I almost trip over myself as I lean forward to be closer to him.

Thorne summons more lightning bolts. They crack into the floor around Fionn, who dodges them and laughs. “I can see those coming from a mile away, friend,” he roars at Thorne, before sending a dagger zinging towards Thorne’s chest with aether-honed precision. My breath hitches, and I clutch my hand over my chest, feeling my heart beating wildly. It’s too similar to the moment Nemesia was almost killed by Mazus’s assassin in the war tent all those years ago. Silene notices and places her hand on my shoulder.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

I nod, taking a deep breath. “Yeah,” I respond. “It just reminds me of a moment I don’t care to remember.”

Silene seems to understand. “Alright, boys, that’s enough,” she calls out. The whirling ball of light and metal they had become slows, and they look over, both panting and smiling widely. Thorne’s eyes immediately find mine, and he frowns.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, but Silene cuts him off.

“We’re just tired of watching the two of you show off. I for one am ready for dinner.” With that, she hooks her arm through mine and marches me toward the door. I give her a look that I hope conveys my gratitude. Fionn and Thorne pick up the room, then follow us back to their apartment.

The dinner tray’s already been delivered to their rooms when we arrive. Silene unhooks herself from my arm and prances over to her and Thorne’s bedroom, hollering that she’s going to change, and we better not start dinner without her. It’s a good reminder of the reason I won’t explore my attraction for Thorne. If they’re just friends, as he says, why does she sleep there? Why does she keep her clothing there? Of course I know that many sexual partners don’t have rules of monogamy in their relationship, and maybe that’s the situation with Thorne. But if that were the case, why not tell me that instead of some lie about there being nothing between them? Does he consider sex to be so insignificant?

“Stay for dinner,” Thorne says, his low voice startling me. I hesitate, not wanting to intrude. I’m about to decline when he adds, “Please. Fionn and Silene might have an update from the rebels.”

He knows how to convince me. “Fine, I’ll stay,” I say with a long-suffering sigh I don’t really feel. He grins.

“What did you think of today?” he asks.

“It was a good lesson,” I respond genuinely. “I haven’t learned something new with my magic in at least a hundred years.”

He smiles wide, and this one is the real Thorne, not the winking and smirking prince. “Pretty soon you’ll be sparring with me like Fionn does. I’m sure of it.”

“As loath as I am to compliment your massive ego, thatwasimpressive. I can’t imagine ever being able to fight like that.”

“You’ll get there, witchling.” He nudges my shoulder. “You have more power than the two of us combined. You just have to learn to let go and let your instincts take over.”

“I’m not entirely sure that’s wise.” What I don’t say is that the idea of totally letting go terrifies me. If I could put up a mist barrier that can’t be undone when I was untrained and barely coming into my power, what horror might I unleash with three hundred years of deepening my well of magic? If I let go, I might destroy my kingdom. Might destroy theworld.

“And why is that?” he asks, eyes wholly focused on me with an intensity that makes me squirm. Lunaria could pounce on him right now and he wouldn’t notice, his gaze so focused on me.

“Because with power like mine… It’s important that I stay in control. Letting go could cause real damage.” It’s all I can admit to, the tiniest peek at my true feelings. But even these words are hard to whisper, a confession I didn’t know I needed to make. Relief eases across my chest, a weight lifting.

He leans forward to whisper in my ear. “I disagree, witchling. But there’s time for me to help you see that letting go doesn’t mean losing control entirely.” I can’t hide the shivers that rack my body.

“Alright, let’s eat,” Silene exclaims, returning from their bedroom and immediately filling a plate with food.

Thorne motions for me to go first, and I quickly put distance between us, especially after seeing Silene once again leave their shared room. After filling my plate with food, I make a point to sit beside Silene at the small dining table, not wanting the feeling Thorne’s presence brings me. He’s forced to sit across from me, and I quickly realize dining with his eyes lingering across my body, tracking every bite of food, is no better than sitting next to him. It might be worse.

“Did you make it to the granary?” I ask Silene and Fionn to distract myself from the way his attention makes my pulse thrum.

“We did,” Silene says through bites of food. “They left a message for us that basically said to lie low through Abscission, whatever that means, and to meet them in Oakton once the blooms begin again. Does that mean anything to you?” I laugh as a piece of bread falls from her mouth.

“You’re quite the lady,” I tease, and the room erupts in laughter. It warms something up inside of me, and for a moment, I can forget Thorne’s drifting gaze and bask in the glow of friendship. When we finally ease back into a comfortable silence, I explain to Fionn and Silene what Abscission is.

“So basically, we won’t really communicate with the rebels again for several weeks,” Silene says when I’m finished, and I nod.

“And you won’t have any sub-committee meetings either during Abscission,” I tell her. “The kingdom pretty much shuts down. Everyone sleeps in, spends time with family, and rests.”

“That sounds like a great tradition,” she remarks excitedly. “I’mfinallygoing to read some of those saucy books you loaned me.” Thorne chokes on his water, looking at me expectantly. Heat rises to my cheeks.

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