Page 91 of Charmed

Tears burned my eyes at his nod. Only the thought of my brother’s healing was a force strong enough to pull out of the comforting cocoon of Alden’s arms. I laced my hand with his to keep him by my side as I returned to the house.

Mother had moved Corbin to the chair in front of the kitchen hearth. Their eyes lit up upon noticing our clasped hands.

“Are you two together?” Mother asked as she and Corbin watched us with unabashed curiosity.

We both exchanged shy but pleased smiles. “We are.” At my reverent murmur, Alden gave my hand a squeeze, causing my heart to lift.

Corbin clasped his hands. “Now you won’t have to miss him anymore. You can be together forever. Wait, does this mean we’re going to live in a castle as a princess…and me a prince?” His eyes widened in wonder at the prospect.

My heart warmed at Alden’s blush and tender smile as he met my gaze. “If your sister will have me.” He pressed a soft kiss against my brow. I ached to bask in the moment, but my brother quickly drew my attention away from my love.

I crouched in front of him and held out the charm on my palm. “Alden brought magic that will make you feel better—not immediately, but its enchantment will work upon you until you’re finally healthy and whole.”

Corbin reverently accepted the charm. The moment he touched it, a soothing light emanated from it to surround him, cradling him as gently as the golden rays of sunlight. By the time it gradually faded, Corbin’s ashen pallor had vanished, leaving behind cheeks rosy with health.

He blinked a moment, dazed, before offering a tentative smile. “I feel a lot better.”

My heart swelled and I could no longer hold back my tears. With a strangled sob I flung my arms around him and squeezed him close. His little arms wound around me, no longer weak but much stronger than any of his previous hugs. With his wholeness, I felt all the sadness from my years of worry gradually heal as the magic extended from the charm to embrace me, holding me as close as Alden had moments before.

Magic had given me all I’d been searching for—my brother’s dear health, a sense of purpose, and especially my dearest love. I couldn’t wait to discover what spell it would weave for me next.

EPILOGUE

The sound of Corbin’s laughter filled the palace garden as he ran around playing hide and seek with the younger servants, the spellbook close behind in its usual role of chaperone. The cheerful melody repeatedly drew my gaze towards him, causing a lapse in my concentration in today’s magical studies—conjuring the elements, something far more complicated than I could have imagined after the ease Alden had demonstrated in that very skill.

My mother looked on from her place beneath the shade of a blossoming magnolia, where she sat with several servants she’d befriended as she assisted them with their mending…not because the task was required for our survival, but because she found the duty fulfilling. My brother’s health and my mother no longer being exhausted from overwork never ceased to bring me joy.

“You’re distracted again. Goodness, I found myself an inattentive apprentice.” Alden’s teasing tone gently lured my gaze away from my dear family towards him. Despite his stern countenance, amusement lit his eyes.

“And I found myself a rather impatient husband.” My cheeks warmed at the wondrous title I still hadn’t fully grown accustomed to.My husband…

“You know I love you, but even if you’re now my beloved wife, I can’t allow you to be lax in your training.” A blush accompanied his smile, soft with all the happiness I felt.

“I missed Corbin during our wedding trip and I’m so pleased he’s doing well. Part of me still can’t believe how healthy he is.” The healing charm had been working its wonders every day in the months since we had acquired it, progress that seemed more pronounced after my two-week absence.

“Magic is truly wondrous.”

My knowledge over such a fact only deepened on a more intimate level the more I learned. My passion grew the more my knowledge expanded, especially with my husband in charge of my tutoring. It allowed us to spend time together even with his position in the magical theory department and the royal duties that frequently occupied his attention the more he took on.

I didn’t resent his often hectic schedule; it thrilled me to see him embrace his role. No matter how busy he became, he always made time for me. When we weren’t together, I practiced my magic, assisted the queen with her charity projects in the nearby villages, conducted my own service using my magic to bless others, and spent time with my dear family.

I struggled to concentrate on today’s magical task of conjuring water, but I’d no sooner cradled a handful in my palm when my attention snapped back to Corbin as he tripped. Water soaked my skirts as I jolted forward, prepared to hurry over to check on him…but he merely stood back up with a wide smile and resumed his playing. I relaxed.

Alden’s magic brushed my shoulder, a touch I’d grown quite familiar with. It reached up to soothingly caress my hair, even from his short distance. “He’s doing fine.”

My tense posture slackened. “It’s strange losing my purpose in constantly needing to protect him, even as it brings me great joy to see him healthy.”

It was growing easier to step back and allow him to live his own life as I built my own with my magic, service projects, and my relationship with my husband. I was my own person.

I shifted my focus to the spell Alden had been tutoring me in all morning—growing a plant through manipulating the elements of earth, a task which brought back fond memories of the time we’d infused new life into the dying crops of the tiny hamlet. The spell required an understanding of not only the element of earth, but multiple layers so I could strenuously manipulate each one to form the roots, stem, leaves, and each petal. Though progress was slow, Alden had really grown as a tutor, allowing both of our powers to develop together.

I drew motivation from Corbin’s recent interest in collecting flowers from the royal gardens for his room in the palace to add to his musical bluebells, still enchanted from the spell Alden had performed so long ago, one that still made me smile at the tender memories they conjured, one of many wonderful ones with my dear husband.

I wanted to control earth enough to grow another enchanted plant—not just to make my brother smile, but for my usual streak of competitiveness with Alden—yet I was having a difficult time of it.

Our relationship remained unconventional as it always had—apprentice and master, commoner and prince, dearest friends…and now not only husband and wife but magical comrades as we used our powers for the benefit of Alden’s subjects. Sometimes our various roles became muddled…such as Alden stepping into his role of tutor so soon after our wedding trip when all I could see him as was my best friend and beloved companion.

He fought to suppress his emerging smile as he heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Perhaps it was a bad idea to attempt to mix romance with work.” He bridged our distance to wrap his arms snugly around me and nestle me close. “Perhaps I need to tutor you with a more firm hand. How should I punish your inattention?”

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