Page 55 of Tangled Power
The heat in Rose’s eyes had him rethinking the necessity of his request. He shook his head. He wanted to show her this before the others arrived. “I want you to see something.” Rose let him lead her down the hall and into the training grounds. “This won’t be as exciting as the breaking and entering trip you took us on last time we were in Sandrin. And we already know there is no prize to be found…but I want to show you anyway.”
The wide-open space seemed to captivate her. It was a unique setup in the southernmost part of the city. He could fit the entire military in this one space when needed. It was a large, rectangular area with little to recommend it. A low stone wall surrounding the training grounds held a fighting ring and a host of more familiar practice equipment. His military held regular sparring and practice sessions here. While Rose and Carter had worked, Luc had talked to his generals to see if they could clear the grounds for the day.
“What Suden secrets are we learning today?”
Luc laughed. She was closer to the mark than she realized. “Any you want, Rose. You need only ask.” He took her hand. “But the journal entries made me think of this.”
Rose’s answering smile was brief and authentic—one that he would do anything to see more often. He turned around to face her and, leaning in, gave her an all-too-quick kiss. Her tongue teased the seam of his lips as he stepped back and reminded himself they had work to do.
As they walked across the field, he started a slightly different conversation. “I know you’ll want the Compass Points to practice merging their magic today. Assuming the key we’ve been missing is all our elements being used together.” She’d already confirmed as much by letting him change the location of the meeting to give them more space.
Rose’s gaze searched his face questioningly. “Is that a problem?” she asked.
“No, of course not. It’s the right next step.” He ran a hand down his face. “I just know I should be the one who volunteers to try with you.”
Rose’s head tilted to the side, but they kept walking.
“We already know you and Juliette can merge your powers when needed. It might be interesting to test if you could merge your water with her wind when you pull it, but it’s more important to prove that two elements with no connection can meet and intertwine. That takes trust. We haven’t discussed the details of your experiment with Juliette, butsomeonemust be in control when magics connect that way. Someone must be directing the joined power.”
He saw recognition flash in Rose’s eyes as she nodded. “You don’t think any other pair of Compass Points will have the trust required to cede control,” she stated as a fact, not a question.
Nodding, he continued. “Carter and Juliette, no way, Carter and you…” He tilted his head from side to side. “Maybe.”
“What about you and Carter?” she asked.
“If it’s me and anyone, Rose, it will be me and you. There is no one I trust more, and as much as you want to put the politics of the Compass Points behind us, we shouldn’t discount what a display like this says.”
Sometimes, Luc wished he weren’t so aware of the perceptions of others. He wished he wasn’t always calculating what a display would mean or what others would read into a specific action. His brain couldn’t ignore the statement the first cross-element merger would make.
She stopped walking and turned to him. “I’m confused,” she said. “Of course I’d pick you—but why do you look like you’d rather not do this?”
“My power is…”
“Vast?” Rose offered.
“Dangerous,” he said.
“Luc.” She took his hands and stepped into his space. Her hands moved quickly from his, up his arms and wrapping around his neck. She didn’t press her body against his, but it was a near thing. He could feel the inches between them—wanting to close the small gap she left there with every part of him.
“Your power won’t hurt me. It’s not dangerous. It’s you. I don’t think it wise to continue to think of it as an entity apart.”
“What if I don’t want it as a part of me?” Luc whispered.
Rose’s smile was gentle as if she suspected that was the case, but maybe she hadn’t expected him to admit it so freely. He wouldn’t have—to anyone else.
“I don’t think that’s a choice we get to make. Just like we don’t get to choose who brings us into this world. But once we’re here, we can make the time and the gifts our own.”
Her words were so damn calming. When did she obtain this new power over him? One that had nothing to do with magic? He knew it was somewhere between putting him flat on hisback with a shoulder roll and saving him from doing something idiotic with the archer who’d attacked them on their journey from Lake of the Gods.
He leaned his forehead against hers, so they shared breaths. “I want to believe that. All that you said. I also want to be prepared for…” He lifted his head back, shaking it. “Worse outcomes.”
She shook her head. He saw the moment she decided not to fight him on it. She must have known she couldn’t convince him to change his mind.
“How do we prepare for those?”
“I’m so glad that you asked.” He offered her his arm, and she hooked hers through it as they walked to the southern part of the wall around the training ground. “I thought we could let my magic out a little before the others got here. I can try to tire it out a bit.”
Rose nodded. “I’m more than happy to watch.” She hopped up on the wall to sit as he rolled up his sleeves. He couldn’t help the self-satisfied grunt as her eyes raked over each new piece of exposed skin on his arm. He was back at her side in a second, his lips crashing into hers.
