Page 52 of Bargains with Benefits
If only I could make the connection.
I felt nothing.
The beach was unsurprisingly empty, so I started walking along the water. The loose skirt of my brightly colored dress blew in the breeze. I walked with no agenda other than clearing my head. Wind wrapped around me as I did. It was lovely how well the wind and water worked together. Some might think they were constantly competing for control, but I thought they had more of a partnership than we realized. The wind circled tighter, bringing an uncommon warmth that took me a moment to recognize. When I did, I glanced over my shoulder to see Vincent standing at the bottom of the steps.
24
Vincent
Iwas lucky she hadn’t turned a moment earlier, when I’d stumbled down the final step after catching sight of her. She was picturesque, walking in the water; serene like a still pool but poised and confident like a wave crashing against the cliff. This place, with Luna, was exactly what I wanted after the day I’d had. Patricia couldn’t complain too much. The weekly features summarizing prior recommendations were doing well. Visitors were flocking to the taverns, the shops, and the restaurants we featured. It was clear from her questions, though, that she wanted a yes or no on the Darius article soon.
I’d told her I’d have an answer before the end of the week—either way. There was a part of me that felt like I was failing at this assignment. It wasn’t a feeling I was used to. My wind swept through my hair and circled my temples as if to remind me that wasn’t the case. I wasn’t failing. In this particular assignment, I was deciding something was more important. Luna was more important.
My gaze returned to her as the water rocked against her ankles. She belonged there. I couldn’t explain it. I’d thought that the night we met, too. Not because of the magic she displayed but because of the resilience in her gaze. The determination to hold on to the peace she sought, if only for another moment. I saw it here again, and it knocked the wind from me.
More aptly, it set my wind loose. It encircled her before I could tamp it down. I was confident that bright red tinged my cheeks when she turned and acknowledged my presence. At least she was smiling as we walked toward each other.
“Sorry,” she said when we met at the shoreline. “I must have lost track of time.”
I shook my head. “I should apologize to you.”
Her head tilted in question.
“My wind…” I coughed as it swirled her ankles again, where her skin met the water.
She appraised me with a gaze I wasn’t sure I could decipher. “Your wind and I have an understanding that it seems you and I do not.” She placed her hands on her hips. “Even though you and your wind are allegedly one in the same.” A smirk was firmly in place on her lips, and I knew my wind’s imposition was forgiven.
I didn’t have time to ask exactly what the understanding was before Evelyn and Ambrose charged down the steps.
“Any progress in our absence?” Ambrose called as they came toward us. He had his quill poised to note anything she said in a small journal he was carrying for the occasion. I glanced to the sky, wishing they would disappear for another few minutes.
Luna touched my arm, squeezing it gently before she went to greet them. My gaze lingered on the spot, cursing my sleeves for existing. It was warm today, and I’d left my jacket up at the inn when I’d gone to search for her on the property. Whether Iacknowledged the decision or not, I started rolling up the sleeves, exposing my forearms. If she touched me again, I wanted to grant her direct access to my skin.
I was a goner.
“No progress,” Luna said as she greeted Evelyn and Ambrose, “though I do remember finding the feeling of calm once before.”
“Feeling of calm?” Ambrose asked, pen poised to write.
Luna looked between the two of them. Evelyn, too, gave her a blank stare. She turned to me. “My…Darius…when he came to test me as a child. He described finding my magic inside me as a sense of calm.”
I nodded, reassuring her. “Everyone is taught a little differently—especially the first part. Most fae arrive at the court schools with the ability to call their magic, taught in some fashion by whoever raised them. The school is more about how to control the element long-term.”
“How were you taught?” she asked.
I cleared my throat. “I’m not sure it?—”
“My parents called it a quiet place,” Ambrose jumped in. I hoped Zrak, god of wind, blessed him for it. He was one of my only friends who knew the lengths to which my parents had gone to ensure my magic was as powerful as they’d expected. Granted, he’d also asked to study it after discovering their methods, but his heart was in the right place.
Luna’s bright blue eyes were still on me, even as Ambrose continued. As much as I wanted her attention, I didn’t want it on this. I wanted her magic to be a calm or quiet place. Not the loud and angry pressure I had started with. Sometimes, I wondered if it was why my magic was so expressive. It blew through my hair at the thought.
“So, you did find the calm or the quiet place once?” I asked, steadying my voice.
“I think so, but I was too afraid that Darius would take me from my mom if I had magic.” She ran her hand through her hair and sighed. “I didn’t know anything about him. My mom had only taught me to distrust the fae. It’s not a good reason, but it’s what I have. I went back to the house while they fought about my future. He didn’t return, and I only saw Darius at the inn after that, so Mom must have won.”
Evelyn must have known most of this because she nodded stoically at Luna’s words. Ambrose stopped writing, thankfully. And I…well, I stared at her like an idiot, transfixed by the idea that her mom would have kept her from part of herself. Luna hadn’t spoken much about her mom, but I understood they had had a good relationship before she passed. I knew I shouldn’t judge, but it didn’t seem helpful if her mom had asked her to deny part of herself. It was terrible that Darius had ignored her because she didn’t have magic. It would be as bad if her mom had taught her to ignore her power or pretend it didn’t exist.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said. “Is there anything from that experience you want to try and recreate?”
