Daughter of Dusk
Chapter Fifteen: Enchanted by Ice

I pour everything out as we walk, telling him every last detail I can possibly remember, including the tense interaction with Finn. But I leave out the prophecy and what Teagan said about my powers; I feel that needs to be its own conversation.

The smile doesn’t leave his face the entire time, just listening as I tell him all about my adventure, his eyes glistening with wonder and awe.

“So, then I went back to the beach with Teagan, and then –” I giggle as my mind catches up to my words. “Well, here I am.”

He blinks at me, a soft sigh escaping him as he looks down with a light chuckle.

“What is it?” Before I decide to, I run my fingers down his arm and lace his hand in mine as my heart flutters.

“You’re incredible, you know that?”

His comment sends heat to my cheeks. “What do you mean?” My voice comes out shakier than I wanted.

A softness fills his eyes. “Look at you. Who else can say they’ve been to Enas?”

I shrug with a chuckle. “I suppose. It was more than I could have ever imagined. And I couldn’t have done it without you.”

He grins, giving my fingers a gentle squeeze as a jolt of warmth climbs up my arm. “Listening to you talk about it makes me feel like I was there. I wish I could have gone with you.”

His words light up an idea in my mind, and I stop walking with a sharp inhale.

“You could come with me.” I can barely contain the words. “We could get away from this place. We could just be there, if even for a little while.”

Elation covers his face, opening his mouth to speak before his expression falls. “I can’t. We both know I can’t. Not without permanently losing my powers.” He lets a dark smoke linger between his fingers.

He’s right. We only have one amulet.

But that doesn’t mean we couldn’t replace another way, right?

“Well, maybe we could – there are the amulets that are supposedly still in the mountains, perhaps I can do some research, maybe there are some clues as to its whereabouts. Maybe we could. . .” I trail off as he gently squeezes my fingers.

“Luna, it’s okay. Hearing you talk about it is enough for me to imagine being there.” He runs his hand along my shoulder with a sad smile.

I sigh. “There has to be a way.” I pause, thinking. “If – if there was a way for you to be there without losing your powers, would you come with me?”

He nods. “In a heartbeat. I’d love to see it with you.”

“Then I’ll see what I can replace,” I say with a smile as we continue our walk.

I look straight ahead as we pass by the muted green of the trees, but I can feel his gaze lingering on me. I don’t comment on it for several moments, but I’m unable to wipe the grin from my face.

Finally, I can’t take it anymore and I turn towards him with a giggle, my brown eyes catching his silvery-blue gaze. “What is it?”

He chuckles. “Just you. How humble you are about all this.”

“How do you mean?”

“I mean, if any person I knew made it to Enas, they would be too busy wrapped up in the praise and glory of it all. But here you are, thinking about how you can share that beauty with other people.”

His words have me speechless, and I nearly trip over a tree root as my cheeks prickle with warmth.

“I – I suppose so. I mean, much of it has to do with it being you,” I admit shyly. “But . . . I wish there was a way for Shadow Wielders to go there without an amulet. Or if there was a way for people from both worlds to co-exist somehow. Everyone deserves to live in a world that beautiful.” I trail off. “I don’t know. Perhaps I’m just being wishful. I’m sure it’s impossible.”

He puts an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him as we walk. The action makes my heart skip a beat, but it doesn’t stop me from leaning my head against his shoulder as the intense flutters appear in my stomach.

“I wouldn’t say it’s impossible. If there’s a way for it to happen, I’m sure you’ll be the one to figure it out,” he supports.

“Hmm,” I smile, but as I think about our words, it has me thinking about Teagan again. You’re not a Shadow Wielder.

My face falls. I don’t think Soren would say goodbye forever because of something like that, but I wonder if it would change anything between us.

“What’s wrong?” He holds me closer for half a second.

I snap out of my thoughts. “No, nothing, I was just thinking about something Teagan said today. It was a bit odd, but it got me thinking.”

“And that something was. . ?”

I take a breath. “She said I’m not a Shadow Wielder. Not completely, at least.”

He stops walking before he frowns. “Really? You did mention you were from here, right?” He teases.

“Mmhmm.” I look to the side before bringing him back into my sightline. The trees above us cast a light shadow across his striking, curious face, and my eyes linger on the corner of his jaw, travelling down his neck to where his strong shoulders disappear behind the fabric of his tunic. I shake my head out of my daze as heat rises to my cheeks. “To be fair, she did say she picked up on Shadow within me. But she said there was something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on. And that there’s a chance I could wield Aether.”

“What’s that? I’ve never heard of it.”

“Teagan said it’s like a middle ground between Shadow and Light. There’s a prophecy about it too, about how a wielder of Aether will become the destined ruler over Darkness and the Light and be named the Daughter or Son of Dusk. And it also said wielders of Aether can heal, which would explain my own healing powers. But I don’t know how much of it is rooted in fact.”

“Huh, interesting.” His eyes light up. “Here, I have an idea. Compare your powers to mine. Maybe that will help narrow things down.”

Hmm. I’ve only ever seen my family’s powers, now that I think of it. I don’t know how they compare to everyone else. Maybe mine will resemble Soren’s more. “Okay.”

I focus my energy and create the same sparkling mist on the pathway that I made with Blaire today, watching as it lingers in front of us. He does the same, only his mist looks far different. There are no shimmering areas, and perhaps one shade lighter than being completely black, with a sharper gradient between his fog and the clear air.

“Is that as dark as yours can go?” He asks.

“I don’t know.” I wave my hands as the grayish mist disappears, before focusing once more, delving into whatever dark energy I have flowing through my veins. Another cloud of mist expels from my fingertips, and while it’s nearly as dark as Soren’s this time, the silvery shimmers are still present, shifting in the dim light. “That’s as dark as I can go.”

“Hmm. Well, you and I both know there are variances in Shadow Abilities, so it’s hard to say. But maybe your friend is right. I mean, it’d explain why you can heal – like you said – and it could be why you have that warmth to your energy that I don’t feel from anyone else.” He wraps an arm around me again as we continue our walk, and this time, I reciprocate, letting my arm linger around his waist before he speaks once more. “It would explain why Darius wants to keep you hidden too. Do you know if there’s anything about it in the library?”

I shake my head. “I’ve never come across the term.”

“I wonder if there’s something about it in your father’s study. I could probably look if you’d like.”

My jaw drops and I lightly push him with my other hand, but not hard enough to disconnect us. “Soren! Just because you’re working under him does not mean you can just go snooping whenever you’d like!”

“Sure I can.” He gives me a silly grin before a more serious expression replaces it. “I’m teasing. But I do wonder if there’s something about it in there.”

I chuckle. “Well – let’s see if Teagan and the others replace anything first. I’d rather avoid trouble if we can.”

“Sounds good.” He pauses before he gasps with realization. “Hmm, wait, Darius is a Shadow Wielder through and through, so if there’s any variation to your powers, I wonder if you got it from your mother.”

My eyes widen. “You think so? But she was a traitor. Or so I’ve been told.”

“Hmm.” He pauses. “Do you believe that?”

I press my lips together. “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t really know anything about her other than that. It could be something. Maybe she had Aether powers too.”

“Maybe. See what you can replace out, and we can go from there.” He pulls me close for just a moment and softly kisses my cheek, sending tingles of warmth from my heart to my fingertips. I can’t help but giggle, but I can’t pretend his acceptance doesn’t catch me off guard a little. I didn’t think he would hate me or want to end things between us – especially after everything that has happened – but I was expecting at least a little opposition.

I blink at him, my thoughts turning to speech before I can stop it. “You don’t replace this strange?”

“Why would I?”

“There’s a fairly large chance I have an entirely different powerset. I suppose I was just wondering if you thought this would change anything for us. You accepted it so quickly.”

We stop walking again, the tree branches cascading over us. But he keeps his one arm around my waist, holding me against him. I’m not completely sure what to do with my hands, but before I make the decision to, they rest on his chest. The fluttering sensation in my stomach that has been present, but in the background suddenly intensifies, like a swarm of moths flying against a windstorm. I stare at my hands as the echoes of his heartbeat radiate through my fingertips, and I press my lips together to stop my breath from getting caught in my throat.

“Luna, this is big, don’t get me wrong. But I’m not going to stop liking you because of it. If anything, it’s the opposite,” he chuckles, tipping my chin up with his fingers as a blush envelops his features. “But at the end of the day, you’re still the girl I like, regardless of what powerset you have. It’s like when you told me about your Father. Does it change things? Yeah. But it doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

I lose myself in his glacial eyes as I take in his words, letting the moths spin circles in my stomach as they flap their wings harder than ever before. The hue of his eyes reminds me a little of the blue sky of Enas. But not exactly the same. His reminds me of what I assume the sky would look like on a cold winter’s morning, fresh after a light sprinkling of snow. Or what a pond would resemble if it had been frozen over for the winter.

He grins, raising an eyebrow as a light chuckle escapes him. “What is it?”

His words snap me out of my daze, and I realize how warm my face is. But I can’t stop myself from becoming mesmerized by how his eyes stand out among his other handsome features. Perfectly proportioned on his symmetrical face, bringing out the cool hues of his whitish blonde hair, and his strong jawline.

“I – I want to kiss you right now,” I breathe, snapping a hand over my mouth as soon as the words leave me.

Luna!

Soren inhales sharply as his blush deepens. “I’d like that,” he whispers.

Even the sound of his voice is enough to enchant me, let alone the words.

“Really?” I blurt, keeping my mouth covered.

He chuckles softly. “You’re so cute. Of course, I do.”

He says it so simply.

I can’t stop a small giggle from escaping me, my face going so hot it’s a wonder it hasn’t caught on fire.

I move my hands back to his chest as he runs his thumb across my right cheek, and I savour the feeling . . .

Our lips connect, and the world around us disintegrates. The only thing that keeps us connected to Zala is the tree branches arcing above us, protecting us from everything that isn’t this moment, that isn’t him. His lips are so soft, so gentle, like everything else about him. The taste of that mint tea from earlier fills me as his other hand lightly presses on the small of my back, pulling me even closer to him, as though he is protecting me, somehow. From this world, from everything that has ever happened to me in the Manor. It’s as though he’s pushing the darkness out of my heart, replacing it with all the warmth and love I could ever desire.

I can forget everything else when I’m with him.

I can be here, as me. Not as Father’s daughter, not as someone from Zala, but completely myself.

I stand on my tiptoes, wanting to soak in as much of his energy as possible before finally pulling away, and we both let a shaky exhale escape before he bites his lip with a smile.

“Now where did you learn how to kiss like that?”

I shrug, giggling. “I couldn’t tell you.” I run my hand through my hair, getting lost in his eyes. “Besides, I could ask you the same thing,” I joke.

“Natural talent I suppose,” he says airily, a wide grin on his face.

I smile, but reality picks at my mind as I look down the forest path that leads to the Manor. It’s out of sight from where we’re standing, though I know it’s just around the corner. But the breeze gently wraps around us again, allowing me to live in the fantasy of that perfect, wonderful kiss for just a little longer.

“I don’t want to go back,” I say with a light sigh.

“Then don’t.”

If only it were that simple.

“If I could, you know I would.” I nudge him.

“I know.” He brings my forehead to his, skimming his thumb along my cheek again. “But I have a feeling things will work out in your favour. I mean, you figured out how to go to Enas and back. If you can do that, you can do anything.”

“Hmm,” I smile as he angles his face to meet my lips once more.

He kisses me deeper this time, and all I can focus on is how warm my skin feels in response to his touch, as though his fingertips are drawing a trail of flames wherever they linger. I reciprocate his actions, seemingly unable to get him close enough to me; it’s like the fluttering in my stomach has transfigured into a tornado. I can feel myself letting go, and I don’t want to stop.

I don’t ever want to stop.

I feel my lips quirk up into a grin, a soft hum escaping me as I pull him close and wrap my arms tightly around his shoulders. Something resembling a stifled chuckle leaves him as he gives me one last lingering kiss before we pull away and his silvery-blue eyes connect to mine, intoxicating my body with ice. It’s like walking on a frozen pond, watching the cracks form beneath my feet, waiting for the moment I plunge into an all-encompassing freefall, to a place where I can live in this moment forever.

“Must you go?” he whispers, pulling me out of my blissful daydream. “I can walk you back the rest of the way if you’d like.”

“No, that’s okay. It’s not too far. But I’m afraid I should be getting back.” I give him a smile. “But I’ll see you tomorrow, as long as we can stay out of my family’s sight. So, it’s not really goodbye, is it?”

He bites his lip with a grin before pulling me into a tight embrace. “You’re right.”

His strong arms envelop me as I rest my cheek on the upper part of his chest. His fingers brush through my hair before resting on my head, holding me close.

“So, I’ll see you later then?” He breathes.

I nod as I pull away. “See you later.”