Brightly Woven(86)

“Let’s get out of here,” he said, and when he bent down to kiss me, we had the time to make it last.

There was still a large crowd gathered in the courtyard later that afternoon, as I sat on the ledge above. North’s notebook was open before me. I thumbed through it, taking notes of my own.

Fallbright leaves mixed with heartroot intensified the pain, I wrote inside the back cover of Proper Instruction for Young Wizards. Fallbright leaves are rare but may have a better effect blended with a combination of georgeroot and cattail leaves.

Now that he was back and things had settled down, there was only one last problem pulling at my consciousness. The war might have been put to rest, and Dorwan shipped off to Auster, but we had yet to overcome North’s curse.

“What are you doing?” North asked, coming up behind me. He wrapped an arm around my chest and drew me back toward him.

“A little research,” I admitted. I snapped the books shut and turned around. I had a few ideas about the curse, but I didn’t need to bring them up quite yet.

“Research!” he said. “Don’t you know you have a companion of limitless intelligence and magic? What do you need books for, when you have me?”

“I’ll keep that in mind for the future,” I said. He leaned down to kiss me, but I pulled away at the last moment.

“Now, now,” I said. “You’ll have to treat me with a little more respect. They consider me a goddess in some countries, you know.”

North laughed loudly, reaching for me again. “Yes, but I’ve always considered you a goddess, Sydelle Mirabil.”

I smiled, letting him pull me close. Wizards, honestly.

“Can I see your hands?” I asked him. “Just for a moment?”

I could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn’t want to do it. “Right now?” he asked, taking in the sight of the wizards and humans milling below.

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” I murmured. I lifted one of his gloved hands and kissed it. He seemed to relax.

“If you weren’t so beautiful…,” he said, and slowly began to tug at his gloves.

I drew his hands closer to me, inspecting his skin for any signs that the curse had spread. North shifted his weight impatiently, but I kept my eyes fixed on where the black began and ended.

“It really hasn’t spread since Arcadia,” I said, turning his hands so his palms were faceup. “I feel so relieved.”

“Yes, but I really haven’t done any hard magic since then,” North said. “The next time I have to cast a spell, I’m sure you’ll see a difference.”

“Wayland.” We turned toward the dark-haired woman watching us from a short distance away. North yanked his gloves back on, turning away from his mother.

“I didn’t realize it had already progressed so far,” said Hecate, her face pale. She looked smaller to me somehow, though she was still dressed in the resplendent robes of her office. “Are you in pain?”

“I’m fine,” North said. He tucked his hands into his pockets. “We’ll be leaving soon. You don’t have to worry about our causing more trouble.”

She pressed her lips together, then said, “You could stay. We could speak to the healers about the curse, and you could help Oliver and me with the Guard.”

“I don’t belong here; you know that.”

“Yes, but…” I felt North’s body tense beside me as she continued. “You’ve proven yourself to be a smart, resourceful wizard. I like having you around, and I’ve missed you greatly these years. I know now it was the right choice to send you to be trained by Pascal, but that doesn’t mean I don’t regret the time we’ve lost.”

“Don’t go soft on me now,” North said. “You’ll need all of those hard edges to deal with the queen’s new policies.”

Hecate scowled. “I suppose I won’t be reappointed when the rankings come next spring. If you’d like to participate in them—”

“You know that’s not an option for me,” North said.

“Not now,” I said, “but maybe in the future?”

They both turned to me in surprise.

“I have some ideas,” I said to North. “I’m not certain they’ll work, but if you’re willing to try, I am.”

“Try, please,” Hecate said. She brought a hand up to his shoulder, and for a moment I thought she would try to embrace him. Instead, North leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

“Be good, Mother,” he said. “If you need me, I’ll come back. You know that.”

“I hope to see you at the summer solstice. Both of you.” As she turned back toward the doors of the castle, she lifted her hand in a small wave, and we did the same. When she finally disappeared from sight, North released the breath he had been holding. I watched his face for any sign of confusion or hurt, but I found nothing but perfect calm.

He turned to me. “What do you say we leave now?”

“You don’t want to stay for the celebrations?” I asked, surprised.

“No,” he said. “I just want some quiet.”

North stepped away, reaching down for the bags I hadn’t noticed before. He threw them both over his shoulder.