Kade had remained silent during the whole story. “Opal, why do you want to reclaim your magic? It has given you nothing but trouble.”
He had a point. “I’m lost without it,” I admitted. “I feel useless.”
“Your immunity—”
“Is worthless.”
“Only this Finn knows. And besides, don’t you think you’ve done enough? You almost died and those who know how to use blood magic are gone.” He took my hand in his. “After Mara’s wedding, stay with me. Come to the coast and make orbs with Helen. We’ll take long walks on the beach. I know a few isolated coves.”
Tempting. “What about Finn?”
“Let Valek and his people hunt him down.”
“I can’t. I need to be involved. At least until I know if I can either reclaim my magic or not.”
“And then?”
“I don’t know,” I said. Seeing the pain in his eyes, I stopped and faced him. “You said I came into your life like a hot season squall. Do you really think I’d be content to take long walks on the beach?”
“If we are to be together, Opal, I want to be with you, spending as much time with you as possible.”
I thought of Valek and Yelena. He had said no amount of time or distance could break them apart. Was it too much to expect the same from Kade? Then there was Mara and Leif. They kept together for most of the year.
“Why?”
“You ground me. When I’m on the coast—” he gestured to the western horizon “—and dancing, I can easily lose myself in the storm’s energy and personality. I wanted to do just that after my sister died, but you kept me connected. You give me a reason to come back.”
Kade tucked an errant strand of hair behind my ear. “You’re kind, smart and tenacious, and I love the way you’re so quick to help others. And there lies the problem. You rush off to solve Sitia’s problems and you don’t need my help. But I want to be selfish, keeping you safe with me.”
“But I wasn’t rushing off for Sitia this time. I was the one being selfish.”
“An exception. What about next time?”
“Valek could teach—”
“I already have a job. I’d like a home and a family. Do you?”
“Eventually, I guess.”
“Guess?” An eyebrow spiked.
“I can’t see past this…uncertainty with my blood.” And while it was nice to think my spyglass would show me the future if I found the right focus point, I didn’t believe it.
“Whether or not you reclaim your magic, some decisions won’t change.”
He had a point. Yet, deep inside, I equated planning my future to giving up; if I agreed to stay with Kade and work for the Council, I was admitting defeat.
Kade watched me. “You’re conflicted about more than your blood. What’s wrong?”
Time for full disclosure. I resumed walking, but the beautiful scenery didn’t even register in my mind.
Matching my pace, Kade stayed next to me. After a few moments, he asked, “How bad is it?”
“Bad.”
“Have you and Janco decided to run away to Ixia together?” Kade joked.
He surprised a laugh from me. “I’d kill Janco before we reach the border.” Then all my humor drained away. “You’re not going to like this.”
“Just tell me, Opal.”
So I did. The words rushed out.
Kade stopped in disbelief. “Devlen? You kissed Devlen?”
Feeling miserable, I nodded.
“But he… How could…?”
“I don’t know why. Maybe because he understands what I’m going through right now.”
“I—”
“Can’t understand. I’m sorry it happened, but I can’t erase the past. I love you. I do, but I need him right now. The search for my blood had given me a purpose. Devlen gives me hope that if I don’t find it, I’ll be able to get on with my life.”
“With me?”
“I’m here.”
“What does that mean?” he asked.
“I knew that if I didn’t come here, we’d no longer be together. I don’t want to lose you, and I don’t want to lie to you, either. Can you just be with me for now?”
“I need to think about it,” he said. “The house is over there.” Kade pointed. “I’ll meet you later.” He strode away.
I hovered near the back porch of the house, feeling lost and heartsick. The unmistakable sounds of an argument reached me. I didn’t want to eavesdrop on Kade’s parents, so I let their voices flow past me. Instead I counted the number of clotheslines strung next to the shed—more than I would expect for three people. I was up to ten when my name was mentioned. Unable to avoid the now-loud conversation, I sank to the steps and rested my elbows on my knees.
“…took her sweet time,” Kade’s mother said.
A muttered reply from Ink. I covered my face with my hands.
“…don’t care… She’s nothing but trouble.”
At least she had that right. The door squeaked and I glanced up.
Ink leaned on the frame. “Where’s Kade?” he asked.
“He said he’d meet me here.”
“Don’t sit out in the sun. Come in.” Ink pushed the door wider.
I entered a workroom. Kegs of ink rested on a long table. Bolts of cloth littered the floor and open barrels of liquid lined the walls. I had known Kade worked on his family’s farm during the off-season, but had no idea exactly what they did with the ink.
Ink didn’t give me time to ask as he led me into the kitchen to introduce me to his wife. She stirred a pot heating on the hearth.
“Sarrah, this is—”
“Met her already,” she said without looking up. “Go wash up before supper.”
“Be nice. Opal’s our guest.” He shooed me from the kitchen and into the living room. He played host, telling me to sit down, fetching me a drink and asking how long I planned to visit.
“Not long,” I said. “My sister is getting married in fifteen days and I need to be home in time to help.”
Sarrah came out to set the formal table, setting down the plates with extra force. The bangs punctuated her ill humor.
“Can I help with supper?” I asked her.
“No.”
To break the awkward silence I asked Ink about his work. Before he could speak, Sarrah grumped. “She knows nothing about us.”
“Of course she doesn’t,” Ink said. “Opal’s been busy. Without her, they never would have fixed those orbs.”
“Tell that to Nisha and Kamlesh. I’m sure they would rather have their children home with them, than for all of them to be murdered.”
I missed a major connection between fixed orbs to murdered children. Ink rubbed his temples as if this were an old argument. I caught his eye and raised my eyebrows in question.
“Nisha and Kamlesh are Indra, Varun and Nodin’s parents. Or were.” Ink hunched over the table.
Grief welled. The three glassmakers had been killed by Sir and Tricky for the Stormdancers’ secret orb recipe—the special sand mixture used for the glass orbs. I also had the recipe, but when Sir couldn’t force it from me, he turned to them.
“I would like to visit them before I leave. Do they live nearby?” I asked Ink.
“Don’t bother them,” Sarrah said. “They have no wish to see you. Believe me.”
Lovely. Kade’s mother blamed me for their deaths. I wondered if Nisha and Kamlesh did, as well. At least Sarrah couldn’t pin her daughter Kaya’s death on me. It was one of the reasons I had become involved with discovering who had sabotaged the orbs. Through that mission I had met Kade.
As Sarrah bustled around, I studied her. She had lost a child a little over a year ago. My mother had been devastated when Tula had died, but I couldn’t remember if she had been angry, as well. The man who had killed my sister had been caught, and so had the people responsible for Kaya’s death. Kade had helped capture them. Did Sarrah also think I was responsible for getting him involved? He had be
en caught and forced to harvest the energy from the blizzards in Ixia. I shied away from thinking about my role during that time.
I remembered Kade had been just as walled off as his mother. But he had found a little peace since his sister’s death. Why? I sorted through my memories. Kaya’s soul had been trapped in a glass orb, existing with a storm’s energy. After escaping Sir and Tricky, Kade had set her free. He had said goodbye.
“Did you have a good harvest this year?” I asked Ink.
Once again Sarrah jumped in. “Why do you care? Look at those drab-colored clothes you’re wearing. We only produce vibrant and beautiful ink here.”
I bit my tongue before I could make a nasty comment about her brown pants and tan shirt. I really, really didn’t want to argue. Since anything I said would be misconstrued by Sarrah, I kept quiet.
Kade returned. He wouldn’t look at me, and he didn’t notice the tension in the room.
Supper was painful and I almost wished to be back at Wirral. Almost. Sarrah steered the conversation and I kept my temper in check. She reminisced over Kade’s and Kaya’s childhoods. I noted the lack of embarrassing stories. Lucky Kade.
He, on the other hand, hardly said a word.
“They did everything together,” Sarrah said. “Even school. Kaya hated to be in the younger class, so she studied hard and was promoted to Kade’s group.”
Finally Ink managed to change the subject. “You mentioned your sister, Opal. Who’s the lucky man?”
“Leif Zaltana.”
Ink glanced at his son. “Is he the one who ate your mother’s entire cobbler by himself?”
“Sounds like him,” I said, smiling despite myself.
“Yes. He stopped by for a visit on his way back to the Citadel,” Kade said.
“A powerful magician,” Sarrah said. “He should marry another Zaltana. Concentrate the power for his children. When people marry outside their clans, it dilutes the blood.”
Did she say that on purpose? If I had hackles they would be up. “Leif is marrying Mara for the right reason. Love.”
She dismissed my comment. “Silly sentiment. Sitia needs more magicians. We’ve lost two Master Magicians and you gave your magic away. Love is nice, but it’s selfish.”
I sputtered. Gave mine away? Before I could say something I’d regret, I excused myself from the table and bolted outside. Once there, I inhaled deep breaths to calm the fury. Was she trying to get a reaction from me? Why did she dislike me so much? My guilty conscience replied that she sensed I’d hurt her son. At least I kept my temper. Fighting with Kade’s mother would only upset him further.
By the time I returned to his parents’ house, Ink and Sarrah sat in the living room. Lanterns blazed, pushing the darkness to the far corners. Sarrah kept sewing, ignoring me. Ink glanced up from his paper. A pair of reading glasses was perched on the end of his nose.
I stood awkwardly in the threshold. Kade wasn’t in sight. “Where’s Kade?” I asked Ink.
“Checking on the horses.”
Sarrah tsked. “He wastes too much time with that animal. Doesn’t he know as soon as a dignitary from Ixia visits, or the Council realizes their mistake, they’ll take that Sandseed horse back?”
Her tone of voice clearly indicated that she didn’t want an answer, but I stepped into the room to give her one regardless. “No one can take Moonlight from Kade. No one.”
She wouldn’t look at me so I moved closer. “Moonlight decides who he stays with.”
“He doesn’t need a horse. He was fine without one.”
“Moonlight’s been a big help around here,” Ink said then ducked his head when his wife glowered at him. “Er…sit down, Opal. I’ll go make up Kaya’s bed—”
“Absolutely not,” Sarrah said. She jabbed her needle at me. Panic flared in her eyes. “She can sleep on the couch. She’s not allowed in Kaya’s room.”
And then all the clues clicked into place. Sarrah was afraid Kade had replaced his love for his sister with me. At least she would be happy when Kade tells me it’s over.
Ink started to protest, but I touched his arm. “The couch is fine. After ten days on the road, anything soft will do.”
Kade still hadn’t returned by the time Ink and Sarrah retired for the night. I squirmed into a semicomfortable position on the couch. The pale moonlight slipped in through the small gap in the windows. Shadows from the curtains flickered on the floor’s wooden beams.
Unable to sleep, I watched the fabric billow and sway with the cool night breeze. After a few minutes the curtains would settle and then blow in and part as if announcing the arrival of the wind.
A squeak woke me from a light doze. Kade’s shadow crossed the floor. He paused and I waited. Then the steps groaned with his weight as he climbed the stairs.
15
I COULDN’T BLAME HIM FOR GIVING UP ON ME. I’D lost Kade. Despite the wrenching inside my chest, I ruminated on the word lost as I stared at the ceiling. Lost his love, not the man since he slept upstairs. I had planned to leave early in the morning if Kade couldn’t stay with me. Why wait? I wouldn’t be able to sleep. Not now. Quartz enjoyed traveling at night and she had all day to rest.
But I needed to say goodbye. Tiptoeing upstairs, I paused on the landing. Three closed doors ringed the short hallway. Which one was his?
I stood in front of each door as I decided. A slight draft caressed my bare toes from under the door on the right, but air blasted my feet from the left one. Only Kade would have his window wide-open.
Biting my lip, I tapped on the door before turning the knob and peeking in. If he was asleep…
“I’m awake,” Kade said.
With no shirt on and wearing only short pants, he lay on top of the bedspread. A knot formed under my ribs and I shivered.
“I understand your decision. I’m leaving tonight and wanted to say goodbye.”
He gazed out the window. And I studied his face, committing the strong line of his jaw and his smooth skin to memory. The consequences of my quest had been very high. I turned to go.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“Home for Mara’s wedding.”
“You can’t leave so soon. If I’m going to spend time with your family, it’s only fair you spend a few more days with mine.”
I spun around.
He pushed up on his elbow. “I don’t want to give up on us. This thing with Devlen isn’t love, is it?”
“No. He’s like my Story Weaver.”
“And he’ll help you?”
“Yes.”
Kade drew in a deep breath. “You know what I want and need. And you love me.” He quirked a smile. “I can be happy with that for now. After the wedding, you know where I’ll be.” He patted the bed and I slid in with him. He settled back and I snuggled in close.
“Although,” he said, “you’ll have to deal with my mother for the next couple of days.”
Dealing with his mother seemed a mere inconvenience. I’d been given a second chance with Kade and I wasn’t going to blow it. My thoughts returned to my earlier assessment of Sarrah. “I think I know why she hates me so much.”
“After one day?”
“I’ve learned a great deal about human nature from Valek.”
“Go on.”
“She needs to know you still love your sister. Your father already knows you’re not trying to replace her with me. When you released Kaya’s soul on the Northern Ice Sheet, you had a moment with her that your parents missed. You said goodbye, and even I experienced her joy at finding peace. They didn’t. I think if you tell them what happened, your mother might feel better about us.”
“Once I decided to let her go, I never considered waiting. So wrapped up in my own grief, I had forgotten my parents’ pain.” He looked at me. “It was a very selfish thing to do.”
“At that time, you couldn’t see past your own pain.”
“Sounds like you have some experience with this.”
It would explain my actio
ns with Devlen. “Yes I do, and it usually leads to trouble.”
When I woke the next morning, Kade was gone. I stretched and felt a rare moment of contentment before getting up to find him. Halfway down the steps, his mother’s voice reached me. I slowed.
“Sounds like wishful thinking—harvesting Kaya’s soul. Honestly, Kade, you’re a Stormdancer not a Soulfinder. You didn’t have these delusions about your abilities before you met that girl or got that horse. All this running around, for what? Nothing.”
I cringed for Kade. Deeper issues lay between him and his mother, and I might have made it worse. His reply was too quiet for me to decipher.
“Why can’t you pick someone like Helen? She’s beautiful, talented…”
Unable to endure any more, I hurried through the living room and out the front door. When had she met Helen? I thought the Stormdancer’s new orb maker worked in Thunder Valley during the off-season, selling her glasswares.
Helen was pretty and her glass statues were unparalleled works of art. And she was sweet. And she spent three full seasons working with Kade. I stopped that line of thought. Despite all the pain I caused, he had stayed with me. Love trumps logic.
I found Quartz and Moonlight grazing behind the shed. Her copper-and-white coat looked fuzzy and unkempt. Shedding season. I retrieved a shedding blade from my saddlebags and pulled the thin metal loop through her thick cold season coat. Hair rained to the ground, piling around her hooves like drifts of snow.
Kade arrived. He groaned with annoyance. “I combed her last night.” He gestured to the piles of hair. “Not that you would know it.”
Moonlight snuffled Kade’s hair and sneezed.
“Ugh.” Kade wiped his face on his sleeve. “Good morning to you, too.” He scratched the horse behind his ears and then sighed when he noticed the black hairs sticking to his hand. “Now he’s shedding.”
I ducked behind Quartz to hide my smile, but Kade joined me. “I’ll finish grooming Quartz. You need to get cleaned up.” He wiped horsehair off my chin.
“For what?”
“Shopping with my mother,” he deadpanned.
“But she—”
“Agreed to spend time with you for my sake.”
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