I dashed more tears from my eyes and looked at the empty gateway where Luis had stood.
"Luis!" I stumbled forward in the snow and fell back onto my knees.
"Madeline, you cannot go after him. The snow is too deep!"
My eyes were wild as Luke helped me to my feet. "He's out there alone! I have to explain that you were comforting me. I have to explain!"
"What is there to explain? Look!"
He held up something, and I gasped. It was a green jewel, the color of peridot with streaks of copper running through it. A gemâanother one. My heart dropped as tears burned my eyes.
"What does that even mean?" I turned away from him and the stone, but the truth was already sinking in. I knew exactly what the stone meant, but it seemed impossible. I shouldn't have fallen for Lukeânot like this. Not just because he took me to see my mother's grave. I couldn't let this be real.
But it was.
"It means..." Luke's voice softened, but he wasn't letting me run from this. He held the stone as if it explained everything. "This jewel is a symbol of your rightness. It means, Madeline..." His voice lowered, taking on a husky edge that sent shivers down my spine. "That you are everything I hoped for. That you will be the one who saves us. And that you'll be my family..."
"If I lose even Luis," I whispered hoarsely, "it means I can lose all of you. It means I can lose you. I need to find him."
Luke's expression grew more tender, and before I could protest, he swept me off my feet, cradling me against his chest as though I weighed nothing. "What you need," he said, voice firm yet gentle, "is to get home and stop blaming yourself. You did nothing wrong. I am your husband, same as he is. If the dog is not back by morning, we will search for him until we need to leave for the trial."
"Stop calling him a dog, and put me down." I glared at him, but there was no heat behind my expression. I sniffled and hit his arm, as his reminder rang in my mind like the sound of the stone at the Becoming ceremony.
Husband.
Luke was my husband. He spoke of inevitabilities once the Becoming ceremony happened.
I wasn't ready to accept that the second person to give me a stone was Luke. He'd been the one to grab me from my comfortable world into all this madness.
But he was also the one that was giving me answers to questions that Luis knew but never shared.
I closed my eyes, trying to steady my breath. I still needed Luis. Despite everything, I needed him to make sense of this chaotic world.
"Put me down," I whispered, my voice catching, and I began to struggle again. I wasn't sure I could hold on to all of them without falling apart.
He started walking with me firmly held in his arms. "Stop struggling, or I shall put you over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes." He looked down at me with a brow creased with worry. "You are frightening me, Madeline. Please let me help you. It is dark outside, and it would be difficult to find him right now. I swear, in the morning, we'll go looking."
I surrendered, knowing he was right but no happier about it. He took me back to the mansion and deposited me in his study.
Adrian came in, looking concerned. "What's going on? Where's Luis?"
I shook my head, unable to say the words. "He ran off," I managed after a moment, my voice hollow.
Adrian's face tightened with concern. "Why?"
"Because I kissed her," Luke said, his voice even.
Adrian's eyes widened. "Didn't we agree no one would kiss Madeline until we figured things out?"
"It wasn't planned," Luke replied, holding up the gem again. "But it happened, and now there's this."
Adrian took the stone from Luke, studying it before turning to me. "So you and Luke...?"
"He meant only to kiss my forehead, Adrian. It's my fault he kissed my lips."
Luke gave me a tender look. "These are the stones Madeline must put in the crown at the third trial. She collects them when she kisses her consort with love in her heart. If he reciprocates, a gem forms on the consort's tongue, and he must give it to her."
"So you and Luke..." Adrian repeated, I could feel waves of complicated emotions coming from him that I couldn't name.
I swallowed, unsure of my own heart. But, the stone was proof of at least a growing love for Luke.
"There are all sorts of love, Madeline. It does not have to be romantic..." Luke's smile was sad, and I felt worse.
"I have another stone..." I may as well confess it all.
"With who?" Adrian asked. Luke also looked interested in the answer.
"With Dominic. I have it in my jewelry box."
Adrian blew out a stream of air. "Dominic too?"
I cringed. "Yes. Dominic too."
"Does Luis know?" Adrian sat down with a heavy thump in the chair next to mine.
"He knows." I dragged my messy hair from my face. To my surprise, Adrian took my hand.
"You must be going nuts with everything going on. Even though I don't like the guy, I'll help you find Luis." His worry trickled through the link along with a thread of relief. What was he relieved about?
"Thanks, Adrian," I said instead of asking him why.
Adrian stood up. "I had another reason to come in here. Ciaran wants to help you with your magic because he believes he'd be the most qualified to train you in what you can do. Are you up to it?" Adrian smiled at me, "You're a tangled knot of confusion and hair."
I doubted that my hair, or my confusion would ever be unsnarled again.
And I didn't want to go to Ciaran. I was still reeling over Luis running off. I was angry, despairing, and quite unmotivated to just go to the next thing.
Luke sensed my reluctance and squeezed my shoulder. "You should go, if only to learn more about what you are, and how you can manage it."
I stared at the ceiling, wanting to cry again but knowing he had a point. I couldn't curl up into a ball and just cry when my world was being rocked.
If Ciaran had some answers, I had to see him.
With the heaviest of sighs, I asked, "Where is Ciaran?"
"He's in Brin's music room," Adrian said as he stood up. Those waves of emotions continued to pour from them, and within the snarl, I could sense frustration.
I moved to stand up to follow him.
Luke was staring straight ahead as a muscle ticked in his jaw. "Stay for a moment, Madeline."
I swallowed as I remained seated. "Okay."
"Because I know that to win, you must fall in love with all of us." He gave me a steady look, and it felt like my heart could burst from the passion flowing from him. "I thought I could handle being just one of many husbands, but I'm struggling."
"I never thought I'd be in this spot, Luke. With these roots, and what I'd always imagined my life would be like -- just me and one someone to love, I'm struggling too."
I looked down at my shoes, trying to understand. Nothing in my world made sense, especially my thoughts towards Luke.
"It might be because of the stone, Luke, and I know Luis is furious, but I want to kiss you again."
I twisted my fingers in my lap and squeezed my eyes shut at how crazy I'd become.
His mouth dropped open as he regarded me with shock. He rose slightly from his chair. "Do you?"
I put up a hand. "Yes, but don't. I need to think about things."
He was already out of his chair, pulling me from mine, embracing me. "I will not kiss you, but I must hold you, if only for a moment. When the time comes, I dearly hope that you choose me as the royal consort."
I bit my lip, hesitating as a thousand thoughts spiraled through my mind. Luis's absence left a hollow ache in my chest, but right now, being in Luke's arms felt like a lifeline. I reached toward it, feeling greedy for that comfort.
Despite telling him not to kiss me, I kissed him first.
I could feel his breath hitch against my mouth -- first with surprise, then ardor. His hand found the curve of my jaw, anchoring me in that moment, grounding me in the warmth that radiated from him.
I wasn't answering his wish or making a promiseâI was simply allowing myself a moment to feel something other than heartbreak. And as his lips moved with tenderness against mine, I realized that maybe he understood. His kiss was as gentle as it was unyielding, telling me without words that he was there, that I wasn't alone in this mess, even if my heart felt bruised and broken.
When I finally pulled back, our foreheads rested together, breaths mingling in the quiet.
I pushed away from him gently, then left the study with my head spinning, looking back to see him staring after me with fire in his eyes.
How had I ever thought that Luke was cold?
By the time I made it to Brin's music room for training with Ciaran, I was numb. The day's emotional upheaval had drained me, and after that second kiss with Luke, I wasn't sure I had the energy for magic practice. But Ciaran was waiting, and he wasn't the type to let me off the hook.
"Ah, Princess," Ciaran greeted me with his usual smirk. "You look awful. Puffy, even."
I sat down at a table that had been set up in the ballroom, refusing to acknowledge his teasing. "Can you tell me why this can't wait? Why tonight?"
"Right to the point, as always." He winked. "Through our connection, I've determined you're half Edentree, which is supposed to be impossible. Yet here you are, defying expectations as usual."
I stared at him with a blank expression. If this was just going to be a lecture, I really wanted it to wait until the next day.
"Okay?"
He chuckled then. "Ah, so impatient my sweetest dear. You, my princess, created roots between you and your court. Not only that, but between you and those that are not Trees. Trees have not been able to create such roots for eons, and never have done so with non-Trees."
I remembered how angry Aisa had been that I'd been able to do that, but she had to resort to Oaths. "But why is it so important?"
"Because Edentrees aren't supposed to have the ability to produce offspring." Ciaran's tone was nonchalant, but his gaze sharpened.
I nearly fell from my chair in shock. Offspring?
Did he mean babies??
I held up a hand. "Wait, wait, wait. Babies? I don't want babies. Not right now anyway."
Ciaran chuckled. "No, that's not the entire use for your roots. It also allows you an advantage for power." His smile faded a little. "And I've been blessed to share in it."
I remembered how suspicious we all were of Ciaran, and I raised a brow.
"With my connection, there is a possibility that I now share in your problems as well. Your father, the Straif, must have used both light and dark magic to create you." He gave me a sober look. "Dark magic is a sin among the trees"
"So, what does this mean for me?"
"It means," Ciaran said, taking my hand, "you must learn to control both light and dark. Your death magic is tied to the underworld. You can pull life force from the living, and you can raise spiritsâtwo sides of the same coin."
"Great," I muttered. "More power to mess up."
He chuckled. "Indeed, but that's why I'm here. I can help you. Although technically this also could be an avenue to offspring, it's important to understand how you work." He smiled, "And with non-Trees, I doubt such an event would happen. It also is a fact that we Trees were cursed to not have offspring."
If it was that important, I had to do it, I supposed.
I didn't want to, but I also didn't want to find myself in trouble.
For the next hour, we practiced connecting to and releasing the network. At first, it was overwhelming, but with Ciaran's guidance, I gradually learned to visualize a hook I could release when I needed to let go.
"Good, excellent, Princess," he praised. "Now, your next lesson involves Master Brin, Master Rielte, and Master Noc. You'll be learning to draw on their life force for magic, though it's best to make them part of your court first."
"Do we have to?" I asked, already hesitant.
"Not necessarily, but it will strengthen both their status and your network for the trials."
"We'd be honored, Mistress," Brin said with a bow, his eyes shining with reverence.
Ciaran handed me three bracelets made of crystal beads. After a small ritual, my seal appeared on each of their foreheads, and a soft glimmer surrounded us. They looked at me with a pure, adoring awe, stroking their seals and their new bracelets.
"Now, practice pulling and releasing energy with Brin first," Ciaran said. "Then Noc, then Rielte, then me."
With a hesitant sigh, I reached for Brin's hands, focusing on his life force as Ciaran instructed. I inhaled, not with my lungs but with my mind, and Brin's spirit filled meâa rush of spring meadows, vast skies, and wildflowers. It was intoxicating, yet grounding. Carefully, I returned the flow back to him, feeling him vibrate with life as he groaned, leaning his forehead against mine.
"Could we do that again?" Brin asked, his voice husky.
"No, you eager pony," Ciaran teased. "Good job, Madeline. Now, try with Noc."
Turning to Noc, I reached for his hands and felt a different sensation entirelyâcold and bracing, like a winter wind. As his energy flowed through me, it left me breathless, a plume of chilled air escaping my lips. Noc gasped, dropping to his knees, bringing me with him, his joy radiating a pure, frosty light that filled me with a peace so profound, I almost didn't want to let go.
I reached for his silvery hair, laughing softly, and he bent forward to allow it, his hands threading through mine as his icy lips pressed against my forehead. His joy lingered, a spark of light I didn't want to lose.
I felt my mind grab a tiny piece of it.
"Now, Madeline," Ciaran's voice cut through my haze, "try to call forth a spirit. Use the magic within you."
Reluctantly, I released Noc's energy, feeling his joy slip away like sand through my fingers. I focused on the magical energy inside me, feeling it pulse as I channeled it into a single thought.
"Meow!"
A familiar cry made my heart leap. There, shimmering before me, was Persimmon, his ghostly fur gleaming, his eyes full of that same playful mischief. Tears stung my eyes.
"Persimmon..." I whispered, a warmth flooding my heart as he gazed up at me.
I looked up at Ciaran with wonder in my eyes, and I thought I spied a ghostly root streaming between me and Noc, but when I looked again it was gone.