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"Yeah, because it's basically my only offensive magic, but it's really nothing impressive. Not compared to my father, at least. His Decay was so powerful and widespread. He could take out a forest at once if he wanted to." He pulls his shirt off and wipes it across his face, capturing dirt and sweat alike. His black pants fall low on his slim hips, and my eyes linger on the defined plains of his chest. He catches my perusal and tosses his shirt in my face.
"Asshole," I mutter, dropping the shirt on the ground.
The sun is on its way towards the horizon, and it is still incredibly hot. The climate here is not much different than Dalery, but it's quite different than Ytopie with its placement in a valley. A breeze off the ocean provides temporary relief from the oppressive humidity. "We need more trees for shade," I mutter, looking around at the ruins that are quickly becoming Rainworth.
Mace moves to my side and links his pinky with mine, using it to pull me close to his side. "You have Spring magic now. You could try it."
I shake my head, rubbing over the sunfire on my chest. "Not right now."
Maybe I should tell Mace that since arriving here, my magic has felt unruly. It's like devotion is everywhere, but mostly, I feel it beneath my feet as if it soaked into the ground. I worry that trying to pull plants from the ground would pull that magic with it, andsomething tells me I don't want to do that just yet.
Everything within me screams that there is going to be a better use for that magic soon.
"I think it's going to be time to eat soon." Mace interrupts my thoughts, and I swing my head towards him and smile.
"Have we fixed up a dining hall yet?"
He points to a large building near the amphitheater. "Last one for the day."
It's so easy to work alongside Mace. I know the path we tread to each other was not a straight line, but now that we are on the same page, everything flows so freely between us. For the first time in my life I finally feel like someone understands me and the way I see the world. I love this man in a way I have never loved before.
Wholly, completely, and desperately.
Mace knows what I want and desire, and he fights for me to get it. What more could I ask for in a partner?
"Do you ever want to get married?" I ask.
His large hand hits my chest as Mace grinds to a halt, stopping me with him. "Excuse me?"
"Marriage. Did you want to get married?"
"It's more a human thing," he says, rubbing the back of his head. "I never really thought about it." Taking me by the shoulders, Mace turns me so he can look into my eyes. "Did you want to get married, Viola?"
"Absolutely not," I say with a shrug, wiggling out of his grip and continuing to walk toward the dining hall.
"Then why would you bring that up?" he practically shouts, chasing after me.
"I was thinking about how you're my partner and was wondering if you ever wanted a title change."
His laugh echoes in the nearly empty town. "Title change? Like this is some role that you've bestowed upon me?"
"Isn't it? What is a relationship but deciding to play a role for another person."
"Viola, that…" Mace inhales sharply, fighting back a laugh, "that's completely correct." He loses his battle with his laugh and grabs me by the hand, spinning me into his arms. "I don't need a title change, numen. As long as I'm by your side, I am happy."
I lean forward and kiss him gently, running my fingers along his cheekbone. "I'm glad you don't want to get married. I hate wearing dresses."
Dinner was hastily prepared on a wood-burning stove that Mace and I built when we reconstructed the dining hall. Plume and Jaz spent their day down the hill and in the forest to find meat and vegetables and collect wood on the cart they toted with them. They came back sweaty and exhausted, but we had food for all of us, including the crew from Jaz's ship.
We sat around, a hodgepodge mix of humans and fae, but a family nonetheless. Looking at everyone, I cannot help but thinkabout how different things were for me just a few months ago. I was so skeptical of everyone I met that I never would have put myself in a room of people like this.
It feels like I've finally broken down the wall that my parents built and I spent my life fortifying.
I never would've imagined that this would be the result of me winning the Race.
After a hearty meal of braised stag and root vegetables, the crew cleared out, leaving just Mace, Zeph, Tulip, Plume, Morrow, Jaz, and myself in the dining hall.
"So what was Viola like as a kid?" Tulip asks, draining her second mug of ale.
