━━━━━━━ ♚ ━━━━━━━

The warmth of the dirt cave posed as the only benefit to their  otherwise negative situation considering the majority of their supplies  were gone, agents of the Sphinx had kidnapped Raxtus, and now they had  new non-combatants to protect. But at least they ended up in the warm  ground!

The defrosting of Kendra's freezing body almost bolstered  her morale enough to contend with Muriel. As soon as the witch had  sensed that everyone else had fallen asleep, she had scooted over to  Kendra and had cast a simple distraction spell. Kendra had envy at her  ease with magic, especially since she knew what the witch was going to  ask and Kendra couldn't lie to her. When Muriel had grabbed Kendra's  hand to help with setting up their current luxury dirt cave, she had  sensed Kendra's lack of magical ability.

But, also, Kendra had  never been able to lie to Muriel, because the witch was just too damn  perceptive. Muriel was never nice about her observations, either, so it  created a loop of negative feedback.

As expected, Muriel narrowed her eyes and immediately cut to the point. "What happened to you?"

With  a sigh, she whispered what Muriel had already figured out. "I lost my  magic. I over-exhausted myself breaking out of Terrabelle and the stupid  sickening crystals sickening. It's gone. Don't tell anyone."

She  believed in the structural integrity of Muriel's bunker, but in the  darkness, all Kendra could feel was the dirt on all sides compressing  her body. The earth hanging over the head. She laid in her resting place  already. A mass grave with all the people she was taking with her.

Terror,  guilt, and anxiety tumbled through her stomach and she tried to push  the thoughts down. She needed a clear mind. That's what her grandparents  had always said.

"Can you see me right now?"

Kendra  squinted. It was dim, but she could make out Muriel's wrinkled face and  her raised eyebrow. Long, wavy gray hair framed her bony countenance.  "Not very well."

"It should be pitch black. But not to you. Not to  me. Because we have light magic. You didn't lose it, you stupid girl."  Her lips curved into a grin, the wart on her chin stretching to  accommodate. "Silly."

Indignation flared in Kendra. This was a real problem and Muriel was so unserious. "But why can't I use it?"

"Well, what did I always tell you?"

"That I was lazy and was going to squander all my talent?"

The witch rolled her eyes. "Yes, but what else?"

"Did you ever say anything else?"

"Don't be ungrateful."

Kendra pursed her lips together and whispered back shortly. "I would never."

Muriel  sniffed. "Your magic is a part of you—the real you. But, you force  yourself and it away. You push your emotions down. You try to be someone  different than yourself. Someone different for the King and Queen, for  your kingdom, for your little boyfriend. You refuse yourself and in  doing so, refuse your magic."

Kendra closed her eyes in shame. She  wanted to retort to Muriel that Garreth wasn't her boyfriend, but such  things were useless with Muriel.

Desperation had lived in every  crevice of Kendra's body since she figured out her inability to access  her magic. Even though Muriel's words were harsh and blunt, they offered  a solution and assurance that it wasn't the end of the world.

"You need to balance your mind and body. Connect with yourself and your magic will come," Muriel finished.

Kendra  could probably do that. What did that take? Some calming exercise, some  talking about her feelings? It wasn't pleasant-sounding, but the reward  of having her magic back overcame any hesitation. She could even make a  checklist.

Muriel poked her heart. Kendra flinched. "Your magic wants to be with you. The real you."

"I want it too."

"No,  you want the power. You just want the power to fulfill your selfish  aims of fixing your family and your kingdom. That's not what you were  blessed to do." Muriel narrowed her eyes in disapproval. This was a  common refrain. The witch always believed Kendra wasn't doing her  mythological duties—protecting magic and restoring prosperity to the  magic world. But, that had always been for the later time. Later, when  she was queen. Later, when she was older and knew what she was doing.  Later, when she could finally come to terms with it.

It was later.

Kendra  looked down. Her dim vision became blurry with frustrated tears—she had  never asked for such a heavy responsibility on top of her crown. She  had only ever asked for help. "I asked for the blessing to save my  parents."

Muriel's harsh voice softened the most Kendra had ever  heard, yet it still sounded like stone grinding on stone. "But you  failed to do so...because that was never what it was for."

Muriel  sighed and her bony fingers scraped away Kendra's tears. In rare  moments, she could be gentle. Kendra knew she was the closest thing  Muriel had to a friend, which was sad on its own. But, Muriel  self-inflicted her loneliness with scathing remarks and dazzling  rudeness.

Come to think of it, why was Muriel the one giving her  life advice? She was the least well-adjusted person Kendra knew. But,  she was powerful, so she must be doing something right.

The witch withdrew her hand from Kendra's face and clucked her tongue. "You know what the blessing was for."

━━━━━━━ ♚ ━━━━━━━

Muriel's  words haunted Kendra. Her responsibility as a handmaiden—the  responsibility to protect and preserve magic—was a truth she had never  wanted to ever acknowledge or fully accept.

Because she had never truly done so.

She had shielded Fablehaven. Sure, she had shielded Fablehaven—right up until they were invaded.

Then,  six people died on magical charges while she had been at Terrabelle.  She didn't do anything then. Who knew how many more died before her  arrival?

Who knew how many right now?

Kendra rolled these  questions over in her mind, hoping to smooth the sharp edges, but  failing. She went to sleep that night with a jagged sense of guilt and  confusion.

But the next morning, Kendra had an epiphany. She had it: what she needed to do.

Seth awoke her to leave the earthen settlement, and winced upon her opening her eyes. "Kendra? Are you okay?"

She  scrunched up her nose at him. He didn't have to comment on her state of  disarray. Kendra could feel her puffy eyes herself, thank you very  much. "We need to defeat the Sphinx."

That had to be it. He was  upsetting the balance of power in the world, and breeding resentment  between the magical world and the mortal world. He had terrified humans  into reviving witch hunts, and magicals into hiding themselves away from  the cruelty of humans.

He needed to go.

Seth squinted at  her and lowered his voice. "Kendra, you know our current, modest  objective of only rescue is pretty unrealistic."

"We need to defeat the Sphinx, we need to emancipate all magic creatures and sorcerers, we need to—"

"We  need to do a lot of things. First things first, there's a river a  couple minutes east where people are washing up. Then, go talk to  Warren. They're making a plan." Seth left her with a look of worry. He  wasn't usually the moderate one, but Kendra knew this was the right path  even if it maybe was abnormally rash for her.

Freezing river  water washed her face and cleaned her grimy body. It felt good to be  clean. Well, clean-er. It was impossible to get a good enough bath on  the trip to be as clean as she desired. But as her body renewed, her  mind nevertheless just tumbled over the same old thoughts.

Muriel said Kendra needed to be a true handmaiden, so she was advocating for magic. Right? That was the right path, right?

Kendra  laid back on the cool stone of the river bank and sighed. She was on  the right path, she was sure. But she would need to think over it more.

Well, what was the other directive?

Be herself?

Kendra  groaned. How was she supposed to know who she was? There were so many  different forces pulling herself in every direction.

Be herself when ruling?

She didn't want to do that at all.

What  did her magic want from her? Pain and embarrassment? Because that was  what she was going to have to endure for this forced journey of  self-discovery.

━━━━━━━ ♚ ━━━━━━━

During the afternoon planning meeting, Kendra  stayed silent about her new ambition. It was too early to share. She  would need to think and plan and perfect.

When would they have  another chance to oust the Sphinx if not now? How was Fablehaven  supposed to regain its footing and survive again if the Sphinx held it  still? Even if they briefly took back their land, his army would just  come in and capture it again. No, for sustained peace and success, they  needed to remove him.

Kendra knew the older adults had already  spoken of this before. They hadn't wanted to share with the group yet,  but the possibility had been brought up. They always thought she was  asleep when she wasn't, and she had listened to a few of their  late-night conversations.

Warren believed it the best long-run  tactical move—to get rid of the Sphinx now. But, their group had no army  and little weaponry. However, without the threat eliminated, there was a  slim chance they could ever return to Fablehaven and keep it.

The  futility of every possible choice was why the adults had been loath to  share. They hadn't wanted to squash the young ones' hopes. But, Kendra  knew the reality, and she had already lived seventeen summers.

Plus,  if she could finally be at peace with her magic like Muriel wanted her  to, maybe she would unlock greater power that was possibly enough to  defeat the Sphinx.

Nonetheless, Kendra didn't bring her thoughts  up during the meeting. She needed more time. Seth hadn't spoken of  anything Kendra had said to him either.

After the meeting, Kendra  readied herself to bid farewell to the Blackwoods. The family was  heading back the other way towards the nearest town to hunker down and  hopefully be settled before they had to deliver Mrs. Blackwood's baby.  Her stomach was already very round—the biggest Kendra had ever seen. She  would be surprised if Mrs. Blackwood delivered anything less than  triplets.

The snow reached Kendra's knees and dampened her skirts  as she waded with the mother towards the clearing where her family  waited. She held her upper arm and braced Mrs. Blackwood in their walk.  Mrs. Blackwood had stayed behind to gather up the few resources the  group could spare, and now Kendra was escorting her to her departure.

Before they took another step, the mother pulled Kendra's arm to a stop. "Wait."

Kendra  looked back at Mrs. Blackwood. It was uncanny how familiar she looked.  Kendra must've met her before. She was a Fablehaven citizen, of course,  which made the probability very high. She wondered what Mrs. Blackwood  thought of her. Did she curse her for her current transient  circumstances? Kendra wouldn't blame her.

"I'm worried." The  mother covered her toddler's ears in her arms and lowered her voice. His  name was Ramsey and Kendra had never seen such energy in a child  before. But, his rambunctiousness lended itself to his hibernation-like  spells, like his slumber now. "Will we ever be able to return to our  home?"

Kendra's breath caught in her throat. It was an echo of the  same question Kendra had been asking herself for the past five months,  and the one she tried to overcome now. Tumultuous feelings of longing  surged her heart.

She wanted to share her fears and comfort the  mother, but then she remembered her grandparent's strictures: to be  strong, always. Kendra pushed down her true feelings and drew her back  straight before she remembered something more.

Muriel telling her to embrace herself. To stop being the queen she thought others wanted her to be. To listen to herself.

The  birds sang in the trees, and the snow soaked into her skirt. The voices  quieted in Kendra's mind, and she laid a hand on the mother's shoulder.

"I  don't know," Kendra said. The words sounded foreign, but the honesty  freed her. Peace blanketed her just like the snow did for the ground.  "I'm going to try my very best to recover Fablehaven, but I can't make  promises for the future. What I do know, from the caravan, is that  you're an amazing woman even in horrid conditions. I heard you singing  to your children after Sir Lich left. Even if you never return to  Fablehaven, your family will thrive."

Kendra didn't have to lie or  pretend to be someone else. She didn't weigh her words with the  political ramifications. She only used her truthful thoughts and earnest  attempt at comfort. In Mrs. Blackwood's silence, Kendra started to  worry. Should she have said something different? Something more queenly?

But,  then Mrs. Blackwood smiled. A snowflake fell on Ramsey's nose and he  started to scrunch his sleeping face to get it off. He must be waking  up. The mother removed her hands from his ears and dipped her head  forward. "We are truly lucky to have you, Princess Kendra. Wherever our  family goes—no matter where we end up—you will forever be both our  princess and handmaiden."

Pressure built behind Kendra's eyes and  her chest tightened. She bowed back and gave a soundless thank-you. The  mother continued on and disappeared in the distance with her family.

Kendra  could breathe again. She knew her strengths, and it was time she  stopped floundering trying to fit an ideal she didn't match.

She  wasn't going to rule like her grandparents did or even how her parents  did in their reigning decade. She was going to be different, and that  was okay.

Inside, Kendra felt freer. Lighter. She wasn't going to  stand alone as her family had in the past. She wasn't the lonely, stoic  monarch she had thought she needed to be.

She had her brother,  Vanessa, Patton, Warren, Eve, Garreth, and countless others who  supported her. But, most importantly, she had her own deep, abiding  resilience.

Hidden under the layers of heavy snow, bluebell  sprouts broke through the ground around her feet and tickled her  snow-soaked skirts. Magic buzzed in the air and flew with the wind.  Sunlight melted ice on the nearby riverbank.

Kendra was going to be okay.

━━━━━━━ ♚ ━━━━━━━

As  she walked back to camp, Kendra relished the alone time. She loved  people, but she needed solitude to have energy and lately that was rare.

She  listened to the babbling of the brook in the distance, which was rare  running water in the sea of ice and snow they sloshed through. Kendra  had never endured a winter like this before in her life. It was novel  and refreshing in some ways. But, when her shoes constantly got wet and  her teeth couldn't stop chattering, all she could think of was her warm  bed back in Fablehaven. But, Fablehaven was far behind them.

In  contrast, they were so close to the ziggurat. Both failure or success  would bring a change to their circumstances, and Kendra just hoped  they'd be warmer.

"Come here," a voice said.

Kendra looked  around. There were no bodies in between the pine trees or ahead.  Adrenaline flooded her veins. Oh no. Was this an attack?

With a  clash of tree branches and a thump in the snow, a body fell to the  ground. It was Madeline, the seamstress. Relief soothed Kendra. Not an  attack. Yet, Madeline was supposed to already be gone, off to the same  town the Blackwoods were heading to. What was she doing in the tree?

Kendra rushed to her side. "Are you okay, Madeline?"

"I'm  fine." She jumped to her feet and brushed Kendra off. Her hands ran  through her short, auburn hair and smoothed out her dress. Madeline had  been the royal seamstress for the past five years despite her youth  after her father had passed. As long as Kendra had known her, Madeline  had never stopped moving. Always gathering more fabric or dyeing  something. Kendra always made sure to skirt around her for fear  Madeline, in her hurry, forgot to take the pins out of her clothes  again. "I have something for you."

Kendra tilted her head. "I thought you had already left?"

Madeline pulled her pack off her back and began rifling through it. "Yes, but no. Keep this between us."

She  pulled out a long, white dress. Ruffles and gauzy fabric created an  angled silhouette. Perfect for springtime, sure. But not now.

"Thank you, Madeline. It's beautiful."

She  added a corset embroidered with colorful flowers. "It's not just  fashion. All the clothing my family has ever made has been infused with  magic. It's protective and durable—the king and queen know this. I know  you must have lost your original clothing from that night many months  ago when you fled Terrabelle. I want you to have this. Wear it when you  face the Sphinx. For me. Please."

Kendra ran her hands over the  dress. It was incredibly soft. Focusing, she could feel the quiet energy  of magic woven in. "Thank you truly. Why don't you want me to tell  everyone else?"

"I didn't have time to make more for everyone  else. I already had a mock-up of a dress of yours in my pack when I  fled. Dumb luck. But, I don't need them feeling bitter."

Kendra nodded. She understood. "You have served Fablehaven well."

Madeline  picked at her finger nails and glanced around. Her feet never stood  still, scratching at the ground or at her leg. Kendra smiled. She was  the same ball of frantic energy as ever. "Send for me when you return to  Fablehaven, alright? I want to go back. But, I'm of no help to any  resistance or war."

"You discount yourself."

She grinned and  shook her head. "No, I know what I'm capable of and willing to do. It's  not what you need. You, a princess with the blessing of a goddess, are  the one who discounts herself."

Kendra laughed. "Let's call it even and say we both discount ourselves."

"Well, alright. I'll see you soon, okay? Soon."

She nodded and raised a hand in goodbye. Madeleine disappeared into the treeline in an erratic skip.

The  pine trees rustled in the wind. Snow floated down to coat Kendra's new  gift, and she held it close to protect it. A snowy-white fox paused to  stare at her before scampering off. Maybe it was off to go to its home.

Where was Kendra's home?

Where were the Blackwoods' home or Madeline's home?

Was it still Fablehaven?

Yes.  At least for Kendra, Fablehaven would always be home. Even if she never  saw it again. She sighed and continued back to the camp. Hopefully, she  would see her people again.

As of now, Kendra's people were  refugees scattered across the map or prisoners subjugated under the  Sphinx. But, they wouldn't stay that way for long. She had a plan  forming. One that would end the Sphinx once and for all, and free her  people, both Fablehaven citizens and creatures of magic, forever. She  just needed a little more time before she could pitch it.

━━━━━━━ ♚ ━━━━━━━

After  the Blackwoods and the seamstress left to journey East to the nearest  town, everyone else—Muriel, Newel, and Doren—joined the royal group on  their way to the ziggurat. But, that didn't tip the scales for what they  had lost: Raxtus. Their most important member in terms of the mission  succeeding.

So, the members had put their heads together and had  come up with a new plan. No, not the plan Kendra toyed with, tweaking  details and substituting risky components. That was the Plan. Capital P. They came up with a plan. Small P.

Ronodin,  Muriel, and Patton would go to recover Raxtus. He was only with three  henchmen, as reported by Newel and Doren, so the group has been deemed  sufficient to successfully recover him. Additionally, the group had to  be small so Raxtus could feasibly fly all of them to the rendezvous  point—an old temple a day's walk but a quick flight from the base of the  Sphinx's mountain. The time the small group's diversion would cost  would be made up in Raxtus's flight time.

Those three had left  this morning. Kendra, Seth, Garreth, Eve, Warren, Vanessa, Newel, and  Doren set off on their trek to the temple.

Tall, pine trees  stretched to the sky, and mis-matched elevation and hills formed the  earth. Their travel time significantly increased as the rocky terrain  called for slower, careful steps down a cliffside and long strides to  cover an incline.

While putting one foot in front of the other, a  dead end in her plan formulation encouraged Kendra's mind to wander.  This freedom sparked Kendra's thoughts of Muriel's words—something which  she had few respites for. But, time was running out and she needed to  get her magic sorted. Kendra had already straightened her spine under  the weight of the crown, but there were multiple facets to Muriel's  directive.

What else did Muriel say? Sort out her emotions? Bleh.

But...

Kendra  looked at Garreth. His arms were looped around Eve's legs as he carried  her on his back through the snow. She was the youngest of the group and  often got tired before they could rest. It was a sweet thing he did.  Intense longing filled her—for his warmth, for his kindness, for his  love, and for him.

But, in the next second, she had the same  overwhelming reaction to looking at him as she always did—the cool  stone, the churning of her stomach, the cool raindrops of poison.

She grimaced and the warmth soured into sickness. Intrinsically tied were Garreth, her emotions, and her magic.

Kendra  took a deep breath. She felt the snow beneath her shoes, the sunlight  on her cheeks, and the fur of the coat they had bought a month ago that  Madeline had fixed up before she left.

After she grounded herself  in the natural environment, she turned her focus inward and felt it. Her  terror. Her terror of Garreth, of magic, of her duties.

One thing at a time.

She  had always been a little scared of her power. Probably since the  beginning. Who wouldn't have been? It was something that had accompanied  the worst event of her life—the loss of her parents—and only ushered in  more fear for her safety.

But, during Terrabelle, her fear had  built more and more. Terror had become intertwined with her magic. But,  she had pushed it down along with everything else. Nevertheless, a  paranoia had worked its way into her that she would make a mistake or  get too emotional and consequently have a weed tangle someone's legs.  Then, boom. She'd be dead, and so would all her loved ones.

It  made her terrified of everyone in Terrabelle—but especially the king. By  extension, Garreth. And then in her arrest, that terror solidified.

For  once, Kendra didn't try to run from the unpleasant feelings overtaking  her. She let them soak her through like a cool rain. She concentrated on  feeling her terror and grief, and let her mind go through her natural  deliberation. Instead of running away like usual.

That's when she  felt it. A spark of magic. A tiny, itty-bitty spark within her. For a  moment, she felt the magic in the snow beneath her boots, in the leaves  of the trees swaying, and in the sunshine.

Kendra smiled.

Despite the cold dead of winter, she could've sworn she had felt the first hint of spring.

━━━━━━━ ♚ ━━━━━━━

That  night, she felt like a rebel. Like she was going against all her  grandparents' directives. She knocked on the tent door of a boy. At night. And no one knew.

The  fire embers had long since burned out, and when he opened the tent,  Garreth's face held a look of sleep that made him seem so young.

Fear seized her. Was this a bad idea? This was a bad idea. She needed to leave. But before she could dart away...

"Kendra?" A small smile tugged at his mouth. Hope and something else awoke his sleepy eyes.

"Garreth," she breathed.

He stepped to the side. She worked her way in and sat down.

He gestured to the cramped space. Their knees almost touched as he sat down. "I was thinking of renovating soon. A kitchen?"

"That would look fabulous," Kendra said.

He  smiled. A great, big huge smile that she never saw him use for anyone  else. Nothing like his grin or the polite curve of his lips reserved for  court. No, this one was for her. "I was starting to worry that I had  lost my touch. You haven't seemed to like my jokes lately."

She grimaced.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"No, it's okay," she said. She took a deep breath. "That's why I'm here. I want to talk."

He  frowned. Even though they were physically close, she could feel him  pull his vulnerability away. "I thought we had already done that. You  talked, at least."

"That's not fair."

"Isn't it?"

Kendra  played with a thread of the tent skin. "I want to apologize for that. I  thought I was doing good. That some space would help. It did, but  not—despite all of my decisions...I guess..."

Kendra sighed, swallowed  the tumbling word vomit, and pulled her gaze from the tent thread to  Garreth's eyes. Head on. She was going to face things head on now. "I  was running. I was terrified. Every time I looked at you, I felt like I  was back in that square with all those knights."

His face crumpled. "Kendra, I'm so sorry."

She  touched her face and found tears to match his. This was good. She was  feeling icky, icky feelings. Muriel would praise her. "It's not your  fault. But, I just couldn't do it. I should have explained. Muriel says  this is my issue—that I run away from my emotions. I push them down  instead of being honest."

"Well, in the spirit of being honest..."  Garreth sighed. The low light of his lantern reflected the tears on his  face. It brought her back to that arrest when she had first seen him  cry. But, the memory didn't overwhelm as it usually did. This present  was magnetic, unable to allow her to slip into the past. "I was scared  to leave Terrabelle with you all. I did things that really scared me.  And then you wouldn't talk to me anymore. That hurt a lot."

Kendra  lost his gaze and looked elsewhere. It was a true, fair thing to say.  She swallowed any protest she had and her voice cracked. She let herself  feel her defensiveness and shame and let it recede before she opened  her mouth. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

Like a dam  breaking open, tears rushed down her face. It felt deeply  uncomfortable—the vulnerability of bawling. It's not like she hadn't  cried in front of him before. But, this was different. These weren't  noble tears. This was an uncontrollable flood of regret and shame and  fear.

Garreth opened her arms and she fell into them, clutching  his back. His shoulder buried her sobs. He felt so warm and solid and  all-encompassing. She had missed this.

Kendra pulled back and  searched his face. Her hands caressed his cheeks and traced the outlines  of salty tracks with her finger tips. There were tiny cuts all up and  down the side of his face. That couldn't be comfortable. They must pull  when he smiled or frowned.

Reaching inside, she sensed her magic.  It was there. Weak, but there. Her voice came out barely more than a  whisper. "Let me heal you." She cupped his face in her hands. "Please."

He hiccuped and blinked, allowing fresh tears to race down his face. "I'm so sorry."

"No, no," Kendra's voice broke. She felt on the brink of a cliff. "You saved Seth. I'm sorry. You saved me from your father."

"No," his voice was soft. "I turned you away. I let the knights take you away. I should never have let that happen."

Kendra  laid her forehead against his shoulder and grabbed his hand. They held  each other as they regained proper breathing patterns. In and out. It  was like trying to catch a slippery fish.

She squeezed his hand and sat back up, holding their clasp under her chin.

"Can I heal you?"

Garreth nodded.

Kendra  cradled his face once again. His skin was dry from the cold winter air  but her fingers trembled over the warmth rushing through his cheeks.  Jitters ran through her body that had nothing to do with her magic  problem.

She pulled on her magic. It resisted. She took a deep  breath, but instead of using it to clear her mind, she let the tidal  waves of emotion crash into her.

She let her worry for her family  wash over her, she leaned into her fear about her enemies, she surfed in  her anger at the Sphinx, but most of all, she floated on top of the  waves of her love. For Garreth. For her family, for the countless others  that had supported her.

The dam broke and it began to flow. The  cuts began to darken and disappear. Flowing magic ran through her finger  tips. It felt like home.

"It's warm," Garreth whispered.

"Oh,  I'm sorry." her magic began to stutter. She lost her connection and the  self-consciousness creeped back as the dam rebuilt plank by plank.

"No,  no. I love it." Garreth grabbed her hand that rested on his face. She  could feel his calluses on hers. The years of sword-fighting, of  paintings. Of surviving.

She could see it in his eyes. She could  feel it in the air. Before he even opened his mouth. It was the same  feeling she had that walk in the market right before their lives had  come crashing down.

It was...

He leaned into her hand.

"I love you."

Her  heart stopped. Every word dripped with such deep, genuine earnestness.  This wasn't some lie or careless truth. He loved her. He loved her.

She  became very aware of her hands on his face and that she was practically  on top of him. Her chest heaved with exertion against his tunic. He sat  with his legs criss-crossed and she was on her knees, leaning up  against him. She glanced at his lips and back to his face. He smiled  despite the nervousness twitching his lips.

Buzzy feelings ran  their way through her and she rode out her waves of giddiness,  excitement, and anxiety. Her magic rushed back through her fingertips  and his skin stitched up and the final blemishes disappeared. She  thumbed across the now smooth skin of his cheek. His breath hitched and  she glanced back up at his dark eyes.

He was watching. Waiting.

She  moved her hands away from his face and encircled them around his neck.  The contact grounded her with its surety and warmth but sent her into  the clouds as her heart beat picked up to an embarrassing rate and her  breaths became shallow. He was solid. He wasn't turning away. He wasn't  going to disappear like all the others she has loved before.

She ended his wait and met his searching eyes.

"I love you too."

The  words opened up a dam of affection she had attempted to hide, and she  couldn't suppress her grin. It was Garreth. It was always going to be  him.

Garreth wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her  closer. Their torsos were flush against each other now and she could  feel the strong muscles she had watched swing swords and control the  tiniest flick of a paintbrush. She thought of the multitudes of lives  they've lived together already, and the love that had merely hibernated  instead of dying.

She should have pushed him away. He shouldn't  have given her a second chance. But, she was glad he did anyway, because  she got to do this.

Her curls brushed his forehead as she leaned down. With her finger, she tilted his chin up and their lips met.

It was an explosion. Even in the cold, un-insulated tent, Kendra began to sweat under her dress. She giggled out of the kiss.

"What's so funny?" Garreth teased.

She  had no answer. Everything seemed hilarious. Waiting this long, her  hands denting his dense coils, how perfect they fit each other's  embraces.

She answered with another kiss. Glorious happiness  scrunched her toes and she roamed his chest like a parched traveler  trying to find water in a desert. It was so hot. Oppressively hot. Had  winter turned to summer already?

The ruffling of a tent, the crackles of someone walking in the snow, and a yawn broke their tryst apart.

Kendra  held her finger to Garreth's lips but had to look away before she burst  into laughter. Someone was awake, and she was not about to be caught.

They waited until the footsteps and cracking branches receded.

"I think someone's going to the bathroom," Kendra whispered.

She  kept her finger shushing his lips, but he just whispered anyway. His  lips were soft against her skin, and she smiled at the spark of  excitement that brought. "Sounds like Warren."

Kendra widened her  eyes. Hopefully not Warren. He would tease her to death if he caught  her. "Oh no. How am I going to get to my tent?"

Garreth smiled and gave her a look.

Kendra laughed under her breath. "Oh, right. Perfect."

It was okay. She would just wake up early—before anyone else—and skedaddle.

He  leaned back in to kiss her and by the time they settled down to sleep,  flowers of all kinds had sprouted underneath the tent fabric floor  despite the heavy snow. The petals created a soft sort of mattress, but,  even on a stone floor, Kendra would've felt like she was sleeping on  clouds with Garreth's arms around her midsection and their bodies  cuddled like puzzle pieces.

The peace, the safety, and the  security she had lost months ago had re-emerged in this tent. She  snuggled tighter and didn't wake up until sunrise.

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Once the others had returned successfully from retrieving Raxtus, Kendra laid out her desires in a strategy meeting. Her Plan. She  knew in her heart this was the right decision. They needed to end the  Sphinx once and for all, not just rescue their own loved ones. Her  responsibility as a handmaiden of the Fairy Queen required her. She  needed to free everyone.

At the end of her speech and before  objections rose, the scent of rosemary and blossoms floated through the  wind like a soft sigh, and white gladiolus flowers broke through the  snow around her feet. Ronodin, Muriel, and Patton perked up at the exact  same time Kendra smiled.

The sense of magic was familiar. It was the Fairy Queen.

Kendra had followed her gut and it was right. She leaned her head back and relished the blessing of sunshine.

Ronodin slapped his thighs and spoke for everyone.

"Well, that's settled."

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thank you for reading!

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