Veils of Storm

7. Fields of Flowers

Kat's words stayed with Cage for a long time, even if he brushed them off in front of her and acted as if they hadn't meant anything.

The truth was, sometimes he too longed for the time when they were both stuck in the castle, fearing the beast. At least then, they both knew what to expect and their love was untainted by magic.

Right now, however, with an entire world of possibilities before them and a magical bond neither of them could explain, he felt lost. And he realized Kat felt the same from the way she acted and kept to herself, from the way she hadn't questioned him when he'd nearly pushed the beast out on purpose.

That little bit of training they did had helped. It pushed them both into familiar territory and alleviated the tension. His heart grew watching her force herself beyond her limits to get better. Sure, she was rather terrible, but she'd been that way at everything before evolving in the best way. This would be no different.

Indeed, putting herself to work seemed to make Kat happy. The second day, she didn't even bother climbing atop Lilygreen and just sprinted off with a giggle. He let her get a head start, pointed the horses in the right direction, and joined her. After being locked inside for such a long time, he too enjoyed the freedom of running through the forest.

Then there was the matter of actually looking out for her. The animals were suspiciously scarce, which got him thinking that there might be other dangers lurking. It was odd to meet no militia, no guards, no one to protect the villages on the side of the road from either thieves or potentially dangerous magical creatures. Kat didn't seem to notice these aspects and he wasn't exactly sure why he wasn't bringing them up. Maybe just to keep the smile on her face.

Part of him had noticed that her mood was greatly influenced by the amount of attention he bestowed upon her. If he kissed her, she glowed, if he stayed away, she pouted and sulked. But what she couldn't understand and what he couldn't tell her was how hard it was for him to control himself.

It wasn't that he didn't want to hold her, kiss her, cuddle with her in bed. It was just that, if he did, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop. The addiction the magic had planted inside him consumed him and he hated it. Loathed the need, the obsession, the dependency. Yes, he loved her, but he didn't want to be obsessed with her. So each night, he preferred to let her fall asleep alone and return later, cursing Cecile all the while.

Her blessing had ended up being a curse again. If he could only channel his hatred into the magic the fairy wanted him to learn how to use. He wished his magic training would go as well as Kat's running.

"Come on, slow poke!" she called over her shoulder.

"Slow poke?" He picked up the pace and reached her in a matter of seconds.

She howled with laughter as he wrapped an arm around her waist and hoisted her off the ground.

"I'd measure my words carefully, sweetheart. You're not fast enough to get away with insults."

"Oh, but you know I will be," she said, kicking her legs in the air. "And then, you'll have to beg me to wait up for you."

"You tease!"

He couldn't stand her teasing, so he kissed her behind the ear. All her thrashing suddenly stopped, and she leaned into him. Her body seemed to hum with energy. It was so hard to let her go, not to move his kisses to her neck. How had they spent so much time alone in that castle without...? He didn't even want to think about him, so he gave her a light nudge forward.

"Try again."

She twisted on her heels to face him, a grin on her face. "Okay, but think of something better if you catch me."