Frost and Petals

My Vines Betray Me (Ch. 2)

Back in the formal waiting room, this time alone, I found myself still unable to shake the lingering cold of Kari's ever-present permafrost. With a centering breath, I focused on my magic and willed my aura to stretch out more. One of the side effects of my aura was that the stronger it got, the more heat it put off. The universe had crafted us for each other.

Once the lingering chill had vanished, I reined back in my aura as much as I was capable of. I hoped to get it under more control one of these days, but being twenty-one in a magical kingdom meant I still had plenty of time. Even if tradition demanded that I get married before I turned twenty-three.

It's not like things weren't peaceful; we had been experiencing an era of peace for so many lifetimes that we had lost count. But if there was one thing I knew as a child gifted with magic by some nature or spring goddess, nature demanded balance. And I was aware of the unrest on social media lately, no matter how quickly it got stamped out and covered up. The sound of the door from the hallway opening roused me from my thoughts.

This time, instead of Kari, a woman who looked like him and yet also looked nothing like him slipped into the door. She had eyes the same color as his blue one, and her red hair faded to white about halfway through. Something told me this was Kari's sister. As formality requested, I sank into a curtsy when I recognized she is someone of status. However, it was higher than the one I gave Kari.

"Am I correct to assume you are Kari's sister?" I asked as I rose from my curtsy. When I straightened, I noticed she was dipping into one as well.

"You'd be right. I'm Lydia, and it's no secret that my magic is emotional manipulation. Since Kari disappeared for a while, I figure he's mentioned that to you." She rose from her curtsy and started towards me; her demeanor was lax, and that made me more nervous. As she got closer, I felt my usual confidence in social situations return, which nearly took my breath- right heightened emotions. Given my track record, I wondered how that would make me act around Kari.

"He did mention it while I showed him the gardens," I responded as I sank back onto my favorite lounge and pulled my phone out of my pocket again.

"Well then, I should warn you that it's harder to reign my power when I drink. I know most people would expect anyone with my power to either have complete control over it and be bitchy or have no control over it and be bitchy. But I try my best not to be bitchy. It's not my fault I was born with this power, but it's also not anyone else's fault," she explained as she stopped a few meters away. I looked up, trying to gauge her expression, but she was stunned as she watched the flowers dance around me.

"Not to sound rude, but I had no expectations of how your power would make you act. I'm more worried about how it will make me act, especially around your brother." My admission made her tear her gaze from the plants; all I saw was wild curiosity. Great, she was a gossip. I got enough of that from Clarissa.

"Oh, do tell," she said, and her voice had lost that usual higher pitch one took when acting formally with others.

"If you hadn't noticed, Kari is my third suitor. The first, a guy from Sorith Kingdom, was incredibly dull. Like I barely made it out to the garden before. I was so bored that I just turned around and left. When he tried to command me to stop, I just flipped him off," I laughed as I remembered him trying to leave the maze of the gardens without me. "The second, a woman from the Taethia Kingdom, was just a bitch. When she found me in here because my magic draws people in, she immediately barked at me to get it under control. She told me no wife of hers would be anything less than perfect with her magic. A passing housekeeper immediately ran to my father, and he made a scene kicking her family out."

"You're avoiding the subject," she interjected with a frustrated sigh.

"No, I'm explaining how neither of the previous two suitors made me struggle to keep a conversation flowing. One was too dull to be around, and the other was a bitch. Kari is kind and genuine with his kindness. He doesn't care for formalities, and something about him has me wanting and needing to know what secret he's hiding." The admission shocked me, and I registered the burn of desire flaming in my stomach. I locked eyes with Lydia and glared a little bit.