The Princess of Terrasen

Ch. 29

Ilias took her to a vendor's stall in the square she saw from the palace, both of them chatting amicably about the mundane things of life.

"What do you think it would be like to not hear the willows singing? The humans can't hear it."

Aiyra blinked at the question, not replying for a minute in favour of listening to the willows, it's whispered song alluring. 

"Must be dull. I once met a human, she couldn't see that colour at all," she pointed to a stunning cantaloupe banner and Ilias raised his eyebrows

"It's pitiful, honestly," he said and they relapsed into comfortable silence as Ilias picked up two plates of something Aiyra couldn't identify, and she handed the vendor a few gold pieces, sitting with Ilias at a table. 

"What is that?" she prodded at what looked like noodles inside a rich, thick soup.

"I don't know, he doesn't know how translate it from his native tongue."

Aiyra took a bite, Ilias watching her with a barely concealed grin.

"It's good," she gasped, spooning some more into her mouth, spices exploding on her tongue. 

"It's not spicy?"

"Nothing compared to what I used to eat in Jeneo," she said, referring to the city she had once lived in a lifetime ago "that actually resulted in people shitting themselves."

"Really?" Ilias brightened "we should try- oh."

She couldn't fight the twitch of her lips 

"I can make it fairly well, though. I asked the vendor for the recipe and he was too terrified to refuse."

He grinned, 

"Yes please. So, I was actually wondering something, you don't have to answer."

"Go ahead," she glanced up at him, a little wary 

"How did you learn to control your magic? Cerin almost burnt himself to ashes, Elio broke every tree within a three mile radius whenever he was particularly pissy and we had to learn to walk on ice without slipping for five years years until Ilona learnt to limit it to her room. But we never heard anything coming from you. That's part of the reason Aelin never thought.. you know."

Aiyra fixed her gaze on his, meeting his earthy toned eyes with her own. Then without breaking it, she said coolly

"Deanna shut me into a pit with no air and no light for six months. To breathe, I had to push past my fire and use my wind. That taught me how to tell my fire that it could not help me every time. Once I taught myself that, shadows tried to strangle me, nothing would push past them but my fire, and after I burned the flesh off my entire right side because I let too much out, I learnt to control it. Ice, I never really needed to learn, I don't have much of that, but it was easy to access after I learned to push aside my fire."

Ilias looked nauseated, averting his gaze.

"Sorry, I just-"

She shrugged, waving a hand to cut him off, but he forged ahead, wringing his hands nervously

"There's just this boy, one has a type of magic that vaguely resembles fire, and Cerin couldn't help him, but once I felt his magic, I realised it was really similar to yours."

"And?" Aiyra drained the last of her food, leaning back in her chair, ignoring the crawling of her skin as everything seemed to blacken. 

"I wanted to know if you could help him."

"Could I do that?"

"You'd have to become a teacher and teach one other subject, you could teach the physical aspect of fighting, we already have a teacher to teach them how to fight with magic."

Aiyra thought about, it, though she wouldn't deny her interest was piqued.

"Even if I wanted to, I can't. My magic's too volatile. I can control it, obviously, but it'll be difficult if another child has a magical episode around me. The flames want control you see. They'll want to show they're the strongest, that they can ravage and destroy."

"Well, I suppose that's where my magic helps. Earth helps to calm and heal."

"Carranam?" Aiyra mused, letting a tendril of magic swoop for him, and his met her halfway and she followed it to his magical core. Warmth spread through her, her fire settling slightly, no longer ready to jump out at the slightest thing. 

"We know it works, Aiyra. Look, you helping Antony would ensure that no one goes through what you did."

She nodded without really realising it, and Ilias smiled at her, expression brightening as he stood up, offering her his hand.

"Let's go make it official," he said, and Aiyra accepted his hand, at least until they were out of the bust areas, then she pulled it out and grinned 

"We're going too slow, don't you think?"

"Race you?"

"You're on," she shot off, laughing at his protests, then casting him from her mind as she took longer and longer strides, feeling the pleasurable burn in her legs, pushing herself further and further until she was running so fast she could barely see what was in front of her and her eyes watered. She heard exhilarated laughter behind her, and she made herself run even faster, and only upon seeing the thick wooden gates in front of her did she try skidding to a stop, but only succeeding in bending her wrist awkwardly before blasting them open on a strong wind. 

She stumbled to a stop, wincing at the horrific purple bruise on her wrist, but decided she didn't really care. Fahien could always heal it in a second. Ilias appeared a few seconds later, wide eyed and grinning

"How are you that fast?"

"I used to train with rocks tied to my ankles. You'd be surprised how heavy it becomes."

He laughs, then Aiyra tugs out a dagger from it's sheath along her arm and cuts along her palm, handing it to Ilias to cut as well. Once blood pools in his hand, she offers hers to him and once he takes it, she says quietly, ignoring her erratic heartbeat,

"I claim you as mine, Ilias Verso."

"And I claim you as mine."