Page 29 of Wings of Starlight

She smoothed an invisible crease in her skirts. “I’ve found a way to cross, but it may be a few days before I’m able to attempt it.”

“That’s great news.” He frowned pensively. “You haven’t run into any trouble? You mentioned obligations.”

“Right.” She sighed glumly. “Those.”

Silence descended over them as she considered what to tell him. Quiet had never discomfited her, but Clarion found herself yearning to fill it. She and Milori could never be anything resemblingfriends. But here in the twilight, the space between them as good as a solid wall, nothing felt wholly real. What did it hurt to pretend?

Slowly, Clarion settled on the bridge beside him until they sat almost shoulder to shoulder. The magic flowing through the Pixie Dust Tree’s roots warmed her palms, grounding her. This close, she could see the snowflakes gathering in his white hair and the feathered shadows his eyelashes cast on his cheekbones. That troublesome thought resurfaced, unbidden:Beautiful.

And dangerous,she reminded herself.

“I never appreciated how much went into planning for a coronation.” She rested her chin in her hands, gazing down at her wavering reflection on the surface of the river. “Everyone wants my opinion on every detail, but I can hardly process it’s going to happen at all. The expectations…”

“It sounds like a great deal of pressure.”

Clarion glanced up at him, startled by the genuine understanding in his voice. Self-consciously, she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “It is…. But you didn’t come here to listen to my troubles. It isn’t all stress. There’s the Coronation Ball on the night of the next full moon, just a week before my coronation.”

Milori’s lips parted, as though he wanted to say something but stopped himself. In the end, he said, “We’ll hold one the same night.”

Clarion perked up. “Really?”

“Of course.” His eyes glimmered with quiet mirth. “Your impending coronation deserves recognition. We never miss an opportunity to celebrate in Winter.”

She snorted incredulously—and inelegantly. But she couldn’t bring herself to care all that much. She’d learned Milori had a subtle sense of humor, but she could not imagine him at a ball. In the warm seasons, parties raged on for hours, full of spectacle and dancing andnoise. Winter and its warden, meanwhile, seemed to her like the still waters of a pond. “Even you?”

“Even me,” he replied, with a somberness that surprised Clarion. She heard clearly what he’d left unspoken:once upon a time.

She found herself missing the warm glimmer of amusement in his eyes—and thinking of what she could do to restore it. She adjusted her skirts so that she could sit cross-legged and angled herself to face him. “And what sorts of things do you do at a Winter ball?”

Milori smiled at her enthusiasm. “I imagine the same sorts of things one does at a warm-season ball.”

“I’m not so sure.” Curiosity bubbled up within her, too urgent to tamp down. “I’ll remind you that I know absolutely nothing about Winter.”

Milori went quiet for a few moments, his gaze searching hers. “What do you want to know?”

Everything.Admitting to him that she’d always felt some pull toward his realm—it made her feel terrifyingly exposed. But now, she could finally have answers to all the questions she’d had since she first arrived. But where to even start? “I don’t know. What kinds of talents do you have?”

“Far too many to list. We have frost-talents, snowflake-talents, glacier-talents, icicle-talents…”

Clarion’s head spun as he continued to rattle them off. How many intricacies could there possibly be in frozen water? “And you?”

Surprise softened his features. “I don’t know if there’s a name for what I am.”

“Surely there is.”

Every talent had a name—and in the rare instance a fairy’s innate talent developed into something more specialized, they almost always intuitively knew what to call it. How strange, then, that it should elude him. Warden-talent seemed to be the simplest name, but it seemed…ill-fitting. Something about it grated against her, like a picture hung crooked on the wall or a sweater that did not fit quite right. Besides, it left too many things unaccounted for.

“Watching over the Nightmares cannot be the extent of what you do,” she pressed. “Who welcomes new arrivals?”

“I do.”

His response electrified her. She sat up taller. “And who coordinates preparations for delivering winter to the Mainland?”

“I suppose I do,” he said warily. “But it’s a very small part of my role. My duties as the guardian of the Winter Woods take precedence over all else.”

“You have similar responsibilities to Elvina.” As the realization struck her, Clarion turned to face him fully. His eyes reflected her glow, burning brighter with her excitement. “Perhaps you’re a governing-talent as well! Were you born from a star?”

Milori hesitated. “I wasn’t, no.”