Moonfire & Midnight Chapter 6

Eirian felt her anger swell, her magic rose. It had always been more akin to a fla than anything when it manifested. Only a few had ever seen it at such a level, as Eirian had rarely had to call on that amount. It was a natural gift, sothing she had been born with and while Eirian had worked hard to learn to control it, to wield it with authority and grace and overwhelming affect, she had always been reminded that she had not earned it.

Her father never hesitated to remind her, "Others will envy you for it because you did not have to work for it."

Her stepmother, before she'd been her stepmother, had always been quick to remind her, "But you were born with that, so it doesn't count."

Even Philip, who'd had a jealous streak a mile wide, hated to acknowledge that Eirian's magic was stronger than his own. He'd liked to say, "It's not as impressive if you're born with it."

Philip had been born with his magic too, but he'd always turned sullen when she fired that back. His magic had never been strong enough to manifest into any physical form, and Eirian had stopped training with him when her's had begun to develop.

He'd gotten back at her by swiping an opportunity to train with a master swordsman that she'd been working towards for a year.

Ye Chenzhou took a step back, eyes wide.

Eirian was still a bit sore about it, and she had to focus on bringing her magic back under control.

"I didn't an to insult you." He said. "I choose you because of that."

Eirian's eyes narrowed, "If you try and touch , I'll cut-"

"I don't want to sleep with you!" It burst out of him in the first real show of emotion she'd seen from him.

"But you want to marry ."

"So you can help elevate the Calia. Not because I want to touch you or anything else."

Stupidly, she was kind of insulted when she knew she should be relieved. A man who didn't expect sothing from a woman was rare. Even rarer was a husband who didn't want to impose on his wife.

"I only want you for the Calia. I-, from the contact with your father, it seed like you had little reason to stay in the capital anyway."

"Little reason is not no reason." She snapped.

He stiffened, anger glinting in his eyes. "I am aware. But you are here."

"I had no choice."

That seed to surprise him.

She scoffed. "Or did they tell you I left willingly? My entire life is in the capital. Everyone I know and love. The man I was planning to marry. My animals, my books."

He shifted from foot to foot, nervous. "I sent word that you could bring whatever you pleased. Including your lover."

"Yeah, well, he decided to marry soone else, so clearly, I didn't. Who did you talk to about all of this?"

"Your father and mother. We wrote letters, and then I sent an envoy with the official contract and paynt."

She gaped, "You already paid the entire?" It was tradition to parcel out paynts over a matter of years, not to pay entire amounts in one go.

"Yes. Your mother demanded paynt up front."

"My mother has been dead since she pushed out. You must have been dealing with my stepmother."

"....She did seem suspiciously young, but she was very clear that she was your mother."

Eirian rolled her eyes. "Yes, she thinks that gives her more power over ."

Ye Chenzhou raised an eyebrow again. "It would seem she was correct."

Eirian growled in warning. "No one has power over that I do not give them."

Then she rembered the situation she was in. "At least not for long."

"I don't care what you do to her, so long as it does not harm the Calia." Ye Chenzhou offered. "I will help if I can, but you must help the Calia first."

Eirian took a deep breath and forced herself to calm. She could feel her magic roiling just beneath her skin, a beast demanding blood, but Eirian had learned while she lived in the cesspool of the capital.

She may have lost this round, but the war was far from over, and if her husband-to-be kept true to his word, she would have a significant force at her fingertips.

Wise n feared magic because they could see all its possibilities, but fools still feared the brute strength of an Army.

If she had both, there was no way anyone in the capital would be able to turn her away.

"What exactly do you want to do for the Calia?"

"It needs a court. A position in the capital. It needs to…" He trails off, and for a mont, she expects him to say it needs to heal. To show so sign that he is aware of the miasma soaking every inch of his beloved estate.

Because he clearly loves it. If he is being honest, and a tiny part of her suspects he is, he is desperate to save it.

But does he know from what?

~ tbc