Page 354 of Elemental Becoming

“It’s possible.” His expression grows thoughtful. “Five hundred years is a long time, Amara.”

I raise the glass to my lips, my mind racing with the significance of what this means. “If that’s true, if they still have the ledger . . . ”

Thane’s voice, full of certainty, cuts through my thoughts. “If they still have the ledger, then the truth survived somehow.”

We sit in silence for a few moments, the fire crackling softly in the hearth. The weight of everything we’ve uncovered presses against me, and once again, I’m struck by how much my life has changed in less than a year.

Back then, everything was simple. Predictable.

I woke with the sun. I worked the fields beside my parents.On good days, I visited friends or neighbors before dusk settled over the village. Once a week, I made the trip into town, and that was enough excitement to last for days.

That had been my world.

Now my days are filled with politics cloaked in civility and conversations that feel more like strategy than truth. Every answer uncovers another secret. Every discovery raises new questions. Shadow Forces. War councils. Histories that may have been buried for centuries.

The simplicity is gone. And I’m not sure it’s ever coming back.

Across from me, Thane watches as I turn the wineglass between my hands. His expression softens almost imperceptibly, as though he can follow every thread of my thoughts without needing to hear them spoken aloud.

Then something shifts in his expression.

“He has feelings for you.”

I blink, caught off guard.

The words settle between us, unexpected enough to pull me from the ledger, the Air Clan, and everything else that has consumed my thoughts. For a moment, I can’t tell whether he’s stating a fact or waiting for a reaction.

I set my glass down carefully, buying myself a second to think.

“Kieran?”

Thane pauses, studying me as though he’s trying to determine whether I’m serious.

“You hadn’t noticed?”

“No—that’s not possible.” I shake my head, disbelieving. “He knows I’m with you.”

I laugh, the sound abrupt, because the idea is ridiculous.

“Everyone knows I’m with you.”

Thane watches me, his expression soft and patient. “A man can tell when another man is interested in the woman he loves.”

The words land deep, sending an unexpected flutter through me.

I exhale, shaking my head again. “We’re just friends.”

Thane holds my gaze, unblinking. “Both can be true.”

It had been months since I kissed Kieran. Months since that fleeting, impulsive moment beneath a summer sky, before I understood what I felt. Before Thane.

Since then, Kieran had simply been Kieran. Charming. Easygoing. As infuriatingly confident as ever. I would have noticed if something had changed between us. Wouldn’t I?

My thoughts drift to the ball. I picture his blond hair slightly tousled, the silver-blue of his eyes catching the lantern light as he guided a noblewoman through a dance. I hadn’t thought anything of it at the time.

Why would I have?

The possibility had never even crossed my mind. He looked happy. Relaxed. Enjoying himself.