Page 396 of Elemental Becoming

I don’t want to talk about war again. Not today.

What I need is something simple. Something that doesn’t require strategy or strength.

Something romantic.

Especially since the book I’ve been reading is a wildly dramatic tale about a highborn general, a tavern girl with a dagger, and an absurd number of stolen kisses in moonlit corridors.

I glance sideways at Lyra, a grin tugging at my mouth.

“Tell me how it’s going with Garrick.”

That gets Thane’s attention.

He’s sitting at his desk across the room, calmly reviewing reports as though he hasn’t been eavesdropping since the second Lyra walked in. At the mention of Garrick’s name, he clears his throat and rises, far too dignified for someone whose ears are definitely pink.

“I’ll give you two some privacy,” he says, his voice measured and noble despite the color rising in his cheeks.

The moment the door clicks shut behind him, Lyra and I lose it. We burst into laughter, the kind that bubbles up from your ribs and shakes everything loose. The kind we used to share as little girls sneaking pastries from the village baker.

I haven’t laughed like that in weeks. Maybe longer. It hurts. Gods, my arm throbs afterward. But I don’t care. For that one moment, the world feels simple again. Just my best friend andme, gossiping about boys.

War be damned.

Once we finally stop wheezing and wiping tears from our eyes, Lyra throws her hands into the air and blurts, “I’m in love!”

She squeals.

Actually squeals.

I blink, stunned, before a grin spreads across my face. “Wait—what? Since when?”

She flops back in the chair like her bones are made of water, covering her face with both hands.

“Ugh, I don’t know! A while! I think. Maybe longer than I realized.”

I just stare at her, my heart swelling. Gods, it feels so good to feel this again. Joy. Surprise. That giddy flutter we used to chase as though it was the only kind of magics that mattered.

“I knew you liked him,” I say, nudging her with my good hand. “But love?”

She peeks at me between her fingers, sheepish and glowing.

“He makes me feel seen. And challenged. And safe. Like I can actually be me. He doesn’t try to shrink me or mold me into something more palatable. He just embraces the wild parts too. The fire. The chaos. The real me.”

Something in my chest tightens before easing again.

“He better be in love with you too,” I say, narrowing my eyes in mock warning. My voice comes out half teasing, half deadly serious. “Or I swear, I’ll sic Calryx on him.”

Lyra laughs, tossing her head back and waving me off.

“Oh, don’t worry. He said ‘I love you’ months ago.”

I blink. Again.

“What?”

She shrugs, far too nonchalant for someone unveiling a truth of that magnitude.

“Yeah. I’m the one who was dragging my feet. Took meforever to say it back.”