Page 84 of Elemental Becoming

“Alright,” I say. “So . . . when I was fifteen, I accidentallyproposed to someone.”

Rowena blinks. “I’m sorry—what?”

Lyra gasps, slamming her hands on the table. “This is already one of my favorite stories. Please, continue.”

“Oh, you approve?” I ask, sarcasm dripping from my words.

“Mm-hmm.” She nods, all but vibrating with glee.

Sera raises a brow. “Accidentally? How does one accidentally propose?”

I groan, rubbing my temples. “It wasn’t a real proposal! It was just—ugh, okay. Back home, there was this guy. Nice enough. A farmer’s son. He had this massive crush on me, but I never thought much of it.”

Rowena giggles. “I already love where this is going.”

I glare at her and keep going. “One day, I was helping his family with the harvest festival, setting up the feast tables. He handed me this really beautiful, carved wooden cup, and I didn’t know it was part of some tradition.”

I pause, already regretting this.

“So apparently,” I continue, “in his village, if you accept a drink from someone in a carved cup and actually drink from it, it means you’re agreeing to courtship.”

Lyra claps, laughing so hard she almost spills her wine. “YES! THAT WAS ONE OF THE ONES I WAS GOING TO SHARE!!”

I whip my head toward her, horrified. “You were just waiting to betray me?! After everything we’ve been through?”

Lyra smiles widely, entirely unrepentant. “Oh, I had a whole version planned—with flair. But this is even better. Please, continue.”

Sera chuckles into her glass. “So they thought you had accepted?”

I nod miserably. “The poor boy went red as a beet and looked like he might pass out. His mother started crying. His father patted him on the back, all proud. And before I could figure outwhat the hell was going on, they were talking about setting a wedding date!”

Rowena nearly spits out her wine. “Wait—a wedding date?Did you say anything?!”

“Of course I did!” I throw my hands up. “But it took me five minutes to even understand what had happened, and by then I was buried in congratulations and people hugging me. I tried to explain, but it only made things worse—apparently backing out after accepting is considered deeply shameful.”

Sera presses her lips together, trying not to laugh. “What did you do?”

I moan, pressing my forehead to the table. “I panicked. I ran. Just bolted out of there and hid in the woods for an hour.”

Rowena is wheezing now, gripping the edge of the table. “You wentferaland escaped your own proposal?”

Lyra wipes a tear from her eye, still laughing. “I tried to tell her running wasn’t a solution, but she was already halfway to the tree line before anyone could react.”

I sit up and glare at both of them. “I panicked!” Then I swing toward Lyra, pointing an accusing finger. “And you ran. You ran when the stand was on fire.”

Lyra gasps, a hand flying to her chest. “That was different!”

Sera tips her glass toward Lyra. “Go on. Explain the difference between running from a fire and running from a marriage.”

Lyra huffs. “One was alegitimate safety concern.The other was just Amara being a coward!”

I throw my hands up. “Youcausedthe fire!”

Rowena and Sera burst into laughter. Lyra takes a very long sip of wine, refusing to answer.

Sera, still laughing, shakes her head. “Alright—but how did you fix it?”

I sigh, crossing my arms. “Lyra—the traitor—found me,dragged me back, and very smugly explained to everyone that I was a clueless idiot who didn’t know their customs.”