by Frank Morin
The crowds cheered and clapped enthusiastically, and Connor joined in. He loved the fact that they could use some of their amazing inventions for non-military purposes sometimes.
After that, the party really got started. Thousands thronged the happy couple, showering them with well wishes and with gifts. Throughout the rest of Merkland, tables were set up in every square, then loaded with food. Merkland might have been hammered by the swarm, but Shona had promised to dig deep from their remaining stores. When Jean heard there might be a shortage of good food, she’d mobilized Sender Flight to transport mountains of additional supplies.
Holding tight to Verena’s hand, Connor tried slipping through the crowd, but most people were pushing the other way, eager for a chance to congratulate Rory and Anika. He glanced at Verena and said, “I think we need to fly.”
In response, she lifted off the ground using a pair of small quartzite blocks as thrusters, sitting gracefully on the air as if riding a horse side saddle. She made the tricky operation look effortless and her ascent triggered a fresh wave of cheering. Verena’s fame had skyrocketed after her outstanding bravery fighting off the swarm, and Connor loved to see that the people of Merkland loved her as much as the people of New Schwinkendorf.
Connor tapped granite and jumped straight up, using a little slate at the same time to make the earth push him upward higher. He soared twenty feet, high enough to avoid wrecking hairdos, and called in an air current to catch him. As soon as he caught up with Verena, he extended a block of translucent air under her like a gray platform so they could stand together. Then he slowed, hovering a hundred feet above the square so they could enjoy the view.
Verena took his hand, her smile radiant. “I’m so happy for them, Connor!”
“Me too. For the longest time, I figured they had zero chance of making any kind of relationship work,” he admitted.
“Kind of like us,” she said softly, her big, blue eyes seeming to grow larger and somehow vulnerable. Her gaze threatened swallow him whole.
“They did it,” he said softly, squeezing her hand, letting her see his love as clearly as he read hers.
She kissed him tenderly, then said, “Their love has inspired everyone. I think it’s one of the biggest rallying points for our entire cause. Today they’re bringing so much hope to everyone.”
Connor nodded, but couldn’t help adding, “And a ton of really good food.”
She chuckled and nudged him, her expression turning serious. “Connor, I think we need to discuss our plans too.”
He knew exactly what she was talking about, and he finally agreed. “I almost proposed to you earlier today.”
She gave him a disapproving look. “Really, Connor? After making me wait for months, you were going to do it here, during Rory and Anika’s big day?”
He shrugged, feeling embarrassed. “I get it, so I don’t want to wait longer than we have to before making our betrothal official.” Gazing into those eyes, he felt like he could lose himself forever. He made sure to avoid tapping chert. He didn’t need an affinity to know her heart or to make sure she knew his. By the Tallan’s memory, she was gorgeous!
She leaned against him, holding him tight. “Me neither.”
He hugged her, feeling overjoyed. “Uh, so does this mean we’re betrothed?”
Verena kissed him gently on the lips and gave him that special smile that melted everything inside. “I think it does.”
He couldn’t stop grinning, and hugged her again, savoring the feel of her in his arms. He could scarce believe it. He wanted to beat himself with a stick for waiting so long.
They stood together, simply enjoying the moment and their commitment. They didn’t get enough time to just be together. Life was too busy. He was so grateful he’d won approval from her father and brother during that visit over the winter. He smiled to think how his family would react when he informed them of the betrothal.
He missed them. He’d found far too little time to visit in recent months, although he’d sent several messages. The last time he visited, his younger siblings had grown so much, he barely recognized them. Blair was almost as tall as Connor already, and Roderick was catching up to him. Young Wallace reminded Connor a lot of Nicklaus, if the boy was limited to non-magic talents. And baby . . . He frowned, as he tried to remember the baby’s name.
How could someone forget a younger sibling’s name, especially one so young and cute? Well, he thought she was cute. She was a she, right? For some reason, his memories felt all fuzzy and he struggled to bring any details to mind. He felt deeply ashamed. He must be more tired than he’d thought.
Verena leaned back to meet his gaze, distracting him from the weird memory lapse. “I feel like we’re so very lucky. We’re still alive, still together, and taking part in something grand.”
“I like your attitude.” Despite the terrible danger looming over them, the past few months had been filled with unparalleled wonders and advancements in both science and magic. They’d helped with that work, delved into the deepest secrets of the arcane together, and he got to walk next to the most beautiful girl in the world and hold her hand.
Connor tried to burn the memory of that moment into his mind. How she looked in that gown, the color of her skin, and the lively brilliance of her eyes. He’d never forget it, no matter how many years passed. They would soon face battle again, and even if they survived, life would no doubt continue to prove challenging. That’s how things always seemed to work. No matter what happened, he could enjoy this moment, enjoy her company and their special relationship.
Down in the square, Hamish lifted out of the crowd, using quartzite like Verena had, although he lacked her grace without his battle suit. He carried Jean in his arms, but wobbled under the load. Before he could pitch sideways or dump Jean onto the heads of onlookers, Connor caught them with air and drew them up to where he and Verena stood.
“Never thought I’d need my suit to escape a party,” Hamish said when they stepped onto the solid air platform.
Jean brushed a lock of golden hair from her face, beaming. “Everyone is so happy for them!”
“It’s definitely easier to enjoy the show from here,” Connor said.
“Except we can’t reach the banquet tables,” Hamish pointed out.
“We’ll get there soon enough,” Jean soothed. Then she looked from Verena to Connor, and her eyes widened. She squealed, “You’ve finally made it official?”
Verena laughed, sounding as delighted as Connor had ever heard as she gushed, “Yes!”
“What’s going on?” Hamish asked, frowning at the two girls as they jumped up and down, hugging each other.
“I sort of proposed to Verena,” Connor explained.
“How do you sort of propose?” Hamish laughed, then shook his head. “Never mind. If anyone can manage it, it’d be you.”
“Thanks,” Connor said dryly.
“Congratulations. Took you long enough,” Hamish grinned.
Someone else shot into the air from the opposite side of the square and zoomed toward them. Connor was surprised to realize it was Nicklaus, dressed in a fine suit of black and silver, riding a toy wooden horse that he’d affixed thrusters to. He banked toward them and slowed to hover nearby, waving enthusiastically.
“Nice horse,” Hamish said with a grin.
The boy patted the flying horse proudly. “I wanted to make a Swift like Verena’s, but Christin wouldn’t let me get the weapons to make it right.”
Verena smiled. “You don’t need missiles and speedslings when you’re studying, do you?”
“If I did, lessons wouldn’t be nearly as dull,” he responded, then hovered a bit closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. He patted his wooden horse again and said, “I snuck a couple bombs from one of the workrooms for my horse. Christin doesn’t know it’s armed.”
Connor wasn’t surprised. Nicklaus was super enthusiastic about practicing with bombs. He didn’t doubt the boy would figure out how t
o keep increasing the armaments until that horse could rain down a fantastic amount of destruction. They needed to find more creative outlets for the boy.
Jean didn’t look so happy about the thought of Nicklaus flying around the city armed. Verena looked like she wanted to smile, but suppressed it and said, “I thought the weapons labs were all locked. How did you get bombs?”
“Hamish taught me how to walk right through walls with blind coal.”
“Hey, you promised not to tell,” Hamish objected.
Both Verena and Jean gave him stern looks, and Verena said, “You can’t teach Nicklaus things like that. Blind coal is dangerous.”
“Exactly,” Hamish said, holding his own better than usual in the face of those looks. “I caught him experimenting with it and had to teach him before he hurt himself.”
Verena turned her gaze to Nicklaus, who wisely hovered farther out of reach. The boy shrugged and maintained an innocent expression. “Verena, you know my mother wants me to learn everything I can.”
“With the proper instruction,” Verena chided.
“Hamish gave me the proper instruction. I got the bombs, didn’t I?”
She sighed. “We’re going to have a long chat tomorrow.”
“If you can catch me,” Nicklaus said with a grin. “Bye Verena! Bye Connor! Get married soon. I want cousins. I’ll show you my new mechanical later.”
Then he whisked away, whooping with delight as he disappeared around one of the palace towers.
“Shouldn’t we go after him before he hurts himself?” Jean asked.
“He’ll be fine,” Hamish assured her. “He’s almost as good as either of us with his defensive mechanicals. Even if he falls off his horse, he won’t get hurt.”
Verena sighed. “As much as I hate to admit it, Hamish is right. Nicklaus should be fine. Besides, I’m sure Christin has people chasing him already.”
Connor was happy Nicklaus was finding so many positive outlets for his energy, and that he hadn’t gotten depressed by the loss of his affinities.
Hamish rubbed his hands together, his expression turning eager. “The crowd’s going to break up soon. We should inspect the feasting tables to make sure they’re ready.”
“Including quality testing every dish, just to be sure?” Jean asked with a smile.
“Of course. Rory and Anika are worth it,” he said seriously.
Connor agreed, but was thinking bigger than just the feast. “Verena, what would you say if I loaned you a little obsidian? I hear the dancing is going to go on all night, and I bet together we could outlast everyone.”
“Great idea! I love dancing, and we never get to do it enough.”
“Sort of like bash fighting for non-Boulder girls,” Hamish said. “Never enough, and it always ends too soon.”
Jean slipped an arm around his waist and asked, “Do you have enough to loan some to the two of us too? I bet Hamish and I could keep up.”
Hamish grinned. “Easy. Connor lacks the staying power for an all-night event.”
That kind of challenge could not be ignored. The four of them had started the crazy adventure together way back in Alasdair. They had survived countless challenges that should have killed them. With his closest friends around him, he could not believe that they could ever fail.
“I could probably manage it, but maybe there’s a better idea. I think I’ll be busy over the next few days helping people create new affinities to strengthen our army, but I think I should start right now, with you.”
15
Strong Women Build on What They Know
Connor smiled to see their astonishment, which quickly transitioned to excitement. He asked, “Which affinities do you want?”
Verena squeezed his hand and gave him a quick, but passionate kiss, her eyes sparkling. “I know we’ve talked about this, and you’ve loaned us affinities, but it still seems beyond possible to consider getting our own.”
“Well, we haven’t made it happen, but I’m pretty sure I can,” he told her.
“Which one, though?” She chewed on her lip in that adorable way of hers as she pondered. “I want to dance with you using obsidian, but I’m not sure obsidian is the right choice for a permanent affinity.”
“It is for me,” Hamish said. “Trying it out earlier was amazing. In my battle suit, I’m not afraid of Boulders and I can fly faster than Striders, but obsidian gives me a real edge. Can you really make it permanent?”
“I plan to try,” Connor confirmed. He was glad Hamish chose obsidian. His friend was right. With obsidian magnifying his already impressive natural talents, and wearing that battle suit, he wouldn’t have to fear almost anyone.
Jean said, “I think I would like obsidian too. Not for battle, but for research. I bet I could develop new cures even faster.”
Hamish wrapped an arm around her shoulder and grinned at her. “You’re already the most brilliant person I know. Adding obsidian to your sexy brain will make you unstoppable.”
Jean blushed, then added in a hesitant voice, “If we can establish a primary affinity, would it be possible to try for a secondary?”
“You want sandstone, don’t you?”
Verena gushed, “Oh yes! Jean’s already such a good healer. With sandstone she could cure anything.”
“That’s the goal, eventually,” Jean stated simply. “We’ve learned so much, but there’s so much I still can’t understand. With sandstone I could gain that sight. I’m sure it would help.”
Connor vowed to make it happen. Jean had such an honest, loving soul. Her entire focus was to improve her already magnificent mind and accelerate the research that was already barreling forward at breakneck speed. She would not rest until she had developed cures for every known disease, and Connor would be right there cheering her on forever.
So he said, “Let’s make it happen.”
Verena took longer to decide. Connor doubted she would ever be truly satisfied until she figured out a way to establish affinities with everything, but she had to start with one. He’d love to explore trying to help his friends develop additional gifts. Maybe Agor, a tertiary power, or even Dawnus. There were so many possibilities, so many options never before available. He wished they had months to study and practice and experiment.
Verena finally settled on granite. “I love running with basalt, but you can loan that to me whenever we want to run together. In the Swift I can already fly fast, but I’ve already proven sometimes bad things happen in a fight. Granite would give me a critical edge.”
She was right. She definitely tended to dive into the heart of battle before thinking. She’d crashed and nearly died multiple times because she was even braver than she was brilliant, and she refused to back down from any fight. Despite the terrible danger to herself, she was always willing to risk her life to help.
So Connor decided to help her with her affinity first. Not only were they bound by love and the desire to wed, his connection to her had deepened dramatically during the weeks he had spent pouring healing energy into her and trying to connect with her while she was in a coma. He had no doubt that he could establish a deeper connection with her than even with Aifric.
The main square thronged by thousands of partygoers didn’t seem the best place to make the attempt, so Connor flew them to the palace, right to the window of Verena’s suite. They slipped inside and gathered around the little fire already burning in the hearth.
His friends were so eager to make the attempt they started laughing and urging him on before he even sat down. Connor couldn’t wait to share his amazing powers to help them.
So he sat facing Verena, their knees touching. He poured a small measure of granite into her palm. She squeezed it, so excited she quivered in her seat. Connor took her hands and stared deep into her huge blue eyes as he tapped chert, obsidian, sandstone, and granite all at the same time. The connection came instantly and he plunged into her affinityscape.
As it formed around him, he instantly recognized the crow
ded, crazy, wonderful Builder compound. He stood in Verena’s original workroom, the one where she had developed her first prototype for the Swift. In the center of the room was a well, just like he’d found in Nicklaus’ mind. It was constructed of river stones, interlocked together without any cement. As he approached it, he sensed it represented her Builder connection to quartzite.
“This is what you see?”
Connor turned in surprise. Somehow Verena had joined him in that mental space, just like Nicklaus had. He wasn’t sure how it worked, but was happy it did. With their deep connection, he should have expected it.
He grinned. “This is what your subconscious projects. This is your connection to quartzite.” He gestured at the well.
She touched one of the stones and smiled. “These are like the stones I used to collect from the river on my family estate outside of Edderitz.”
That seemed very appropriate. He took her hand and led her outside. The flat open space where they had first landed the day that he had escaped Obrion with her and come to Granadure ended abruptly in a cliff. Dark gray mist concealed the abyss beyond the drop-off, just like in every affinityscape he’d visited.
Connor gestured toward the little islands floating nearby on the mist, constructed of the various affinity stones. “This is where we build bridges to create affinities.”
Verena stepped to the edge and peered over, her expression curious and excited. “This is amazing. I wonder if I create this or if you do.”
“We’re in your mind.”
“But from what you said, you see the same type of scenario in everyone’s minds. The lands might be different, but you always see a cliff and an abyss with floating islands. Are you projecting that, or is there some relationship to affinities that we can all somehow sense in our subconscious that makes us all project similar ideas?”
Connor shrugged. “I have no idea. I’m just glad it seems consistent. I know what to do with the floating islands. If everyone was totally different I’d have to figure it all out from scratch every time.”
