Palace

He’d told her to come to the capital in a few days, but the thought of waiting that long was a bit irritating. Though he had already drifted above the trees and cloaked himself above Druid’s garden, Arawn was reluctant to leave Sirona with Druid. He knew that Sirona had some affection for Druid and that it was not of the same caliber as the affection that she had for him. Even knowing that it irritated him that she still managed to have such affection for him at all.
The way she’d hurried to embrace him had struck a chord in him.
He couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but he was half-convinced that it was concern about his fear about how effective his tactics had been in wooing her. It was strange. He knew that Druid wouldn’t make any advance on Sirona. He doubted the man would even do much to dissuade her from growing attached to him the way she had.
Still, he didn’t want to leave her.
He held off a little longer, watching them remain in the garden. She crouched beside Druid. They seemed close and it stirred something in him that he didn’t want to acknowledge. With a huff, he turned away and drifted through the air towards the capital of Berth. Maybe he was just confusing not wanting to leave Sirona with the desire to avoid Fedelm.

Since Arawn left, Sirona had hunted three times for food instead of practice. In place of combat practice, Druid taught her how to guide her magic to see the past. It wasn’t bending time in the way that Arawn spoke about. It was gentler than that like reading the history that hung in the air or lingered in spaces.
She had managed to see three days into the past to where Druid had gotten tangled up in the vines sprawled around his garden and spent a great deal of time coaxing them to unravel. It had been funny, but more than that it gave her a deeper sense of Druid’s personality. He was so gentle as if the very core of him was made of everything soft and comfortable in the world.
She wondered if that was why he seemed to be such a positive person.
“Could you tame a giant lizard?”
Druid looked at her with the most confused expression she’d ever seen. She almost laughed. To be fair, it had been a random question, but it seemed appropriate when she asked it. The giant lizard that had attacked her until she killed it had been vicious and unrelenting.
“What do you mean by tame?”
“While we were traveling, we encountered two giant lizards… One of them just kept coming after me. Arawn said they liked to eat people. Could you get it to stop?"
“I’m surprised,” Druid said, "It’s true that they prefer humans when they can manage it. Given the number of travelers that leave the paths, I imagine it is not often. I have encountered them before. They’re a very grumbly bunch.”
She laughed, amazed as he frowned, “Grumbly? That’s what you’d call them?”
Druid was glad that she was laughing, but the story was concerning. Giant lizards didn’t tend to attack mages because they didn’t smell exactly human. By extension, Arawn and Sirona should have been able to walk past a full nest of them and not worried about being attacked.
Had he been wrong about Sirona? Her inner light had more in common with Arawn than with normal humans, so he wasn’t convinced that he was wrong. Maybe there was something he’d missed.
He pushed that thought away as he continued to eat, “What brought on this question?”
“I was just thinking that you’re so…soft.” Sirona slapped a hand over her mouth before shaking her head, “I didn’t mean—Obviously, you’re very hard on the outside. No, that’s not…”
Her face burned with embarrassment. It wasn’t that it wasn’t true. Druid’s entire body seemed to be made of steel that was forged to resemble muscle. She could only imagine that his body functioned the same way that Arawn’s did.
A new wave of embarrassment washed through her at the thought of seeing Druid naked.
She groaned and tried to push those thoughts away, “I just meant that you’re gentle. Your personality is very gentle, calm… soft.”
Druid laughed, “Like a cloud?”
“Yes, but I didn’t mean that you couldn’t…”
“Be hard?” he teased.
Sirona cleared her throat and wouldn’t look at his face, “Be firm or anything like that. You don’t have to tease me.”
“I know what you meant,” he hummed. “I suppose I never considered that you would view my way of doing things that way.”
“How do you see it?” Sirona asked.
“Easy.”
Sirona frowned, “What do you mean by easy?”
“It is easier to concern myself with things I can do rather than what I can’t. I can’t stop a war. Even if I was to go into battle and risk my life, that would be one battle, one war. There would be many others. I can, however, spread a bit of kindness so maybe, one day, a war could be avoided.”
She nodded understanding some of his points. Her father had been like that. He’d made every change he could, small and large as if he saw a much grander picture than many others. Many thought him soft-hearted. She had always thought it a mark of a good leader to explore every peaceful route before choosing war.
War was not always faster, and it was often that the person waging the war didn’t suffer the most for it.
She looked at Druid’s face and smiled. She bet he would look good in formal armor or even that armor Arawn had been wearing in that visit. He was broader, thicker, and more heavily muscled than Arawn.
The sun would glisten on his sweat-soaked skin. His hair would be plastered to his neck and face as he turned and plunged his sword into a man’s chest.
“Sirona?”
She flinched at the thought as she realized that she was staring at his face and fantasizing about war! He’d taken to leaving his hood down most of the time now. It was good that she had spent so much time with Arawn that his face didn’t affect her as much, but the more she looked at him the more she realized that it wasn’t that his attractiveness wasn’t affecting her.
It was that she wasn’t so shocked by it any longer and her mind was taking liberties with it.
Druid was nothing like Arawn. She could imagine him in battle, but she couldn’t believe that he would ever murder anyone. She didn’t know what she was doing, but she had to stop.
She cursed herself, tearing her gaze away. What was she thinking? She and Arawn, aside from the training, had been stumbling and almost running towards something more than just a passing fancy. They had some sort of relationship. How could she be thinking of Druid in a similar light? Was she crazy?
Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that if she were in a similar situation with Druid, she’d know exactly where she stood.
Maybe it wasn’t his gentleness that was drawing her in the most, but his transparency. He had a cryptic way about him, but if asked, he was honest and thorough with his answers.
“Are you okay?” Druid asked.
“I’m fine, just… overthinking.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
No, but she had a feeling that she’d end up telling him eventually. She had a feeling that he at least had an idea.
She huffed, “Arawn and I…”
“Are involved.”
She ducked her head, “How did you know?”
Druid chuckled, “A blind man could see it.”
She blinked and found herself laughing, tossing her head back.
“That was terrible!”
He shrugged, “I reserve the right to make jokes at my own expense. Why does this bother you so?”
“Well, we haven’t talked about it.” Sirona’s lips twitched, “I don’t want to turn away from it because of that it’s all very new, and…”
“You have concerns?”
“I just wonder if I’m confusing my uncertainty about it for something else.”
Namely, feelings for Druid.
He hummed, “Well, I am not an expert, but perhaps you would benefit from some clarity and not being so hard on yourself. You have been through a lot. Maybe you should just… see where it takes you, one way or another. Just be careful with yourself and be honest to yourself.”
She chuckled, “You somehow always know what to say.”
He shrugged, “I am only telling you what I honestly think. When are you planning to pick up training with him?”
Sirona gasped, “I forgot to ask him!”
“I suppose he’ll just come back then.”
“No, not that. He said to meet him in the capital in four days and I have no idea where the capital is.”
Druid burst into laughter.