Prologue
On the day of the winter solstice, Numair Salmalin woke pouring sweat. He was acutely aware of everyone in the city with any sort of gift, all connected by the power pulsing all around.
Hundreds of yards away in the stables, Daine awoke and sat up sharply, surrounded those animals that nested with her overnight. Kitten, awake and alarmed, was the only one his apprentices furry bedfellows disturbed by her sudden waking; already the dragonet was singing in a melodic rippling tone that would soon reach all in the palace itself.
"Kit, hush" Daine scolded but made no effort to enforce the request. Her eyes wide, her soft lips parted and she whispered "Numair, what is it?" Any other morning he would have questioned how she knew, how she could tell that he was there, but not now.
It's the Barrier, the barrier between the realms. It's…" He breathed deeply, anticipating the panic that his answer would bring "… gone. Evaporated"
She blinked and he could feel her long lashes brush his cheek. Her calmness as she processed the news reassured him; the look in her eyes as she processed the information, the soft part of her lips as she breathed calmly.
Then it spilled out, the thing that had been bubbling on the edge of his consciousness for months. It flowed into his thoughts, a wave that washed over everything else.
Mithros, I love you Magelet.
In that moment, he knew only three things. Firstly, the barrier was gone. Secondly, he was in love with Daine; he wanted nothing more than to kiss her.
Thirdly, she could never know he felt that way.