+Chapter 28+

Mari nodded and acted like a typical person would do if they were on fire, she started flailing her hands.

Kade nearly face palmed at this, “How is that supposed to wor- oh,” He cut himself off when the flames actually went out. “Or maybe that’s exactly how to put them out.”

He paced around her to help himself think, giving her a wide berth. “Try creating more flames,” He ordered again.

Mari frowned, “I don’t know how, I think you better throw me another branch.” She said seriously.

Kade felt his lips twitch at her comment but was determined to remain stoic, “So how did you know how to put them out?”

She shrugged, her braid swaying from side to side, “It only makes sense that you would put the fire out that way, right?”

Kade mused on her response. Activating her magic seemed to depend heavily on a kind of mental switch, having her train her mental stamina and concentration would take time they didn’t have to spare. Not to mention, Kade wasn’t well-versed in that area so it could get very complicated.

There had to be an alternative though, a parallel to how she had put out the fire. “So how would you show how to put on a fire with your hands?” He asked conversationally, his tone light.

Mari beamed and clapped her hands loudly, “Boom! Like that!” She replied cheerfully, keeping her eyes on him.

Kade couldn’t help his answering smile, “I don’t think that’s how fires work but it seems to work for you.” He pointed at her hands we were on fire again.

Mari glanced down at her hands and then smiled so wide it hurt, “It does,” She agreed with a chuckle.

For some reason she felt so light and happy, maybe it was her witch half rejoicing after being essentially trapped for the first two decades of her life or that she was hanging out with someone.

Well, ‘hanging out’ was a stretch but as someone who was ignored even in huge foster families, this counted as hanging out to her. *It was fun, she was having fun.*

That was the very last thing she expected to be doing during training with the scary King of the North. But Mari noticed that if she focused on his face more often, she caught his reactions to the things that were said and done, like how his brow would rise slightly if she said something out of pocket, and how his eyes would widen if she did something impressive. He also smiled more than she would have ever guessed.

“Alright put it out again,” King Kade’s voice interrupted her sappy mental monologue about him.

What was she doing? He had literally threatened to kill her if she didn’t do as he said, the fact that he smiled didn’t suddenly erase all that.

She concentrated on putting out the fire instead, it was much harder than the first time, she had to flail so hard that her wrists started to hurt but they did go out nonetheless.

“Now put them back on,” King Kade said patiently.

Mari held out a hand, “Wait! I need to take a break,” She said desperately, her wrists still stinging.

King Kade’s brows furrow briefly, “Fine, let’s go on a walk, a brisk walk.”

Mari had been warming up to the idea of a walk until the other shoe dropped, “You want me to go on a run?” She exclaimed, disbelief on her face.

King Kade’s expression didn’t change, “No, a brisk walk,” He corrected, “You still have to build your stamina.”

His tone dropped when he said that and the steel in his voice made Mari uneasy, she wasn’t allowed to disobey him after all, or it spelled her death. “Yes, Your Highness,” She conceded, very grouchy about it.

Kade’s expression softened at that, “Let’s grab water bottles from the truck before we get started,” He suggested, already heading off.

Mari trudged tiredly after him, she had literally done nothing yet and she was already so tired. She hoped that King Kade wouldn’t get frustrated with her and decide to crush her skull with his hands and bury her body in the woods or something.

“You can drop the honorifics,” King Kade’s voice floated to her, making her aware of how much distance she had let grow in between them.

Mari jogged to catch up with the North King, “I’m sorry what?”

“I said you don’t have to refer to me as ‘Your Highness’,” He repeated.

Mari’s eyes widened in surprise but she remained silent, unsure of what to say.

Kade left it at that, he had grown so jaded to his title that it didn’t even stand out when people used it all the time but he was painfully aware whenever Marion referred to him by his title.

“Here,” He handed her a bottle he got from the truck.

“Thank you, Your…” Mari trailed off, “Thanks,” She corrected herself.

King Kade’s response was to turn around and start briskly walking back into the woods, Mari bit back a groan and hurried after him. She wasn’t too eager to get lost in the woods.

She had expected him to set a punishing pace from the start but surprisingly it turned out to be her version of a brisk walk. Plus the fresh air made her feel good about herself, back in Wintree, she never got an opportunity like this to go hiking with someone.

Mari hadn’t been paying attention to the hike trail but even if she had, she wouldn’t have understood how they managed to wind up back in the clearing although they had obviously been heading away from it.

“You get a half hour break,” Kade spoke up when they got back to the clearing.

Mari marveled at the fact that he still had enough oxygen left in his body to form words. She was currently leaning against a tree gasping for breath but she found the time to nod.

“I’ll be going on a run,” He added, taking off his tank top. “And by the time I return, you’ll resume your training.”

Mari’s eyes went as wide as saucers at this. She didn’t know what had more shock value to her, the fact that he had just taken his shirt off without warning, the sight of him shirtless, or the fact that although they had just come from a brisk walk, he was about to go on a full on run.

She just nodded, her brain having a difficult time processing everything with the little oxygen left in her body.