‘They say Aegean steel was given to the fae from the Mother. Back when the ancestors all lived together in the Old Kingdom.’ Bethan wasn’t sure if it were true, but it was from one of the few remaining scrolls saved when the Old Kingdom collapsed. She let out a heavy breath. Lenovik was the one who told her that. In fact, nearly every bit of history she knew about the Old Kingdom had come from Lenovik.

Her shoulders sagged. There was truly no way of escaping her mind. However, she was thankful for the bit of solace Kellan was able to provide her.

She was staring at his lips again, hoping that he might lean in. She found it strange just how addicting the taste of him was. But just like her, sadness manifested in his eyes. Bethan cursed herself for her vulnerability from earlier, but if she wasn’t vulnerable then, she wouldn’t have known the true nature of Kellan’s life.

He looked at her again with softened eyes and an awkward smile. His hand fidgeted with the hem of his shirt.

‘What do the wishes mean?’

She fluttered her eyes. There was something about Kellan’s voice, the way it wavered. She wasn’t too focused on him at the funeral, but she remembered the haunted look in his eyes.

‘It’s a silly witch tradition,’ she dismissed.

‘It didn’t look silly. Please tell me,’ he told her.

She relented, digging her fingers in the sheets.

‘You basically make a wish to the Trine. About how you want the person who died to spend their afterlife. For Lenovik, I wished he’d be surrounded by all the knowledge he ever desired.’

Kellan smiled.

‘Do you remember what you wished for Dana?’

Her heart tightened, and she shook her head. Kellan looked like he instantly regretted what he asked with the way he lowered his head. He dragged a hand through his tangled hair.

‘I don’t, but I think I would’ve wished for her to be constantly discovering new places. She always had a hunger to get out and explore. I think she’d enjoy that.’

Kellan smiled again. He bit his lip before letting it go again.

‘What would you like to have wished for you?’

‘A place where I have magic,’ she said.

‘Really?’ he questioned, his head tilted.

She shrugged, raising her arms. ‘I guess, I don’t know what I want.’

With a soft hum, he sat up from the bed. She stared up, and his eyes squinted with contemplation.

‘How about you?’ she asked. She wondered if the fae even had funeral rituals like they did.

‘I doubt anyone would make wishes for me,’ he murmured.

‘I would.’ She shifted closer to him. ‘I think I would do just about anything for you.’

His eyes flashed at her, and he blanched.

‘I don’t think I have ever truly wanted anything.’ He flinched after that.