Read Ascend for Free Online

me. He probably wouldn’t be able to after Saturday,
which made me a little sad. I slept sprawled out in my bed, and Duncan was
curled up on the couch, a thin blanket draped over him.
    “It’s Thursday,” I said when I woke up. I was still in bed,
staring at the ceiling.
    “It certainly is,” Duncan yawned and stretched.
    “I only have two days until I get married.”
    “I know.” He got up and opened the shades, letting a wall of
light into my room. “What are you doing today?”
    “I need to stay busy.” I sat up and squinted in the
brightness. “And I don’t care what anybody says about me needing to relax and
take time off. I have to keep active. So I think I’ll train with Tove today.”
    “At least you’re spending quality time with your fiancé,”
Duncan shrugged.
    Whenever I thought about the wedding I got a sick feeling in
my stomach. Sometimes, if I thought about it too much, I actually threw up. I
don’t think I’d ever been so afraid to do anything in my life.
    I showered and ate a quick breakfast, then I went down to Tove’s room to see if he wanted to do any training. I’d mostly
gotten the hang of all my abilities, but they weren’t something I wanted to
lose, so I practiced often to keep them strong.
    Tove had moved into the palace after the Vittra had
kidnapped me to help keep things safe. He was actually much stronger than any
of the guards here, and he may even be stronger than me. His room was down the
hall from mine, and the door was open when I stopped by.
    A few cardboard boxes were set around the room, some of them
empty, but one had books overflowing from it. He had one sitting on the bed,
and Tove put in a few pairs of jeans.
    “Going somewhere?” I asked, leaning on the doorframe.
    “No, just getting ready for the move.” He pointed down the
hall toward Elora’s room – our new room. “For Saturday.”
    “Oh,” I said. “Right.”
    “Do you need help with anything?” Duncan asked. He’d
followed me down to Tove’s, since he followed me everywhere.
    “Sure, if you want.” Tove shrugged.
    Duncan went in and pulled out some of Tove’s clothes from
the drawer. I stayed where I was, hating how awkward
everything felt between us. When we were training or talking politics,
everything was good with Tove and me. We were almost always on the same page,
and we talked openly about anything having to do with the palace or work.
    But when it came to our wedding and our actual relationship,
neither of us could ever find the words.
    “Did you want to train today?” I asked Tove.   
    “Yeah, that’d be great actually.” Tove sounded relieved.
    Training helped him a lot, too. The palace was so full of
people, and Tove could sense their thoughts and emotions, creating loud static
in his head. Training silenced that and focused him, making him more like a
normal person.
    “Outside?” I suggested.
    “Yeah,” Tove nodded.
    “But it’s so cold out,” Duncan lamented.
    “Why don’t you stay in here?” I asked. “You can finish
packing up some of Tove’s stuff.” Duncan looked uncertain for a second, so I
went on, “I’ll be with Tove. We can handle ourselves.”
    “Okay,” Duncan said, sounding reluctant. “But I’ll be here
if you need me.”
    Tove and I headed out back to the secret garden behind the
palace. It wasn’t really secret, I guess, but it felt that way since it was
hidden behind the trees and a wall. Even though a strong January storm had been
blowing the last few days, the garden was peaceful.
    The garden was magic. All the flowers still bloomed, despite
the snow, and they sparkled like diamonds from the frost. The thin waterfall
that flowed down the bluff should’ve frozen over, but it still ran, babbling.
    A drift of snow had blown over the path. Tove simply held
out his hand, and the snow moved to the sides, parting like the Red Sea. He
stopped in the orchard under the branches of a tree covered with frozen leaves
and blue flowers.
    “What