The day moved slower than the one before.

  Kael noticed it first in the small things. Nysa walked with them through the clearing, but her steps had lost some of their lightness. She still smiled, still spoke easily, but there were pauses now brief moments where she stood still, as if listening to something only she could hear.

  Or perhaps catching her breath.

  She knelt near the edge of the garden, fingers brushing the soil, then withdrew her hand sooner than Kael expected. When she stood, she leaned briefly against the wooden frame they had set up for drying tools. Casual. Almost careless.

  Almost.

  Kael watched her longer than he meant to.

  Elin was busy nearby, checking the ground where they had planted, humming quietly to herself. She didn’t seem concerned, but then again, Elin noticed things differently. She always had.

  Nysa straightened and turned toward Kael, catching his gaze. “You look like you’re about to ask something,” she said lightly.

  He hesitated. “You’re… slower today.”

  She blinked, then laughed softly. “Am I?”

  “Yes,” he said, not accusing, just honest. “A little.”

  For a moment, she didn’t answer. Her smile stayed, but it thinned, just slightly.

  “Yesterday took more out of me than I expected,” she admitted. “That’s all.”

  Kael frowned. “From cooking?”

  Nysa tilted her head. “From listening.”

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  That only confused him more. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, choosing his words carefully. “You made it look effortless.”

  She studied him for a second, then nodded. “It felt effortless. That doesn’t mean it was light.”

  She sat down on a low stone near the fire pit, resting her hands in her lap. Kael followed, lowering himself opposite her.

  “Nature magic isn’t force,” she continued. “It’s alignment. When you move with it, it carries you. When you don’t…” She exhaled slowly. “It takes payment.”

  Elin glanced over then, listening, but said nothing.

  Kael absorbed that. “So you can just… run out?”

  “Yes.” Nysa smiled faintly. “Or worse. If you keep going when you shouldn’t, your body stops you. Some sleep for days. Some for longer.”

  He shifted uneasily. “And training?”

  Her eyes lifted to his. “You’re curious.”

  “I’m trying to understand.”

  She considered him for a moment, then nodded. “Training exists. But it’s not what people imagine.” She tapped her temple lightly. “It’s learning restraint. Awareness. Control.”

  “You can get stronger?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “You can get clearer. More efficient. Most never go beyond the basics.”

  “Why?”

  “Because wanting magic isn’t enough,” she said quietly. “And pushing for more usually ends badly.”

  Kael fell silent.

  Something stirred in his memory then soft and distant. A night not long ago. Darkness pressing in. Elin standing beside him, embarrassed, hands cupped together.

  A small light.

  He looked toward her now. She was crouched near the ground, brushing dirt from her fingers. Just an ordinary woman, in an ordinary moment.

  “Elin once showed me a light she could make,” he said. “Very small.”

  Nysa’s eyes sharpened not with surprise, but interest. “Did she?”

  “Yes. She didn’t look tired after.”

  Nysa smiled then, genuinely this time. “That makes sense.”

  “How?”

  She leaned back slightly. “That’s a spark. Not a flame.” She gestured loosely toward the trees. “Most people can reach that far. A touch. A whisper. Something sustainable.”

  “And more than that?” Kael asked.

  She shrugged. “That’s where the weight starts to matter.”

  Elin finally spoke. “I never tried to make it bigger.”

  Nysa turned toward her, nodding. “You were wise.”

  Elin looked faintly uncomfortable at that and returned to her work.

  Kael watched the two of them, something settling in his chest. Magic wasn’t a ladder, wasn’t power waiting to be taken. It was a balance and even those born closer to it had limits.

  Nysa stood again, slower this time, but steadier. “I’ll be fine,” she said, meeting Kael’s eyes. “Just need a day.”

  He nodded. “Then take it.”

  She smiled at that. A softer one. Less teasing.

  And Kael realized that effortless things often carried the heaviest costs just hidden better.