Chapter 18
F or two days, I hid in my chambers hoping, that Adora would calm down, but she never did. I had never upset her this much before, and I could not figure out how to make penance.
My placement in the Kingdom of Lamida was starting soon, and I had other obligations. Heloise let me know when my mother was in her bath, and then I snuck out of the house and hurried over to Soren's. I had to say goodbye to him before I left. And, if I'm being honest, after the shunning I'd been enduring at home, I needed to see a kind face.
I walked up the path to Soren's house, and he opened it before I even reached the door. He leaned against the frame and greeted me with an easy smile.
"There you are, Izzy. I was beginning to worry that something had happened," he said since I had missed our practice the past two days without giving him any notice. "I thought about sending word, but then I worried that might be the kind of thing that would offend Adora."
"Your instincts were, unfortunately, correct."
His smile deepened. “They often are. That is one of the reasons I became an enchanter.”
I slid past him into the house and waited until we were both inside before I turned to face him. "I do have some news."
“Good or bad?”
“Both, I suppose. I am heading to the Kingdom of Lamida for three weeks to entertain King Asmond Weiss and some of his royal family.”
“Congratulations,” he responded. “The bad news, I presume, is that we will be unable to practice for a while?”
I nodded. “How do you want to handle today?”
After a moment’s thought, he decided, “In the garden. The jasmines are in bloom, I have rosemary sconce and honeyed pears, and I just purchased a sweet rosé from the market.”
“That sounds more like lunch than practice,” I pointed out.
“That’s because it is lunch. You’ve had a rough go of things lately, and you’ll be busy for nearly a month. Why not just relax and enjoy ourselves for the afternoon?”
I laughed. “It seems to me that rest and enjoyment are your solutions to everything.”
"Is there anything that a restful day with good company and delicious food cannot solve?" He leaned in slightly, and his voice had gone quiet and conspiratorial. "Because I personally have yet to find anything."
Since I could not argue with that—or at least, I did not want to—I went about helping him set up an impromptu picnic. In his kitchen, I held a wicker basket while he filled it with a fresh loaf of bread, jams, cheeses, crackers, grapes, and apricots.
“Are you sure this isn’t too much?” I asked.
“We’ll eat our fill, and I’ll save the rest for another day. The jam and cheese will even hold up until your return.” He tossed in one more apricot for good measure. “But I suppose that is enough.”
He grabbed a blanket, and I followed him out his door and into his yard. Soren pointed to a weeping willow at the back of his estate. "We can have our picnic there, but we have to stop at my workshop to grab the wine and glasses."
The workshop was nestled in the corner of the lush garden. When Soren opened the door, I was hit by the aroma of exotic herbs and incense. Shelves lined the walls, filled with an array of enchanted objects, from delicate trinkets to mighty artifacts. Crystals of various sizes and colors were artfully displayed, their facets catching the light and casting prismatic reflections across the room.
In the center of the shop, there was a large workbench. It was crafted from a charmed wood that pulsed with a gentle energy. On top of it, tools of the trade were neatly arranged, including brushes, carving knives, and vials of shimmering powders and potions.
Then, beside a scattering of dried leaves, I saw an unusual bit of fabric. A particularly unique one that I had seen before. It was deep emerald green embroidered with a specific set of arcane symbols.
“What is that?” I asked.
“What?” Soren asked, but he saw exactly where my eyes landed. “Oh. That is the teabag that I made for an elixir.”
“Is that fabric from Herve Chaunter’s robe?” I asked, even though I knew that didn’t make any sense.
He turned back to face me, the wine glasses in his hands. "I suppose there is no sense in being coy. When you came here after your lucenition with Herve, I made the Muse's Elixir tea here in my workshop and imbued it with healing properties, as I said. I used fabric from Herve's robe to tie my spells to him. Essentially, I've taken back the magik he stole and returned it to you where it always belonged."
Confused, I shook my head. "But… how did you get the fabric so quickly? You were only gone for ten minutes while you brewed the tea."
"I already had some of Herve's fabric on hand," he explained. "With the way he behaves and his position, I assumed eventually it would come in useful.”
“You cursed him for me?” I asked, trying to make sense of what he’d done. “Why didn’t you tell me? Were you ever going to?”
“I did not have plans to tell you, but I wasn’t opposed to it, either. It just hadn’t really come up,” he elaborated with a sheepish shrug. “I was trying to make things right… and I thought you might be too timid to avenge yourself.”
"Have you truly avenged me if you've done something I wouldn't want you to do?" I countered.
“Fair point,” he said with a grimace. “I’m sorry. It’s not an excuse, but I couldn’t watch you suffer while I knew he was euphoric on what he’d stolen. But I should’ve talked to you before I did what I did. I overstepped.”
“Does he know what you’ve done?” I asked.
“He shouldn’t, and even if he does deduce it was me, it won’t lead back to you at all. You won’t be caught up in any repercussions, if they were to fall.”
“My placement in Lamida likely has more to do with my rejection of him than anything else,” I said. “And I am willing to accept your apology on one condition. I don’t want you using your magik on anyone else, not on my behalf. At least not without talking to me first.”
He smiled. “Deal.”
He grabbed the wine and the glasses, and the two of us strolled toward the pond. The mood had changed since I discovered Herve's robe, and Soren hummed softly as we walked to lighten it.
He spread the blanket out on a soft bed of clover beneath the branches of the weeping willow. We both sat down and pulled out our meal, and by the time we’d finished our first glass of wine, things between us had returned to normal.
“It’s going to be strange these next weeks without you, although I am certain you will be living it up in Lamida,” Soren commented between munching on cheese and grapes.
“How does one live it up in Lamida? I’ve never been.”
“They have a wonderful garden labyrinth that I had the pleasure to go through on one occasion, and it truly is worth the visit,” he suggested. “They also have the fluffiest cotton candy I have encountered, and it actually is quite the delicacy over there.”
“Well, I will have to try that then,” I said. “Will you miss me when I am gone?”
“Of course,” he replied without hesitation. “I’ll miss you terribly.”
“I think I’ll miss you, too.”
Soren was looking up at me with his beautiful dark eyes, and there was a hint of a wistful smile on the corner of his lips. The wine had left me lightheaded, but the warmth in my belly came from him. I was going to miss him desperately .
I leaned over to kiss him but had misjudged my movements and practically fell into his arms. He caught me easily, and my lips crashed into his. For a wonderful moment, we kissed ardently and deeply.
But then, all at once, he stopped and turned his head away from mine. "Izzy. That isn't what this is."
"Oh." I moved away from him and stared down at my lap in confusion. "I'm sorry. I had too much wine, and I wasn't thinking."
“It wouldn’t be good for either of us,” he explained huskily. “It can corrupt our magik, and I don’t want you getting hurt. I am your enchanter, and you are my muse, but that is all we can ever be.”
“I’m sorry,” I repeated and got to my feet because I couldn’t bear the thought of sitting there with him any longer. “I will… I will see you when I return.”
"Izzy," he called after me, but I just started running and ran all the way home.