6. Playing Games
Playing Games
Cerise
Find my fun? What on earth did that even mean? I didn’t have time to waste on silly games. I had species to discover and work to do or I’d never make dean and my mother would never let me forget it.
While my mother was harsh, I owed my success to her.
In fact, I owed everything to her. She’d brought me to the university from the time I was an infant, exposing me to research and science since the day I was born.
When she read to me, it was purely academic texts.
My toys? Accurately scaled figurines of wildlife.
And I’m almost positive my first words were ‘grant proposal.’
Everyone knew my mother. Dr. Anya Thornheart, world-renowned beastologist. Dean, then eventual headmaster of the prestigious Silverleaf Institute of Magic for over twenty years.
Discoverer of aebifma mantelia, a species of frog whose mucosal glands secreted a powerful substance used to create a cure for arthritis.
I leaned against a tree and closed my eyes, listening to a distant waterfall and the cries of tropical birds high in the trees. I would never reach that level of notoriety, never carry on my mother’s legacy.
“Are you feeling all right, CeCe?” Emberly asked, approaching.
I opened my eyes. “Yes, of course. Why do you ask?”
My friend gave me a warm smile. “You just looked deep in thought.” She nudged my shoulder and held out a canteen. “Water?”
“Thank you.” I took it and drank before handing it back. “How are you feeling about being away from your wife for so long?”
Emberly let out a sigh. “I miss Rosamund already and I know she misses me. It’s going to be tough. We haven’t been separated for this long before.”
Rosamund and Emberly were the only friends I really had.
The only ones who didn’t balk at my penchant for orderliness or almost obsessive need to work.
Who loved and supported me. And they were the only ones who I’d ever opened up to about my fears and struggles, something I preferred not to talk about.
Those women were the sole people in my life who knew absolutely everything about me and had never judged me once.
“I’m sorry. I miss her too. If you need to vent to me, you know you can,” I offered.
Emberly squeezed my hand. “Thank you, love. How are you getting on with Doctor Flirt?”
“It was refreshing to see his enthusiasm with that insect and our students…But other than that, he grates on my nerves. You know what he told me?”
“What?” Emberly gave me an amused look.
“He said since I don’t know how to have fun, he was going to help me with that. He was going to help me ‘find my fun’ or some nonsense.” I scoffed. “Can you believe that man?”
Emberly waved a hand. “I think that’s a fantastic idea.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Absolutely. I already told you this trip will be good for you. I think Liam will be good for you too. He will challenge you to let loose and enjoy yourself.”
I glanced around the group. Liam was in the middle of a lively conversation with the graduate students, showing them a large blue butterfly resting on a nearby vine. He caught my eye and gave me a ravishing grin, then turned back to his discussion.
“You know,” Emberly said, following my gaze. “Doctor Pendragon is quite good-looking. And friendly. And after that terrible relationship you had with Ambrose, maybe you need to open yourself to other possibilities.”
I whipped my head to my friend. “What? You’re joking.”
“Not at all.”
“I stay away from men like him. He’s entirely too rash and impulsive. Not interested.”
Emberly pushed off of the tree. “That’s exactly why you should consider it.”
She walked off, leaving me alone.
“Doctor Thornheart?” asked Sylvie as she pulled her horse next to mine. We were only a couple of hours away from our final destination and I was antsy to get down and stretch my legs.
“Yes, Sylvie?”
“I never got a chance to say, it’s an absolute honor to work with you.” Her blue eyes were bright, her honey brown curls bouncing as our horses stepped over a fallen log.
“Thank you.”
“Your mother. She’s—well she’s my idol, to be honest. Her work on aebifma mantelia is unparalleled.
I can’t stop thinking about what it must have been like for her to make such a life-changing—no, society-changing—wait, no—world-changing discovery.
I mean…what was it like for you when that happened? ”
She looked at me as if I’d hung the moon, though I knew that look was more about my mother than it was me. I wasn’t surprised. Of course this would turn into a garrulous spew of adoration for her. It always did. I pursed my lips and prepared to answer.
“I was a child. So, I don’t quite remember much about it. But I was very proud of her. She always worked incredibly hard.”
“Oh, yes. Of course. I bet she’s proud of you too. Following in her footsteps and going on this expedition. It must be the most amazing thing to have a mother like her. The things you’ve probably learned and experiences you’ve had. Wow. Just…wow.”
“Mmm hmm,” I said as Sylvie continued to ramble. It didn’t appear as though she even cared about my responses so I tuned her out, plastering on a smile and nodding at the appropriate times.
After ten minutes of drivel, Liam’s voice interrupted. “Doctor Thornheart, may I have a word?”
I glanced behind me to see him approaching. “Of course.”
Sylvie looked at him and blushed as she urged her horse forward, rejoining Aaric at the front of the party.
Liam rode up beside me. “You looked like you needed to be rescued from that conversation.”
“I was perfectly fine,” I lied.
“Right. That’s why your lip was curled like you smelled something foul.”
I leaned forward, running my fingers through Honey’s flaxen mane then scratched her neck. She whinnied, leaning into my touch.
Rising in the saddle, I answered, “I was smiling at her and listening.”
“You aren’t very good at lying or hiding your thoughts, you know.”
I met his gaze. Emberly was right. He was good looking. Stunning, actually. I could get lost in those emerald eyes…and the way his sleeves were rolled up revealed perfectly toned forearms…
“Ahem.” Liam cleared his throat. “Like I said. You aren’t very good at hiding your thoughts.” He smiled at me like he knew exactly where my mind had gone.
My neck flushed. “Did you need something, Doctor Pendragon?”
“I told you to call me Liam.”
“Fine. Did you need something, Liam?”
“We’ll be at camp soon. I thought we’d continue our get-to-know you game.”
“What is it with you and games?”
He laughed. “You’re the one that accused me of playing games first, remember? So I thought I’d play.”
I tucked a strand of brown hair behind my ear. “What would you like to know?”
“What’s your magic specialty?”
All witches picked a type of magic to specialize in when they were young. Oftentimes, it led to their career, but not always. Sometimes you’d have a witch who utilized herbal magic but was a blacksmith, or one who used necromancy but worked as a jeweler.
“Healing,” I replied.
Liam’s eyebrows rose. “Really? Interesting…Why did you choose it?”
Why, indeed. A loaded question. One I wasn’t sure I wanted to answer.
“Sore subject, it seems,” Liam said, watching me closely.
I tilted my head at him. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Read people so well?”
He adjusted his glasses. “You’re kind of forced to learn when you grow up in the type of family I did.”
“What type of family is that?”
“A shitty one. But I’m not going to go into that now. Why did you choose healing? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he added, sensing my hesitance.
He grew up in a difficult family? That surprised me greatly. I’d heard of the Pendragons. They were incredibly wealthy, Liam’s grandfather having created some new way to utilize magic for building houses. I wondered what had happened for Liam to feel that way.
“When I was younger, I used to want to be an animal healer,” I said, giving him the most abridged version of the truth possible.
“Why didn’t you pursue it?”
I remained silent as I stared at him.
He seemed to catch on. “Your mother.”
“It seems you aren’t the only one with a challenging family.”
“We have more in common than you think, sunshine.” He nudged my arm with his knuckles.
I gave him a skeptical look. “What’s your magic?”
Liam held out his hand and a small flame appeared in his palm. Then, he winked as he let it disappear.
“Fire?”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought it was cool when I was younger.”
I couldn’t control the giggle that escaped. “You thought it was…cool? That’s it?”
“Yes. That’s it. I liked it, so I chose it. But also…it didn’t hurt that it infuriated my father.”
“I take it he wanted you to choose something else?”
Liam’s smile was pained, though he tried to hide it. “Fire magic doesn’t really mesh well with home-building.”
Getting the hint not to push, I said, “Well, it is convenient. Especially when we’re in the jungle. You could also light Doctor Rosebud’s pipe for him. I am sure he’ll appreciate that.”
Liam’s jaw dropped. “Did you just attempt a joke? And call him Doctor Rosebud?”
I couldn’t help the smile on my face. “I suppose I did.”
“And you smiled again. The journey to fun has started.”
I looked away as we continued on, trying to ignore the flutter of delight in my gut at Liam’s words.
Perhaps I could have a little fun on this trip after all.