Chapter 26 #2
“Lady Featherby, you said your healing magic has been muted down here,” I said.
“What if we used that as an anchor? You’re naturally aligned with growth and restoration.
If you focus your magic on the life force of the plants above while Dominic and I feed emotional energy through the crystal network, we might be able to reverse the dampening effect. ”
“A three-part harmony,” Lady Featherby said, her eyes brightening. “Each of us contributing different kinds of magic to create a balanced counter-force. I love it.”
Four parts, Savory corrected. The raven enhances. The raven completes.
I smiled and shared what she’d said.
“Then we have our team.” Dominic moved to the center of the chamber, where the crystal pattern converged.
“Lady Featherby, position yourself near the workbench. Focus on your connection to the healing properties of plants and growth. Sasha, you’re with me.
I suspect we’ll need direct contact to maximize our resonance. ”
I joined him in the center, taking his hands. The moment our palms touched, warmth flooded through me. Our magic recognized each other, reaching out to intertwine like roots seeking water.
Lady Featherby closed her eyes, her hands hovering over the dried herbs on her workbench. Soft green light began to glow around her fingers. “I’m ready.”
Savory swooped down to perch on my shoulder, her talons gripping gently.
“On my count,” Dominic said. “Three. Two. One.”
I let my plant magic rise. This wasn’t the careful, controlled trickle I’d been using, but the full force of what I’d inherited. This power could coax life from barren ground and could feel every root and stem and leaf for miles around.
The sensation overwhelmed me. It was too much information and too many plants calling for attention, every wilting flower and struggling vine crying out for help. I started to pull back.
Dominic’s magic wrapped around mine. His emotional resonance provided structure for my wild growth energy.
Trust the roots, Savory said. Trust the depth.
I stopped fighting and let my magic flow freely again. Through our joined hands, I felt Dominic’s power surge to meet mine. His fae gift for emotional connection amplified my awareness of the plants above, helping me sense not only their physical state but their emotional resonance.
They were frightened. The emotion-responsive flowers especially, feeling the dampening press down on them like a smothering blanket. They wanted to bloom, to respond to the joy of the festival, but something kept them muted.
Lady Featherby’s healing energy spread through the chamber, touching each crystal in the dampening network. Where her magic made contact, the corrupted energy shifted. It loosened its grip.
“It’s working,” I said, keeping my eyes closed. “Keep going.”
Dominic’s magic pulsed through our connection, waves of emotional energy that I shaped and directed. Together we created something neither of us could’ve managed alone. His power gave mine purpose. Mine gave his form.
Savory’s contribution felt like wind beneath wings, lifting our combined magic higher and farther than we could’ve reached naturally.
The first crystal cracked like ice breaking in spring. The dampening energy stored inside dissipated, absorbed by the counter-force we’d created.
“One down,” Lady Featherby said, her voice tight with effort. “Seven more.”
The second crystal shattered, then the third. Each one released a wave of tainted energy that our combined magic absorbed and transformed into something I could use to help heal the plants. Sweat beaded on my forehead from the effort, but I didn’t dare break our concentration.
When my magic threatened to spiral too wide, Dominic’s emotional resonance pulled it back into focus. When his power wavered from exhaustion, my plant affinity fed him strength drawn from the earth itself.
This was what partnership truly meant, both of us working together, each contributing what the other lacked.
The fourth crystal cracked. The fifth.
Lady Featherby’s healing light pulsed brighter with each success, her confidence growing. “I can feel the plants responding above us. They’re reaching for the light again. They’re happy.”
Six.
The final crystal resisted longer than the others. Whoever had placed it had made it the anchor point for the entire network, the cornerstone that held everything together. Sour energy spiked through it, fighting against us.
“Together,” Dominic said, his voice strained. “All of us, now.”
I poured everything I had into the last crystal.
Dominic’s magic blazed bright, his love for his court and his people and his genuine desire to see them flourish. Lady Featherby’s healing power surged with determination to fix what she’d accidentally broken. Savory’s enhancement wove through it all, amplifying our efforts.
The final crystal exploded in a shower of light.
The dampening field collapsed, rippling outward through the court like a wave retreating from shore, taking the corruption along with it. Above us, plants that had been struggling could suddenly breathe again.
My knees buckled. Dominic caught me, pulling me against his chest while we both caught our breath. Lady Featherby sagged against the workbench, tears streaming down her face.
“It’s done,” I said. “We’ve saved our people.”
Savory landed on the workbench, ruffling her feathers. What was once poisoned may now heal.
For a long time, none of us moved. The chamber felt different now, emptier without the weight of tainted magic pressing down. Now it was just a carved-out space beneath a hill, stripped of the power that had been slowly killing Dominic’s court.
Lady Featherby straightened, wiping her eyes. “If you’ll trust me with this, I’d like to dismantle everything else here. This chamber should never be used again.”
“You have my permission. Then we’ll seal it completely,” Dominic said. “Fill it in, remove the access, and make sure no one can stumble into this space in the future.”
I took in the broken crystals scattered across the floor. “Nothing good has come from this place. Better to bury it and let it be forgotten.”
Lady Featherby nodded, fresh determination in her eyes.
“I’ll take care of my part immediately, but you two have a festival to attend.
Go. Let your people see their king and queen celebrating.
I’ll join you when I can.” She managed a watery smile.
“The next time I find a mysteriously well-equipped workspace, I’ll ask a few more questions before settling in. ”
I smiled back. “That seems wise.”
Dominic took my hand, and we climbed back to the surface, Savory swooping ahead of us. My legs shook, but my heart felt light. The threat that had been hanging over this court was finally gone.
Music erupted from above. Laughter. The sound of people celebrating the joy they were finding in the plants and within themselves.
We emerged into twilight. The first stars had appeared, and the gardens had been transformed into something from a dream.
Every emotion-responsive flower blazed with color, pulsing with happiness reflected onto them from the gathered crowd. Blues and purples and brilliant golds swirled through petals.
Enchanted lights floated among the trees, and tables covered with food lined the main paths. Musicians played near the fountain, their melody weaving through conversations and laughter.
Court members in festival clothing moved through the gardens, exclaiming over the flowers and embracing friends.
I spotted Lord Primrose and Lady Daphnie composing poetry for anyone who would listen.
Lord Turren stood in front of a reflective pond, posing while admiring his appearance.
Lady Kenneth had gathered a group of young nobles and was demonstrating sword techniques with a decorative blade.
“Look,” Dominic said softly, gesturing toward the eastern path.
His mother stood among a cluster of revived plants, her hands glowing with magic as she encouraged them to bloom. When she looked up and spotted us, relief flooded her face. She started to approach, then stopped, uncertainty crossing her features.
Dominic squeezed my hand, then released it to walk toward her. They met halfway, speaking quietly. I couldn’t hear their words, but his mother’s shoulders relaxed.
I suspected they weren’t finished working through everything. The hurt and betrayal still needed to be addressed, and boundaries needed to be set in place. But this was a start, a recognition that family was worth fighting for even when it was complicated.
Like my relationship with my sisters. I’d spent years trying to protect them, never quite trusting them to handle challenges on their own. I’d been so focused on keeping them safe that I’d forgotten to let them grow strong.
No, I’d forgotten to let myself grow strong beside them.
Lady Featherby and I weren’t so different in that way. Both of us cared too much.
Working with Dominic had shown me another path, one I was eager to take with him by my side.
Savory landed on my shoulder. The garden remembers its caretaker. The roots sing your name.
I stroke her feathers, feeling the truth of her words settle into my bones. I belonged here. All of me, including the parts I’d been hiding.
Dominic returned to my side, his mother following. Red rimmed Iberia’s eyes, but she smiled my way before turning back toward the eastern path, giving us space.
Dominic pulled me close, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Dance with me.”
“I’m exhausted and covered in dirt and possibly magical residue,” I said.
“Perfect festival attire.” He grinned, already pulling me toward where others danced near the musicians. “We saved the court. We earned this celebration.”
Once we’d reached the others, we danced, not following any particular pattern, just swaying to the music while the emotion-responsive flowers bloomed brighter around us.
“I love you,” he said, loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. “In case there was any doubt.”
“I love you too.”
He kissed me while our court cheered and the flowers blazed with joy.
When we finally broke apart, both breathless and laughing, the gardens had never looked prettier.