Chapter Twenty-Seven #4
Why did his absence hurt so much? He was where he was supposed to be, doing what he was supposed to do. She didn’t know why knowing that didn’t help.
Ree fluttered his leaves like a bird preening.
“Your friends will be happy to see you,” Terlu told him. “Glad you made it back for Winter Feast.”
Good. Yes, change the subject. “Ooh, speaking of…” Marin dug into the bag at her side and pulled out the spellbook from Caltrey. This should derail any talk of Dax. “I brought you a feast present. Happy solstice!”
Terlu looked alarmed. She really did wear every emotion on her chipmunk-cheeked face. “I didn’t get you anything.”
“You gave me a very big ruby, remember?” She didn’t mention what she’d done with it as she handed the book to Terlu.
“It’s a new spellbook that’s circulating, written for ordinary people.
Supposed to have a lot to do with plants and gardens and such, and since, you know, the whole greenhouse thing …
I thought it could be useful. Found it in an adorable jam shop, and I couldn’t say no. ”
“The laws have changed that much?” Terlu gawked at the book.
“Yep,” Marin said. This was proof, physical proof, that the laws had changed and that Terlu was safe. She should be happy about that—and also distracted from talking about Dax. “Brand-new world out there. A second chance for a whole lot of people, not just you.”
“Oh.” Terlu hugged the spellbook to her chest, along with her letter. “This is an excellent solstice present.”
“My pleasure. Now am I invited to the feast?”
“Absolutely.”
From the ship, Rijes Velk asked, “Am I invited as well?” She climbed out of the hold. Marin thought she’d been right: Rijes, for all her gravitas and life experience and everything, was nervous about how Terlu would react, whether she’d be welcomed, whether she’d be home.
“Rijes Velk!” Terlu chirped, then bowed, then blushed. “I … oh … Oh, wow.”
Marin smiled. She’d done well. She watched the two greet one another, and she knew she’d done the right thing.
Her parents wouldn’t have wanted her to do anything else.
They’d never want to buy their future with someone else’s unhappiness.
She wondered if her parents would be willing to sail with her.
Maybe they could find another home. Get another second chance.
Other people were doing it. Maybe that was a solution: sell the house on Flicker …
She knew even as she had the thought that they’d be miserable.
As much as they loved the sea in their youth, they’d always thought of Flicker as their forever home.
As Terlu offered them dinner and invited them to stay in the late sorcerer’s tower, Marin ducked into the hold of her ship and emerged with two bags that she tossed onto the dock. “I’d rather sleep on my boat, but thanks.” She couldn’t leave Perri out in the water by himself.
“Same,” Ree said.
She smiled at him. He had turned out to be quite the little sailor. That said, she would absolutely be taking Terlu up on her offer of food.
“How long can you stay?” Terlu asked.
She should leave right now, find other jobs from Ceruli Square, but she couldn’t bear the thought of returning to Alyssium right away.
Maybe she could find jobs outside the capital, far from the conservatory.
It wouldn’t be enough for Iovar. She’d tossed that aside when she’d decided to transport her passengers to Belde.
Why oh why did the right thing to do hurt so much?
“Only until the wind changes,” Marin said, intentionally cryptic.
“Ahh,” Terlu said, as if that nonsense made any sense.
She followed them into the sorcerer’s tower, which she was happy to see was free of any feral gryphons and was instead cozy and clean. She studied the workroom while Rijes and Terlu talked books and codes and whatnot.
“I can show you the translation—” Terlu was saying.
“Yes, that would be excellent!”
Marin said, before they could get too distracted, “After food?”
Terlu laughed. “Yes, after food. Why don’t you settle in, and I’ll be by with some dinner? And the codebook. Ree, I know your friends will be happy to see you’re well.”
“That would be perfect,” Rijes said.
Marin agreed. Food would be just the thing to distract her from thoughts of Dax.
“Terlu?” Rijes said. “Sending you here … I wish I could have done more, and now I am here to impose on you.”
“It’s not an imposition,” Terlu said immediately. “It’s an honor.”
“Alyssium was my home for decades. I expected to die, gladly, between the stacks of the Great Library, a servant to the knowledge and wisdom collected by an empire.” She sighed heavily. “There isn’t a place for me there anymore.”
“You have a place here,” Terlu said firmly. “For as long as you want. Forever, if you like.”
Grinning, Marin elbowed Rijes. “Told you so.”
At least she’d been instrumental in several happy endings. That was going to have to be enough. She wondered if that could be her new purpose. Maybe she shouldn’t be a supply runner. Maybe she could help people who needed a new home.
But that didn’t feel right either. Not without Dax.
Nothing felt right without him.