Chapter 43
Aella
“How many spittlestalks are you planning?” Rynn asked as we tilled the soil in the garden's central area. Her long, auburn hair was pulled back from her face in a half braid, and she wore a simple plum cotton dress in anticipation of working with me today.
“Probably three here.” I gestured across the path to our right, where Loden worked. “A few more there, and then several more over that way.” I pointed to the left. Naturally, I was being strategic about where they’d go just in case I ever needed a refuge from danger again.
While I could extend the life of spittlestalks to continue thriving through the warm months, they always died in the fall, no matter what I did.
When my uncle’s soldiers attacked my garden, they’d already begun to wilt, barely able to produce any poison for the intruders.
I had been able to save their seeds before they completely died, so thankfully, those brave plants would live on through their offspring.
This morning, we were preparing the garden beds where the future ones would go.
I found it best to get the seeds underground in the fall.
They were more likely to germinate and grow strong.
Some things for the garden could wait since we were at war and there were other priorities, but things like this needed to be done as soon as possible.
I couldn’t let these seeds go to waste after everything.
Rynn looked thoughtful as she ran her gaze around the garden. “Will you be adding any more plants soon?”
“Probably not.” I tossed a weed onto a nearby pile. “Maybe if I happen to find something really incredible, but I’m not going out and looking until spring. Hopefully, by then the war will be over and we can get back to living normal lives.”
“That would be nice. So, uh, did you think about letting me come with you to Earth?” she asked, expression hopeful.
I sighed. That explained the real reason Rynn volunteered to help me in the garden this morning before her lessons. “It’s too dangerous. You’ll be a lot safer here, and I don’t want you to fall behind in your studies.”
“But I feel safest when I’m with you,” she said, giving me an imploring look.
I took her hand. “I know, but this is a different world, and we don’t know much about it. There’s no guarantee I can protect you properly. If something happened, I’d never forgive myself. You will do the most good staying in Veronna to help the injured.”
She jutted her chin, stubbornness written all over her features. “You think I’m important here because I can heal people, but that’s also why I should go.”
I understood what really drove her. She’d lost so many people in her young life and worried that if I left, I might not come back. I understood that completely. If I thought it was safe, I’d bring her, but I wouldn’t risk her going to an unknown place.
A figure appeared at the gate, drawing my attention. “Lady Aella, may I speak with you?”
I stiffened at the sight of Darrow’s father.
He was here, at my garden entrance, invading my sanctuary.
My hand clenched around the garden fork, contemplating whether I could use it as a weapon.
I didn’t want to talk to him. In fact, I liked him best when I never had to see him, but he was the Lord of Veronna.
Whether I liked it or not, I was now under his jurisdiction. The very thought of it galled me.
“Come on,” I said in a controlled tone, gesturing at Rynn. “Let’s see what he wants.”
She rose with me, and we headed toward the front gate.
Loden joined us as we passed him. His hands were filthy from working in the dirt, but he was enjoying practicing some of the minor druid magic I’d taught him.
It was like I had opened a new world for him by showing him how to enrich the soil and filter out impurities.
Standing at the arched entrance, Lord Gannon eyed my crunchertraps, both of which kept snapping in his direction with audible clicks of their sharp teeth.
They couldn’t reach him as long as they stayed rooted, but they made it clear that he wasn’t welcome.
Already, my newest plant was becoming territorial and following the other one’s lead.
“Did you need something, my lord?” I asked, pasting a pleasant expression on my face.
The tall elf shared some of the same facial features as Darrow, such as his defined cheekbones and square chin, but the similarities ended there.
He kept his brown hair short, maintained a trimmed beard, and his body wasn’t as muscular as my husband’s.
His skin tone was several shades lighter as well.
Gannon gestured at my plants. “Could you ask them to behave themselves?”
Snap, snap. I had to fight a grin at the pair’s response to his request, each missing him only by a foot. To his credit, he only stiffened and scowled at them.
“They’re protective of me and see you as a threat,” I said, unwilling to cooperate any more than necessary.
He sighed and looked at Loden. “Please take Lady Rynn back to Crystal Castle and ensure she makes it to her lessons. I must speak with Lady Aella alone.”
My older cousin nodded. “Of course, my lord.”
Rynn hugged me, and Loden gave me a look that said, "Be careful." I didn’t know whether he meant I should behave myself or be wary of Lord Gannon. It could have meant both.
Darrow’s father moved aside as the two passed, but afterward, he stood in the middle of the archway again. I wondered if I’d left the gate closed, whether or not he would have bothered me. Maybe I’d try that next time.
“What did you want to speak to me about?” I asked, crossing my arms.
He studied me for a minute. “I realize you hate me because you believe I killed your father, and that’s understandable.”
I wanted to lash out and hit him. Understandable?
That was such an understatement, I couldn’t even think of an appropriate response.
Instead, I forced my face into a neutral expression because I didn’t want him to see that his very presence infuriated me.
How the images of my father’s blackened body still haunted my dreams after I’d had to identify him and prepare him for the funeral.
My older sister hadn’t been there to help.
“Is it really necessary to discuss this?” I just wanted him to go away so I could cry, because I wasn’t getting the revenge I should. Instead, I’d married into this murderous family and begun helping them. Only the war against the dark elves helped stay my hand.
His lips thinned. “Yes, because you need to know that your father wasn’t dead the last time I saw him. I ran my sword through his gut, but if a healer came soon enough, he would have survived.”
“No.” I shook my head. “You burned him. I know because I saw his remains later, and he was hardly recognizable.”
Lord Gannon drew back in surprise. “I didn’t use fire on him. In fact, I chose not to finish him after I realized the other Therressian soldiers had withdrawn while he and I battled. They’d turned away from him. I found that suspicious, so I left him alive on the field.”
Why would he say these things? They couldn’t possibly be true when I knew what I’d seen. Maybe I wasn’t on the battlefield that day, but I’d received my father’s body soon after that. He did have a sword wound in his stomach, as I recalled, but it seemed insignificant compared to all the burns.
“Could one of your other soldiers have done it?” I asked, only because he seemed genuinely startled about the fire. Why fake his reaction?
Lord Gannon’s brows knitted. “It’s doubtful. I called a retreat after leaving your father because my gut instinct said something wasn’t right that day. We were on your land, so we left.”
“It doesn’t make sense.” I rubbed my face. “You have to understand how difficult I find it to believe you, right?”
He worked his jaw, muscles tense before speaking, “Of course, but for the sake of this family and because we have enough enemies surrounding us, I want to put the matter to rest. If you’d like the prince to look into my mind to verify what I’m saying, we can do that,” he said, eyeing my crunchertrap.
“Perhaps if you know the truth, you could even put in a good word with your plants.”
I almost laughed at that since they hadn’t stopped snapping at him the whole time he stood there. “If you’re serious, let’s go now. I can come back and finish seeding the soil later.”
After this conversation, I couldn’t concentrate on anything until we resolved it.
Lord Gannon stepped aside, allowing me to exit the garden.
I closed and locked the gate. There were plots for children to tend plants on the island.
While none of them were close to mine, I didn’t want to risk any of them wandering inside and getting hurt.
My older crunchertrap knew better than to eat little ones, but I still had to train the younger one. It had gotten past its depression after the first day and become overeager to please me. While its enthusiasm was adorable, it was also dangerous.
Lord Gannon walked at my side as we passed one garden patch after another. Mine was on the far end, so it was a bit of a journey reaching the dock. He kept looking at me, opening his mouth, and then thinking better of it.
“What?” I finally asked when I couldn’t take it anymore.
He cleared his throat. “What seeds are you planning to put in the soil?”
“Spittlestalk.”
“Hmm. Interesting.” He kept his gaze forward. “My mother adored those, but she never could get them to thrive. They lasted a month or two and then died every time.”
“At Ivory Castle, I could keep mine alive for about six months,” I said, unable to help myself. Even with an enemy, it was hard not to brag about my beloved plants. “But in your mother’s defense, the average time they live is six weeks, so she didn’t do anything wrong.”
Lord Gannon frowned. “How do you keep them alive for longer?”