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“Alekur did say, ‘drawing attention to us,’ ” Iseris said, remembering better now that her head was clearing a bit. “Us. So both he and my father. Why couldn’t they have just told me to keep it quieter?”
“Does the queen know?” Jav asked. “Is she one too?”
Selis shrugged. “I have no idea. But I am glad I got to meet you both before Alekur met his end.”
Iseris frowned. Why would she say such a thing? Or care about meeting them?
“You’re Iseris’s mother,” Jav said softly. “Aren’t you?”
Selis’s eyes were twinkling as she poured water into her herbal mix, then glanced at Iseris. “Your boy’s getting quicker, now that the wool’s not over his eyes. You should keep him.”
Her cheeks went hot. Jav was not hers to keep, nor would he ever be. But—her mother? Could it be? “Wait—is that true?”
“Indeed, it is. That’s why I came here to hide away from them all. But I didn’t have the means to travel too far. When I found this cottage and shrine abandoned, it seemed as good a place as any to hide for a while. And I just never left. The Way of Things can be strange sometimes.”
Her head was far too injured to be reeling or thinking this hard, but she tried. There was something else, something hinted at in the words and phrases.
“You’re Alekur’s mother too,” Iseris ventured.
“Yes. The queen is barren.” Selis shrugged. “It is a long, not very good story. And Alekur knew about me what you did not. So don’t pity him. Any man who can put a knife to his mother’s throat and call her a situation to be cleaned up doesn’t deserve much sympathy.”
“The red grass…” Jav said slowly. “Alekur had seen it before. That’s how he got through it so quickly.”
“Do you think?”
“He gave me mead when he gave me my orders to…” He cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably. “My orders. It gave me this weird, warm buzzing feeling. Similar. I think he took some of your grass and was using it on people, fermenting it in spirits.”
Selis sighed. “Creative, if morally bankrupt. It lowers inhibitions. Similar to alcohol, so people might not suspect they’ve been drugged.”
“I don’t think it had the effect he intended,” Jav said quietly.
“Well, thank Nefrana for that,” Iseris replied.
His face lit up with a grin. “Indeed.”
“Now,” said Selis, “let us celebrate our survival—and your upcoming trip to Akaria—with a drink. For you, this tonic. For us, this excellent tea.”
“I want tea,” Iseris complained weakly.
“In a bit, dear. Let me heal that head of yours first.”
“And then we’ll make a plan.” Jav picked up his teacup. “Which port, how to get there, all that.”
Selis smiled and helped her to sit up, propping pillows up behind her so she could rest as much as possible in that position. Then she handed Iseris the tall glass of green.
Her mother. She was going to need some time to absorb all of that. “I can’t leave you if I’ve only just found you,” she whispered.
“There are ways to keep in touch. Or perhaps I’ll come along too. Hush. For now, we celebrate.” Selis lifted her teacup.
“To freedom,” said Iseris, lifting her cup weakly.
“To magic.” Jav raised his with more vigor. “To Akaria! And us going there.”
“To the Way of Things,” said Selis, smiling. “And to good tea.”
