Damn. Even in glass, the water looked inviting enough for me to strip down to my skin and slip into it.
“I have something else to show you. Come on.” Selena guided me back to her dining table, where she pulled out a glass jar and upended it on the wooden surface. Something green and sodden landed with a wet smack. Seaweed. I gazed curiously at it. Its leaves frayed like a length of yarn that had been unraveled, leaving it soft and delicate, lacking in defined edges. Selena asked if I knew what it was.
“Kelp?” I ventured, although it was unlike any kelp I’d ever seen.
“Clypeus Viriditas.Shield weed. You’ll want to know what it tastes like.” Selena pinched a thread off the fabric-like grass, offering it for me to sample. I reached for it, and Selena quickly drew her hand away. “Don’t swallow it,” she warned.
Hesitant, I accepted the plant, placing it gingerly on my tongue. I wasn’t repelled by the salty taste of seaweed, nor the slimy texture. The flavor reminded me of grassy shrimp, springy and crisp. Selena handed me a napkin and I spit in it, cringing as I folded the fabric into a wad, unsure what to do with it.
“It tastes like seaweed,” I said plainly, though I knew I’d recognize it were I to taste it again.
Selena raised an eyebrow. “It grows in vines on the ocean floor in cold climates. It’s sparse here in Calder but common in Rivea and Krava. If you find yourself on the coast of either ofthose countries, you’ll find it in local markets and taverns. With a name like ‘shield weed,’ can you guess what it might be useful for?”
Probing the corners of my mouth with my tongue, as though the taste might offer me a clue, I shook my head.
Selena took the napkin from me, tossing it in a linen basket for her maid to wash. At opposite ends of Selena’s dining room table, we faced each other over the little porcelain plate. “If a human eats it, they can’t beincanted. Ifyoueat it, you’ll lose your Naiad abilities until it’s fully out of your bloodstream. About a month.”
Surprised, I gave the little clump another glance. “Is it poison?”
Selena smiled, crossing her arms as she stared at the green ball of weedy yarn. “The ash of it is. Fresh and green like this, it might have only upset your stomach, had you swallowed.”
“How long does it stay in a human’s body?”
“The study of its effects is somewhat limited,” Selena said, sighing. “To understand what little we know about shield weed, perhaps it’s best if you understand first what happens when youincantsomeone. Have you heard the termlove drunk?”
Despite my aversion tovacouspeople, I was intrigued. “Yes.”
Selena pulled the plate closer to herself, plucking a thready leaf from the mound, turning it slowly between her thumb and pointer finger. “When someone becomes infatuated with someone else, their system is flooded with the love hormone oxytocin. You may look at someone, hear their voice, feel their touch. Thehowdoesn’t matter, really. Your body responds with a rush of feeling, and that feeling is excitement, pleasure, sensuality.”
A brush of soft lips against mine. Warm breath, sweet and minty, across my face.
Heat crept under my skin, and I shook it away, forcing myself to pay attention.
“When youincantsomeone, when you sing to them, the same happens. Their bodies flood with oxytocin upon hearing your voice at almost toxic levels. It doesn’t hurt them to be avacousfor a day. But it’s like a drug. It consumes its host, and with prolongedincantation, you can and will kill someone. But…” Selena slid the plate away, leaning forward on her elbows and folding her hands, smiling softly at me. “When a human eats shield weed, their system blocks that flood of oxytocin. They still feel their natural love. They’re simply immune to our song. For how long depends on their metabolic system. If they eat a small amount only once, it will probably metabolize in a fortnight. For someone who eats shield weed as part of their regular diet, it might take a month.”
I pressed my spine into the back of the chair, avoiding Selena’s eyes. The emptiness in Pike’s gaze hovered in memory, and my stomach gave an oily flip. I hatedincanting.
Reading my expression, Selena straightened.
“Calder sits on a precipice of war with its neighbor from the north, and you’re blood-bound to be part of that fight.”
My head snapped up. The war with Rivea? Thaan had mentioned a war while on the ship, but no one had really spoken of it since.
Selena continued, “Who knows where the battle may take you? In the sea, there are pirates. On the road, there are robbers. The journey to war is just as dangerous as the fight itself.
“It might be a responsibility of yours toincantsoldiers, physicians, and leaders, for whatever means deemed necessary. If they lose a leg, you will convince them they don’t feel pain. If they lose a friend, you will convince them to avenge their comrade’s honor. And if, in the small hours of the night, they lose hope, as men often do when fighting a battle that is largerthan themselves, you will convince them that faith is all they need.
“Not allincantationsare wrong, Maren.” Selena dropped her gaze to the mushy grass on the table. “And if we’re to enter a conflict with a country where shield weed grows rampant, you need to be aware of the possibility your men will harvest it for food, and unknowingly put it on your plate as well.”
“What will you do with it?” I asked, my throat suddenly dry as I watched Selena.
“I don’t know yet. It took a while to acquire. I had to find someone who knew what it was first, and where to find it, and then wait for them to return from Rivea, just so you could see it firsthand.” She tilted her head. “Did you have something in mind?”
“It’s a water vine, so its roots don’t need soil?” I asked, though it was more statement than question. We both knew I was the botanist between the two of us. Selena lifted her brows, waiting. I glanced to the door behind us at her office, and the glass box of Venus Sea water inside.
“Hmm,” Selena said. “Not a bad idea. It’s worth a try.”
We went into the office together, Selena waiting as I unlocked the lid. The seaweed plopped unceremoniously into the water, unfurling like a creature stretching after a long nap.
