Chapter
Twenty
Winter
Ifelt the weight of Fenric's stare boring into the back of my head as we walked through the entrance of Willowbrook Botanical Gardens. He'd been tense since the moment we left the apartment, his shoulders so rigid I half-expected to hear cracking sounds when he moved.
"Your mandatory Restabilization Downtime will commence at precisely 2:15 PM," he consulted his ever-present tablet. "I've prepared a schedule that divides our walk into seven-minute emotional increments, beginning with 'Contemplative Reflection' followed by 'Measured Joy.'"
I rolled my eyes so hard I nearly strained something. "Did you seriously schedule when I'm allowed to feel things?"
"The Bureau's guidelines for prophetic vessel stabilization are quite clear," he sniffed, adjusting his perfectly straight tie. "Emotional regulation is essential for preventing further reality breaches."
I glanced down at my arm where the blue markings pulsed with a steady glow. After the incident with Horracecreating a pocket dimension in the kitchen, and my subsequent make-out session with Milo that Fenric had interrupted, the Bureau had mandated what they called "controlled emotional decompression."
Translation: I was being forced to take a walk in a pretty garden with the most uptight elf in existence.
Oh goody.
"Where are the others?" I looked around the entrance pavilion with its soaring glass ceiling and cascading indoor waterfall. "I thought at least Zane would be joining us."
Fenric's eye twitched slightly. "Agent Zane is handling a situation at Crescent Park. Agent Rook is investigating a potential cultist sighting. And Milo..." his mouth tightened, "is on temporary reassignment."
I narrowed my eyes. "You separated us on purpose."
"The Bureau felt it prudent to establish appropriate boundaries following yesterday's incident." Fenric couldn't quite meet my gaze.
"You mean when you caught us kissing?" I deliberately made my voice louder than necessary, enjoying the way his pointed ears flushed pink at the tips.
"Protocol dictates a 72-hour cooling-off period after inappropriate fraternization," he muttered, his fingers flying across his tablet screen. "Now, shall we proceed to the first emotional regulation station? The Meditation Garden is ideal for the 'Contemplative Reflection' phase."
I sighed but followed him along a winding stone path. Despite my annoyance at being stuck with Fenric, I had to admit the gardens were beautiful. The path was lined with flowering plants that seemed to glow from within, their petals shifting colors as we passed. Magical fireflies danced between the branches of ancient willows, and somewhere nearby, a fountain played a melody that changed with the breeze.
"This place is Bureau-approved?" I was genuinely surprised by its whimsical nature.
"The Willowbrook Botanical Gardens are maintained by a consortium of botanical witches," Fenric tone taking on that lecturing quality I'd come to expect. "All magical flora is contained within stabilization wards, and the emotional enhancement enchantments are carefully calibrated to promote tranquility without triggering prophetic surges."
"So basically, it won't make me go boom."
"Precisely," he nodded, missing my sarcasm entirely. "Now, according to the schedule, we should begin with five minutes of silent contemplation followed by two minutes of guided reflection."
"Are you serious right now?" I stopped walking, planting my hands on my hips. "You're going to time my contemplation?"
Fenric blinked at me, genuinely confused by my resistance. "Of course. How else would we ensure optimal emotional regulation?"
I threw up my hands in exasperation. "Fenric, emotions don't work on a schedule! You can't just decide 'now I'll feel peaceful for exactly seven minutes, then I'll transition to measured joy for the next seven.'"
"With proper discipline, one absolutely can," he insisted, looking mildly offended. "I've maintained a strict emotional schedule for the past one hundred and seventy-three years."
That explained so much.
"Well, I'm human, not an elf with a stopwatch for a heart," I started walking again, deliberately heading in the opposite direction from his planned route. "If you want me to decompress, then let me actually enjoy this place instead of turning it into another Bureau assignment."
I half-expected him to cite regulations or threaten to report me, but to my surprise, Fenric simply sighed and followed, tablet still in hand but at least temporarily lowered.
We wandered into a section of the garden filled with luminous blue flowers that resembled lilies but had petals that moved like sea anemones, gently waving in an unfelt current. The air here smelled like rain and something sweeter, almost like vanilla.
"The Midnight Lilies," Fenric identified them, his voice softer than I'd ever heard it. "They only bloom in our realm once every decade."
