All her worry. All her fear…
And the law had been struck down miles and miles away? If she hadn’t talked to Marin, she might never have known and continued to live in anxious fear of an imperial investigator swooping down on her island and ripping her away from everything and everyone she’d grown to love. “The imperial investigators…”
“Disbanded,” Marin said.
“And who… How…”
Marin flapped a hand in the general direction of Alyssium. “Laws are being rewritten. The provisional government is still figuring out which foot to put which shoe on, but yeah, the empire fell, which means alotof changes, for better or worse, but this is one changefor the better that I think will stick. You’ve heard about the magic storms plaguing the outer islands, haven’t you? Or have you? You’ve been pretty sheltered, first in the library, then on Belde.” Marin paused for her to reply, but Terlu was too flabbergasted to do anything but stare at her. “Well, anyway, as it turns out, one of the side effects of the emperor’s hoarding magic has been an increase in terrible storms. So everyone’s happy tonotreturn to the old ways. Less death and mayhem, you know?”
She had no idea there had been death and mayhem while she’d stood frozen on her pedestal, but less… Yes, less sounded good. Terlu felt as if her mind was whirling. Marin knew all along that she’d been a statue? And she’d approved of Terlunotbeing a statue, even though there had been a trial, complete with judgment and sentencing? “You were willing to risk…? For me?”
“Yeah, well, what’s the point of sailing free, choosing your own horizon, if you won’t choose what’s right over what’s easy?” For an instant, Marin’s smile faltered, and she looked out at the horizon.
Terlu opened her mouth and then shut it, unsure what to say.
Ree swung on a line, holding on with his branches, and then released, soaring in an arc off the boat and landing on the dock with athumpas his root ball impacted on the boards. “Hey, Marin, did you see that? I did it!”
Marin cheered. “Flawless. Like always.” Lowering her voice, she said to Terlu, “First dozen times he tried that, he overshot.” She mimed a bush sailing over the dock and splashing into the water.
“Luckily I’m—”
“—a halophyte,” Marin finished with him, fondness in her voice. “Yes, we know.”
“Welcome back, Ree,” Terlu said to him. “Where’s the other sailor who was with you?” She didn’t remember his name, but he’d had diamond horns. He’d looked at home on her ship; she’d assumed he was a permanent addition.
Marin shrugged. “He’s back on land, where he belongs. Noteveryone’s made for the sea like Ree here.” She smiled affectionately at the shrubbery.
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.”
“Ooh, speaking of…” Marin dug into the bag at her side and pulled out a thin book with a green cloth cover. “I brought you a feast present. Happy solstice!”
A present. Terlu felt as if she’d already been gifted with the greatest present she could have ever imagined: her life, free of fear. And a letter from her family, which she was still clutching to her heart. “I didn’t get you anything.”
“You gave me a very big ruby, remember?” Rolling her eyes, Marin 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. It was titled simplySpells from Caltrey. She wasn’t sure where Caltrey was—it wasn’t an island name that she recognized.
“Yep,” Marin said.
This was proof, here in her hands. A spellbook for an ordinary person.
“Brand-new world out there. A second chance for a whole lot of people, not just you.”
“Oh.” It was a lot to absorb. Terlu had spent so much time afraid that she’d be forced to be a statue again, and all it took was the overthrow of a thousand-year-old government.All it took—hah!She began smiling. This book in her hands was undeniable proof that what Marin said was true. If the imperial law still stood, it would never have been printed. She hugged it to her chest, along with her family’s letter, both so precious. “This is an excellent solstice present.”
“My pleasure. Now am I invited to the feast?”
“Absolutely.”
From the ship came a voice that Terlu recognized: “Am I invited as well?” And the head librarian of the Great Library of Alyssium, the woman who had fought for Terlu’s life and lost but still found a way to save her anyway, stepped out of the hold.
“Rijes Velk!” Terlu chirped. She then bowed. “I… oh… Oh, wow.” She felt tears brimming in her eyes as she turned to Marin. It was all so very much. First the letter, then her freedom, now this? Her knees wobbled. “You found her? How? Wow, this is… Wow.”
“It was a really large ruby. And it helped that I knew where she was.”
Shaking his leaves, Ree said, “Told you she’d be surprised! Whee, we did amazing!”
