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Cassia reached into the velvet purse at her belt and pulled out her battered, dingy spade. “It is rather difficult to explain why I carry this to formal events.”
Konstantina set an empty pot before Cassia. “Gardening is as much magic as scholarship. You are holding an artifact in your hand that you have infused with emotion over the course of many years and with magic through blood rituals. You should always use it when you give plants new life. They will grow better.”
“So it does hold power beyond my attachment to it.”
The princess nodded. “Stratification means storing the seeds in the cold for a time, then bringing them into the warmth. This mimics seasonal changes and convinces the seeds it is time to sprout.”
Cassia listened, rapt, to Konstantina’s lesson. Then she followed instructions as the princess guided her through potting a sprout that had already been stratified. As they worked, Knight sat obediently beside the potting bench. By the time they were done, there was soil on their formal garments, and Cassia was smiling.
Konstantina nodded in apparent approval. “These seedlings are my Winter Solstice gifts to the Eriphite children. I will see to it Zoe receives the one we just started together.”
“I will pass on what you have taught me tonight and help Zoe learn to care for her rose.”
“My welcome gift to you will be waiting at Lio’s residence upon your return. My initiates have delivered all the supplies you will need for your rescued roses.”
Cassia gave Konstantina a true heart bow, bending at the waist with her hand on her heart. “Thank you for your generosity.”
The princess took off her gardening gloves with a sigh. “My dearest Hypatia is an astronomer, not a gardener. She spends so much time staring at the stars that she does not know a weed from a rose.”
“When a star is so eternal, perhaps that makes it easy to disregard anything so young and fleeting as a flower.”
“History has proved that a rose is tenacious. Cut her back, and she will spring up again. It is a mistake to underestimate her, and it is a shame to discourage her. She should be cultivated.”
“With respect for your expertise, Second Princess, I must tell you that wild roses do not train easily to trellises.”
Konstantina picked up a pair of shears and considered them. “Yet even the wildest roses must be pruned for their own good.” She set the shears away from her. “Not too much, however. They do not tolerate the same care as garden roses.”
Cassia let the tension out of her body, making sure her hand did not tighten on her spade. She knew she was in dangerous territory now, but going in unarmed was the best defense. Konstantina had told her to stand down. And so Cassia would.
“Did not Hespera create thorned plants to defend those under her protection?” Cassia asked. “Does not every rose serve the same purpose—to keep her people safe?”
“Indeed, your purpose and mine are the same. I too seek to rescue Hespera’s lost creations from Tenebra. One in particular, which also came over the mountains with the Queens during their flight to Orthros. A red rose without compare in the Goddess’s Eyes, but with such thorns. He does not realize he too needs the shelter of our mothers’ garden.”
“I see. I understand now which rose errant you mean, who does not wish to be pruned. My understanding is that his entire garden would wither if his thorns were not there to protect the more fragile blossoms. What would become of his wildflowers if he were transplanted?”
“Hemustbe transplanted before he is breached. What good will it do anyone if he is lost forever? Better to return and lie dormant and learn to bloom again.”
“You have been growing roses much longer than I,” Cassia said carefully. “You know how to care for this one better than I would ever presume to. But as his fellow wild rose, I must say, I do not think he would ever recover from the loss of his garden Abroad.”
“Once again, I find myself at odds with an eager thorn bush.”
“You are the thorniest of us all, I believe.”
Konstantina laughed. “I like the compliments you bring to parties. They are not flattery, and yet they are exactly what people want to hear. I must warn you, you are right.”
“It is clear you are a great defender of Orthros. I do not wish to be your opponent.”
“You have a healthy direction and strong growth. I have no intention of taking my shears to you. But do not grow into my path, Cassia. I have devoted countless years to laying out this garden, and I am so close to finally restoring our rose errant to his rightful place in it. I will bring my brother home. I will not stand by and watch him throw away his life.”
“Second Princess, that is between you and the First Prince.”
“You and Lio have grown up right in the middle of it, and Ioustin has added his Ritual son to the ranks of the thorns who defend him. I will not lose you to his garden as well.”
“Lio and I belong in the same garden,” Cassia protested.
“Of course. What do you take me for? I do not stoop to driving wedges between young lovers. Which is why you and Lio must be together in my garden.”
Cassia swallowed. “What are you asking me to do?”
