AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My lips curved upward just a tiny bit at the sight. Though my heart was still beating quickly, and there was still a lump in my throat from the violence I’d seen, knowing that mated couples weren’t in danger anymore brought me peace.
Eisley and Sharp wove through the branches until they landed next to the couple. She exchanged a few words with them, then all three of them nodded.
I imagined she was inviting them to stay at the castle so she and Kierden could keep an eye out, just to make sure Dirue had been working alone.
“Are you alright?”Kierden asked me quietly.
My eyes met his over the blazing fire below us. He stood on a bridge across from my branch with Death and a bunch of other fae and esu. His arms were full of plants, and if the situation had been different, the sight might have turned me on.“I am. Are you?”
“Not really. I’ve never had to kill one of my people before.”
“Do you think anyone’s going to try anything because of what she said?”
“I don’t.”He didn’t hesitate.“If she had been working with anyone, we would’ve caught them by now. It’s much harder for two people to keep a secret than one.”
“I hope you’re right.”
We all stayed where we were and remained silent until the fire died completely. Though no one spoke for a long moment, everyone was looking at Kierden, waiting for him to give them instructions.
“Nissa will plant the herb throughout the city,” Kierden said, looking at me.
I nodded.
“If you want to grow your own, do it. You are in control now. We all are. Our fates are ours to decide, and if we choose mates, we will defend them.”
Murmurs of agreement rolled through the trees around us.
Kierden’s mind touched mine.“Follow me.”
I didn’t look back at what we’d left behind as we disappeared into the jungle.
When Death headed toward my farm, Bright followed. He stopped at one of the far edges of my recently-harvested land, and Kierden held out one of the potted plants he’d been holding.
“Ready?” he asked me.
“Mmhm.” I took a small clipping of the plant—he gave me a small pair of sharp scissors made of ice when I asked him to—and then crouched down.
It only took a moment to make a small divot in the dirt, tuck the plant in, and rebury the roots. I felt my magic wash over it instantly, and saw the plant perk up.
We repeated the motion a few more times around the farmland, far enough from the crops that their roots wouldn’t overlap as they continued to grow.
“There are a few high-traffic places we should put them, if you’re okay with it,” Kierden told me after we’d nearly planted all we could from the first pot. His voice was still low, and though he hadn’t said anything about it, I knew he was itching to go back to the castle and to bed. Not to sleep, but to give himself time to process everything that had happened and everything he had done.
I agreed, and our bonded esu took us to the marketplace. I tucked a few of the plants’ stems into deep crevices that existed in a few of the tree trunks, where they could grow freely. They wouldn’t grow there naturally, but my magic wasn’t exactly natural.
When we were done there, Bright and I followed Kierden and Death to a residential portion of the city I’d never seen before. Some of the fae in their homes watched us as we planted, and I waved at them when I saw them. Most waved back, too.
Eisley joined us as we were nearing the end of our stash. She and Kierden exchanged a few quiet words while I continued going through the last of our plants, and then handed him the ones she had picked up too.
She gave me a quick hug before she left again, and Kierden led me to another part of the city that was also full of homes. He watched me for a moment before he began helping me tuck the plants away to get them ready to continue growing.
As we did, I noticed my vines and flowers had somehow managed to grow all the way out where we were. It was much further from the castle than the edges of my town had been from my tower.
That meant my magic was either growing stronger, or it was simply spreading further when the plants near me were strong enough. I hoped for the latter.
We went to a few more locations, planting the herbs everywhere we went until we only had a few small sprouts left. Kierden stopped at the forest’s floor to fill two of the pots with dirt, and then we finally went back to the castle.
I didn’t bother asking him if he wanted to go to my house by the farm. He needed the comfort of his long-time home, and I needed to be somewhere in the middle of all the new plants. The castle was about as central as it got, and staying central would help make sure my magic reached everything so the herbs would start growing the way they were supposed to.
