“What?” I asked. I wasn’t sure what she was going on about now, but Iwascertain I’d never be able to please the selkie.
“It doesn't hurt to be a little kinder. Kylan has done nothing wrong. In fact, they’re quite pleasant. So was that first human.”
“Done nothing wrong? All of them have,” I protested. I jut my hand out to the side of the table, motioning to the people of Henri’s Herb House. Sure, some of them seemed suspiciously fae-like, but that didn’t change the facts. Humans were the barnacles of the land.
“Because they were born human?” Breena asked with an elongated sigh. She acted as if she already knew what I was going to say.
“Exactly.” I wondered why she even needed to ask.
“You need to learn to lighten up. You saw that we’re not the only fae in this tea house. I doubt there are humans with green skin, and I’m pretty sure I saw someone with claws, so let’s not judge too harshly, okay? This place is clearly not what you remembered.”
“You’re right about one thing.” I gritted my teeth. Those two words weren't as hard for me to speak as they were for some, but saying them to her was utterly painful. “I don’t recall Barthoah being like this when I was young. I’m not sure if I had been oblivious to it back then, or if this is all a recent development.”
Breena itched her skin some more, and I pushed a carafe of water that sat off to the side of the table toward her. She took the jar with a sigh and held it up to her mouth, taking a big gulp.
“There are cups for that,” I said, setting a little glass cup in front of her.
“Oh.” Breena smiled sheepishly and took one of the glasses, sliding the other to me. She poured water into them, careful not to spill after her recent embarrassment.
Kylan had been correct, because no more than a few minutes later, they were back with two steamy cups of tea. When they set them down in front of us, a fruity aroma floated up from inside my porcelain cup and met my nose in a satisfying stream of warm air. I’m not sure if the scent of the elderberry was the cause of the heavily perfumed air, or if this tea had been as enchanted as the name suggested.
I doubted humans knew how to perform such acts, nor did I believe they would be okay with serving magic-infused foods in their shops and eateries. Had I gotten this all wrong as a child, or had the stories that had flown from my father’s mouth all beenbut a tale to keep us away? He loved Barthoah; it didn’t make any sense to hide something like this from Zellia and me.
“The tea smells amazing. Thank you, Kylan.” Breena grabbed the sides of her boiling hot tea and held it up to her puckered lips.
“Careful! I’d let it sit for a few minutes before you go and burn your mouth. A burnt tongue is just no way to go through your day, trust me,” they said with a nervous chuckle, eyeing Breena’s cup of tea.
Breena said nothing as she set her cup back down on the tiny plate provided.
What was up with these land folk and all their different sized plates?
“Anyway, I poured the first one for you, but I’ll bring over a teapot with your food so you can refill as you please. Enjoy!” Kylan said, not waiting for us to respond before they spun on their heels to speak with the auburn-haired family next to us.
Breena picked up a small spoon resting on her plate then glanced around the table at the odds and ends that sat upon it: a jar of honey, an ornate pot of sugar, and a bottle of unfamiliar dark liquid. The worn label read: Locally Tapped Birch Syrup.
She opened the pot of sugar and stuck her tiny spoon into it, scooping out a pile of brown granules. The selkie stuck out her tongue in focus as she held her spoon out and balanced the sugar all the way to her cup of steamy tea.
I watched the way she moved and focused, wondering if she used this tea and sugar to distract herself from her woes. She’d lost her pelt, after all, and it was in the possession of some human man we had no way of finding.
A small smile crossed Breena’s lips as she made the spoon into her cup without spilling.
“Can you feel that the pelt is no longer in your possession?” I asked Breena over the chatter of the tea house. She didn’t lookup at me as she twirled that little spoon around in her cup of tea. I stared at the ripples forming as I waited for her to answer, wondering if I could control them, or if my magic only worked on salty seawater.
“I can, but I can also feel that this fisherman has not yet… claimed me. I feel no draw to him, and until I do, I don’t know how we’ll find him,” Breena admitted, bringing my attention off her tea and back on to her. Her forehead creased as she met my gaze.
“He hasn’t?” I asked. “Maybe this is a good thing. If he hasn’tclaimedyou yet, it means he probably hasn’t opened that trunk and found it. Now, we just need to find it before he does.”
“Do you suppose we walk into everyone’s homes in this village and look for the trunk?” Breena took her first sip of tea to try to hide her annoyance.
“Of course not…” I trailed off, having nothing else to offer her. Watching foamy waves as they crashed over sun-baked rocks, I debated whether I had gotten in over my head agreeing to help her. Fear crept up my neck at the thought that I would heal before finding her pelt. I didn’t want to have to make the decision of staying or leaving her behind, because deep down, I already knew which choice I would make. Sitting across from her knowing that made my skin crawl.
The uncomfortable feeling reminded me to take a sip of water from the small glass next to my tea. First, I downed the disgusting, unflavored liquid, and then I went in for the flavored water that was warm and smelled of berries. The flavor of the tea swirled around my mouth, eliciting an immediate response from the side of my tongue. The drink was sweet, tangy, and utterly perfect as a cool gust of early summer breeze blew through the window we sat next to.
Kylan popped back over to the table as they tended to do, far too often if you asked me, and said, “Looks like you two havetried the tea. What do you think? We call it enchanted because it’s infused with the love of this place. And trust me, there’s a lot of it.”
Love? Not real magic, but love? You’ve got to be kidding me.
My heart dropped as Kylan stared at me expectantly with a smile. They held a small wooden tray with two dishes and a tea pot sitting on top of it. I swallowed my mouthful of tea and scratched the back of my neck before saying, “Yeah, it’s good.”
