Veracava flowerssit a few yards away. I step closer to them, just to be sure, but I already know I’m right. Their deep purple petals curl inward, waiting to collect the early morning dew. Veracavaflowers are rare. Their stems are used in treating fevers so severe they leave the body trembling. I’ve only ever seen them in books.
I move farther into the garden, my eyes darting from one place to another, recognizing plants I’d only ever dreamed of finding.
Matlas moss, its green-red strands clinging to the black stones, perfect for slowing bleeding when pressed into a wound.
Shriroot, its bright orange stems peeking out from beneath a flowering shrub, used to treat stomach ailments.
“Do you even know what you have here?” My mind races, barely able to believe what I’m seeing.
I don’t have to turn to know Jax is just behind me.
I canfeelhim.
“What do you mean?”
I lift my arms, gesturing to the garden with both hands. “This…this isn’t just beautiful. It’s invaluable. These plants…” I crouch near a patch of goldenhearst. “Goldenhearst. Its sap can draw out poison from a wound. And over there,” I point to the vibrant yellow blooms of a Lapapetal, “those flowers can be brewed into a tea to ease breathing in those with sick lungs.”
The prince looks to where I point, his expression blank, his mouth unmoving.
“You have an entire apothecary here, Jax. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find these things?”
He angles his head, his face still unreadable. “You know all this just by looking?”
I shrug, suddenly feeling self-conscious under his gaze. “I had to learn.” Which is true, I needed to study at least some of these things to pass the second trial. But what I know goes far beyond what was required for that test.
“You’re remarkable,” he says, his voice quiet, and his words surprising. And when his jaw tightens, I know they surprised him, too.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “My sister was the remarkable one.”
Telfi, and it isn’t fair that she died.
It isn’t fair that she somehow didn’t pass the second trial, and I did.
“She…she loved this kind of stuff. And she was a great teacher.”
Silence settles between us, heavy and uncomfortable.
“That doesn’t make you any less remarkable, Nova.” His tone is raw, genuine, and something deep inside me starts to ache.
I turn back to the garden, unable to meet his gaze, dissect his words, and right as I do, a drop of water hits my cheek, followed by another and another, until suddenly, rain pours from the sky in a frantic rhythm.
A smile breaks across my face. Closing my eyes, I tilt my head, allowing the cold droplets to consume me. My arms stretch wide, and before I know it, laughter spills from my lips, laughter I can’tseem to stop. The sound fills the air, rivaling the sound of the falling rain.
I peek one eye open, searching for the prince. He’s not hard to find. Standing just a few feet away. His clothes are already soaked through, clinging to his skin, providing a view that’s hard to look away from.
Water drips from his hair, from his fingers, making him look impossibly more beautiful than he already was. But it’s that smile on his face, therealone, therareone, that makes my heart hammer against my rib cage.
“I thought it was the sun you were missing,” he says, his voice battling the sound of the cracking thunder.
I hum at his words.
“I miss it all, Jax. The sun, the moon, the stars, the rain. I miss all of it. It makes me feel alive.” I look back up to the heavens, embracing the storm’s cool caress. I don’t remember the last time I felt it pour like this, and I pray this water is somehow reaching Village 28.
“I’m sorry for depriving you of this.” His words are so quiet that I barely hear them. But what I do hear—clear and unmistakable—are footsteps. Footsteps that are not mine and are not his.
My eyes fly open and lock on Ryjax. I can tell by his expression that he can hear them, too.
He’s on me in a second. One moment he’s several feet away, the next, he’s directly in front of me, pulling me to him. And then, I see nothing but darkness.
