“I’m not sure. I’ve been told that I’m to go to an island called Abby. Something like that.”
“Never heard of it.” His head came up. “Could it be Abicis?”
“Yes! That’s it.”
“Ah,” Tam said. “I assume this has to do with what we were told happened on Olina’s island.”
“She’d like to think she owns it, but she—” Bree broke off. “I guess she does. My cousin Aradella was supposed to be clasped with one of the new royals, but she refused. I don’t know what’s going on. I was told Imustcome here and Imustgo to some island no one has heard of. Doyouknow anything about this?”
“My father loves to keep secrets, but I listen.” He motioned to a bench and they sat down. “If you’re to go to Abicis, then it’s probably to see Qip. He visited here once and told me aboutwhere he lives. It’s an island full of people who’ve been thrown out of Empyrea because they’re different. The name Abicis translates as ‘Unwanted.’”
“I’ve never heard that such a place exists.”
“I can’t imagine that a royal princess would know about it.”
Bree felt she needed to defend herself. “We are an island of women and we feed on gossip. And, like you, I listen. I’m very good at sitting so still that people don’t realize I’m there. To most people, a pretty face means an empty head.”
He smiled warmly at her. “If beauty takes away brains, then your head is totally empty.”
She smiled at his compliment. “Where is this island and how can this man help?”
Tam shrugged his big shoulders. “I have no idea, but I don’t think it’s too far away. I spent time with Qip while my father worked. I don’t think he knew that Qip and I got to know each other.”
“Did you inherit your father’s ability to foresee the future?”
“Not at all.” He paused. “But I did get some things from my mother.” When he snapped his fingers, a flame appeared at the tips. He broke off a plant and set it on fire from his fingers.
“What a very useful ability to have.”
“It’s nothing compared to my mother. She can make this house disappear.”
“That spell would probably take two days of energy.”
“It does,” Tam said. “How do you know that?”
“I work for a woman who is a—” Bree hesitated. “A sort of doctor. She can make plants and objects do unusual things.”
Tam was looking at her with interest. “And what do you do for her?”
Bree was so used to keeping secrets that she was afraid to tell. “I help mix the plants. Like for a cooking recipe.”
Tam got up and picked a flower. “Like this one?”
“I know the names of the plants but not by sight.”
“This is ragwort.”
“It’s good to stop itching,” she said, then added, “and for other things.”
He sat back down. “I think I understand. My mother had an apprentice. She called her the ‘Book.’”
Bree smiled. “Yes, that’s what Reena calls me.”
“Reena! I’ve met her. She’s scary powerful.”
They were quiet for a few moments, then Tam said, “My entire life has been ruled by what my father foresees. He’d say, ‘No! Don’t pick that flower. It’ll make a whole forest die.’ He constantly reminds me that everything affects everything else. He arranged my marriage because he foresaw that with the woman he chose, we’d create a son who’d grow up to be important.”
“You’re unhappy at that?”
