“Welcome home,” she said, her pale blue eyes sparkling beneath dark, wild eyebrows as she folded me into a huge hug. She was still wearing her work apron, stained with potion ingredients. Fig was always forgetting to take it off. “I heard you had such an ordeal. You must be so glad to be safe at Dewspell!”
Was I safe? I didn’t know. While I was out of Blackbeard’s reach, and safe from the Bride forever, I was still Captain Bluebeard’s wife. He’d asked Dewspell for the impossible. In another year, he might return to claim me.
Right now, I didn’t know if I’d be relieved to see him again, or if I’d fight him. A year from now, I’d be so entrenched in life at Dewspell, I wouldn’t want to leave.
At least that’s what I told myself. But every time I looked into the bay, I couldn’t help but feel a tug at my heartstrings. I may have gone about it the long way, but I had inherited an Aeglean’s love of the sea after all.
Instead of saying all this, I smiled at Fig. She was always so open and warm—something I’d found off-putting when she’d been assigned to my suite in her first year at Dewspell. I’d soon learned it meant I could talk to her about anything.
But I couldn’t talk to her about this. Not yet.
“I have a favor to ask,” I said once we’d caught up over a lunch of succulent roast pheasant and fresh vegetables. It was the sort of fresh faire I never could’ve gotten aboardCarabosse,despite Mr. Smalt’s cooking wizardry.“During my adventures at sea, there was a tragedy and, well…”
Why was this so hard to say?
“I did my best,” I concluded.
Fig’s eyes softened. “You were always so lost when it came to healing.”
I tried to shrug, but it probably looked like a quick shoulder stretch. “It isn’t really conducive to chaos magic.”
“Actually, I’ve always found the opposite to be true.” Fig brightened immediately, then stopped herself from launching into an academic chat. “Is this about the two pirates in the healing ward?”
“Sort of.” I winced. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be in that situation again—I hope I won’t be—but I don’t want to be helpless if somethingdoeshappen. I managed to heal myself fairly well after all that practice, but when it comes to others? It’s like I’m stuck at a novice’s level. I never thought I’d say this, but…”
I swallowed. Fig leaned over the table expectantly, ignoring the way her potions-smudged apron dipped into the buttery sheen left on her plate. “But?” she prompted, all eagerness.
Oh, Fig. Since the day I’d met her, it was like she’d hardly changed at all, despite everything she’d gone through. And here I’d changed so much. We should’ve felt like strangers.
But for the first time since Jax left me here, I was starting to feel just a little more at home.
“Can you tutor me in healing magic?” I said at last, closing my eyes as I swallowed my pride.
At the sound of Fig clapping her hands together in excitement, they flew open.
“It’s about time!” she crowed. “I always say, a fairy godmother had best be prepared for anything! Whatever you went through, I’m glad to know you finally see the perks of magic not used for destruction.”
I blinked at that. “I can’t help it if that’s what I’m most gifted at.”
Fig wagged a finger at me, reminding me of half a dozen professors here at Dewspell. “You never liked pursuing things you weren’t gifted at.”
“Master Aynia always said I had a stubborn streak,” I admitted, my stomach flipping at the thought of what my mentor and academic advisor would say when she heard about this. I pushed that thought aside, unwilling to deal with it just yet.
Once, I believed Fig just couldn’t fathom someone being disinterested in healing magic. Now, I saw how wrong I was. She had been out in the world on a journey of her own once, long before she graduated and became a fairy godmother. Sheknewhow important it could be.
And like a stubborn fool, I hadn’t listened.
She was right about another thing. I never did pursue the things I found trying. Whether it was my shield-maiden training on Aegle, dancing, healing magic, or even my budding relationship with Jax, I’d always been quick to give up.
The difference with the latter was that he’d given up on me, too.
It was too late to fix it, or even to help Oasis and Omar. But this—this I could do.
“When do we start?” I asked Fig.
The broad, mischievous smile spreading onto her face made me second guess my decision at once. “Got any plans for the rest of the day?”
I could’ve made an excuse and said I needed to call on Master Aynia—something I’d been avoiding. But I swallowed my nerves, and my fear of embarrassing myself with magic that I had no affinity for, and gave Fig a solemn shake of the head.
