They, too, had been tidied. Fresh sand covered the training yard. The shed had been repainted and the broken windows repaired.
Damion and Kaelan, as Cae, sparred with wooden wasters, both shirtless and plastered in sweat and sand. Flor sat behind a food-laden table under a crisp white sunshade. Her gray hair was cut short, though still longer than Magda’s. After the initial shock of it, Magda found the look quite suited the matron. Beside her, Honey gazed on placidly. Hero huddled near a half-eaten rind of melon, eyes glazed from overindulgence. Gur reclined in the shade under the old walnut tree.
“Well, look who it is,” Damion said.
Kaelan took the opportunity to knock Damion flat on his back.
“Ha!” Flor’s laugh startled a couple of green sprites who had been sneaking away on their spindly legs, carting a hunk of cheese between them. They dropped their ripe plunder and dove into the grasses.
“Never take your eyes off your opponent, Damion!” Flor said. “Good show, Cae!”
Kaelan bowed with a flourish.
Damion pushed himself up. Kaelan strode towards the edge of the training grounds, away from Magda, and dipped a cup into a bucket there.
She slowed as she skirted the edge of the practice yard and approached the table.
“Looks like training goes well,” she said.
Damion swiped his arm across his sweat-soaked forehead. “I have to give it to Cae. He’s taken all of my beatings remarkably well.”
Kaelan scooped up some more water and flung it at Damion, splashing him across the cheek.
Damion licked the water from lips, smiling.
“So... everything’s been all right?” she asked, waiting for Kaelan to look at her or meet her eye, but he did neither.
“I’m quite pleased,” Flor said, pushing out of her low-slung chair. “Our campaign is well underway. The Crown has refused Lavana’s request for early requisition of the family title. But only a short month remains for you to vie. Arrangements in the family quarter at the Spire have been made and I am assured that everyone awaits your return with bated breath. Every day word of your heroic journey spreads, and I’m told all versions paint Lavana in quite an unfortunate light.”
“That’s... good.” Her gaze pulled from Flor, bounced off Kaelan, who had bent to fill his water cup again, and then to Honey. The nymph wore a distant kind of smile on her serene face. “How are you, Honeysuckle?” she asked.
Honey blinked as if pulled away from some daydream and refocused on Magda. A strange ghostly haze muddled the nymph’s eyes.
“I’m very well,” Honey said. “How kind of you to ask, Magda.”
The soft intensity of her voice unsettled Magda’s stomach again. She wished she hadn’t forced herself to eat so much.
“Yeah, all right,” Damion said, stabbing his wasters into the sand where they lodged upright. “Now that we have the pleasantries out of the way, can we discuss the plan?”
“The plan is quite simple,” Flor stated. “We travel to the Spire. Magda and Cae stand before the Crown with the Enneahedron. Once their case is presented, Lavana will obviously protest, and then the Crown will deliberate.”
Magda’s guts continued to twist. “Quite simple,” she repeated.
“When do we leave?” Damion asked.
“Tomorrow,” Flor announced and then turned to Honey. “If that’s acceptable?”
Honey smiled. “That would be fine.”
“It’s only a pity that Cae had to spend two days indisposed,” Flor said. “He’s accomplished so much in the last four. Really, Magda, you’ll be quite impressed I’m sure.” Flor plucked at her chin and then turned back to Honey. “Join me on the terrace for tea, Honeysuckle?”
“That sounds lovely,” Honey said, putting out her arm. Hero scurried up its length and settled on her shoulder. Flor and Honey departed towards the house.
“Two days?” Magda said in a hush to Damion.
“How much longer did you expect them to keep me tied up?” Kaelan asked, turning towards her finally, transforming back into his true self. Green eyes lit.
“You’re not supposed to change—” Damion started.
