Damon said nothing because it wasn’t worth arguing. Nephele was all of ten, and while she might believe herself more prepared, his younger sisters had as well, after they witnessed Maia with her first powers. It hadn’t been easy for any of them, and he doubted it would be any easier for his nieces.
“Why would there be grasshoppers in the nursery?” Ianthe was to do all training out of doors, which was why there hadn’t been an insect infestation in the manor, until now.
“A book calledInsectaand something else.” Clio shrugged.
“A book on insects?” Why would his nieces have such a book?
“I found it in the library,” Clio answered.
“We were only looking through it,” added Nephele.
“Do not tell me.” He could already guess.
“All she did was point to the picture and say ‘Oh, grasshoppers.’ Then…”
“The room was filled with grasshoppers,” he finished. Damon turned and pinched the bridge of his nose and wondered it if were too early for a brandy.
While his niece was excellent in making insects appear, she’d yet to manage to make them disappear. That’s when his mother was needed.
“I will return shortly,” he assured the two, then strode out onto the terrace, took a deep breath as he looked out over the calming water of the cove, and turned toward the gardens.
While many estates had lovely, ornate, or simple gardens in which guests and family members could stroll, those did not exist here. Instead, the gardens of Nightshade Manor were wild—a witch’s garden, and beyond was woodland.
Damon wandered among the plants, bushes and trees until he found his mother standing beside a large patch of Yarrow. She carried a basket filled with clippings and he decided not to ask what she planned on brewing.
“Did you need something, Damon?” she asked without turning and before she saw him.
“Grasshoppers.”
His mother turned and looked. “Where?”
“Apparently they have infested the nursery.”
Instead of outrage, his mother simply chuckled. “Far worse has happened when a young witch is learning.”
“I recall,” he grumbled as he followed his mother out of the garden. Maia had thought it great fun to have the roots of a tree wrap around his and his brothers’ ankles to keep them in place. He’d been eighteen and he and his brothers were visiting to mourn the loss of his older brother Cadmus. Damon never imagined that six years later he’d lose his eldest brother and become Viscount Bentford and the future Marquess of Chandos. He’d been the third son and none of the duties should have ever fallen to him.
“Can we rid the estate of all insects, Grandmother,” Nephele asked as soon as they stepped back into the manor. “I am afraid of what Ianthe will conjure next. It might be poisonous or sting.”
His mother laughed. “I will do no such thing. Insects are just as important to nature as trees, grass, flowers and birds.” She then disappeared up the stairs, and Damon was confident that in a matter of moments there would be no more grasshoppers in the nursery.
“How long is this going to take?” Clio asked.
“It will take some time,” Damon answered. “Ianthe had no experience with magic until it happened.”
“Why?” Clio asked.
“It is better to shelter children because the abilities that Ianthe is developing must always remain a secret.”
Sadness filled their eyes.
In sheltering them from magic, he’d also sheltered them from the truth of their parents’ death. That was, until they arrived at Nightshade Manor and visited their parents’ grave. That’s when Damon and his mother finally told them the truth. Not the how because that could wait until they were older, but the why, and instilled in them the importance of keeping their abilities a secret from anyone outside of their immediate family.
“The grasshoppers are gone,” his mother said as she entered the room, brushing her hands together as if the task was complete. “So is Ianthe. Do either of you girls know where she’s gone off to?”
Damon, his mother and the servants searched the manor and the grounds but there was no sign of Ianthe anywhere. “Where could she have gone?”
“A footman saw her strolling up the drive,” a maid announced as she rushed into the parlor. “He did not think there was a concern and went about his duties.”
