“You don’t see it the way I do. He’s better at everything because he’s trained—by teachers who knew what they were doing. I have whatever I remember from Mom, what I’ve learned by trial and error, and my instincts.”
Ori nodded. “Ranth does seem really knowledgeable. But I’m not sure why you’re fighting against that. I mean, you know you’re amazing, but even if you had a magic teacher, it would be different. Ranth’s not you. I’ve never known anyone like you. You have instincts and natural ability. Accept that he has strengths you don’t. Isn’t that what you told me you wanted? To have a mentor? So, stop spiraling. Learn from him and move forward.”
“That would imply I trust him.” Still bitter, I chewed on my bottom lip. But Ori had a point. “I guess I do sort of trust him, though there’s no real reason why we should.” Pushing back against Ranth came from somewhere else—some place complicated. I was attracted to his power but also to him, and that messed everything up—because trusting him was against what I’d been taught, and there was something about him that was dangerous. Like if I got too close, I would catch on fire.
From what I’d seen in the kitchen, Ranth was an accomplished warrior as well as a wizard. Leveling up my skills was what I should be focusing on, rather than a potential failure. If I learned how to open a portal, maybe I could get to Mom. But if I told Ori that, she’d talk sense into me. What I wanted to do wasn’t smart, or sane, or reasonable, but that didn’t matter. I was going to do it anyway.
Ori was watching me figure this out, her quiet strength always exactly what I needed. I reached out and hugged her, and she hugged me back tightly, then rested her head on my shoulder. “Look, you need sleep and food. I mean your poor client, right? How are you doing with all that? It must have been awful.” I relaxed against her, inhaling her jasmine-vanilla-scented awesomeness which made everything a little brighter and less impossible. “I’ll hang out with Ranth while you get dressed. I can be late,” she whispered.
I released her. “Thanks. I’m good though now, really. But thanks.” I gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“You’ve got this,” she whispered as I pulled away.
“I do. Give me five. I’m going to pull my Shastas together.” She closed the door behind her, and I sat on the toilet, studying the faint green splotches of parsley oil on the tiles that I’d missed. I breathed in and pulled my hair out of the towel. The damp silky silver veiled over my shoulders and set something free inside me. I could do this. I could trust Ranth. I would learn from him. I re-braided my hair with more lilac oil, chanting protection charms.
Clean, dressed, and with a sleek braid, I opened the door. Ori and Ranth were hanging out on the bed, reviewing Ranth’s sketches. I avoided their eyes and walked around to the other side of the duvet. I sat down with my back to them and rolled on a fresh pair of herb-infused socks. I chose the lower-cut, violet Docs with cats embossed into the leather that reminded me of Ant. I knew she was out hunting, but I’d feel better when I saw her. That was an extra good reason to go downstairs.
I walked across the room to the salt bar.
“Wait.” Ranth leaped up.
I held up a hand. “Stop. I know what you’re going to say, but I’m going first to check things out. The house is still warded, and if something’s going to happen, I’ll know about it. I managed on my own before you, and I can make it to my front door without your protection. Unless that’s too far away?”
“You can go farther from me now, yes. But walking your elder friend to her car I felt a pull.”
“Got it. There are still limits, but maybe the split curse has some positives.” I opened the ward.
Ranth grasped the tube, immobilizing it. “Stop. You need to see this from my perspective. If you die, I die, and the world I know ends. Wouldyouletyouwalk out this door alone?”
I paused, considering how spectacularly annoying he was when he was right. “No, I probably wouldn’t.”
Ranth’s scent lifted from his luminous skin like an intoxicating incense. His eyes were pools of ink, and the planes of his face glowed from the late afternoon light streaming from the window. His voice dropped to a whisper, “Besides, we need you. I need you. I can’t find my path back to the Garden on my own. You are the master of magic in this time. You know how things work, and these are your people. I can maybe do a spell with more finesse, but it is because of you I was released from the bracelet. You have the purest power I’ve ever felt, Sorrel.”
I melted, curling my fingers against the urge to run my hands over where the cropped T-shirt bared his navel. If I was going to learn from him, I needed to stay professional. The memory of the kiss buzzed on my lips. I stepped back to steady myself. “Fine. Let’s make a deal, and I want to be totally clear. I don’t really understand who or what you really are, and honestly, that terrifies me nearly as much as you amaze me. But I can learn stuff from you that will help with my own goals. So, if I promise to help you get back to wherever you’ve come from, will you help me back and teach me more stuff?”
“Is this one of those favors?”
I closed my eyes for a second and inhaled. There was a trace of the smoky musk clinging to the air underneath my lilacs.
“No, this is not a favor. I’m asking you to help me figure stuff out, so we can get you back to the Garden.”
“I can’t promise to teach you because that’s not my strength. But I can say that I will share what I’ve been taught.”
“Sorrel, if I go now, I can still make the lecture,” Ori said, glancing at the battery clock.
I smoothed a hand over the wall, checking the house energy. “Let’s get you out of here.” It seemed fine. I opened the ward and walked into the hall, creeping down the stairs with Ori and Ranth close behind. There was nothing. When we got to the front door, I pulled open the main house ward, then handed Ori a fresh emergency kit. “Take this. If anything weird happens, don’t take any chances. Go and be safe.”
She nodded. At least she couldn’t see the Essifers…
I closed the door and replaced the ward. I turned back to Ranth, who had deposited himself on my couch. “You said we can make the house secure. Teach me.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Ranth rattled out ingredients in old languages. With some searches and descriptions, I narrowed it down to what we could use from the pantry: basil, bay leaves, cloves, and cumin, plus the forty-pound bag of rock salt. “Hey, can you help me with the salt—” I almost got the word “sack” out before…
Pop!
A portal had opened in the dining room. “Flipping foxgloves, not again!” Wrist spikes out, I peeked around the corner as two more Essifers poured out in a puff of pink smoke.
