Rance made a scoffing sound. “Just because we’re tree spirits doesn’t mean we don’t have egos and tempers. We have fights between us like everyone else. Did you ever step into a forest and think maybe you shouldn’t be there?”
Kat and Xavier nodded.
“That’s when the nature spirits are fighting. We aren’t the only thing in the woods with bouts of moodiness.”
Kat’s feline curiosity wanted to interrogate the teen over what else lived there, but his more practical side told him he really, really didn’t want to know.
He kept silent.
“Does anyone know why Octavia made her move now?” Kat couldn’t think of anything to justify destroying a Grove and traumatizing them all, especially since it was also her home they burned down. “Rance is at the point where they could age him out of the Grove. She didn’t have to burn it down. If she had enough support, couldn’t she have done a silent coup?”
Rance’s voice was quiet as if confessing a deep sin. “No. A Grove only gets one child. If I died in the fire, Mother would be inconsolable, and Octavia could easily take over the leadership position of the new Grove. No one else wants the responsibility. It was her last chance to end me before I left on my own. Octavia probably saw this as her one chance to have a new Grove and a child.”
“Dryad politics are more complicated than I thought,” Xavier murmured. “He’s probably right. I don’t know how Melcori found Octavia, but they somehow came to an agreement that served them both well. She didn’t get away with it, though, because with you still alive, your mother won’t step down, especially now that she knows how far Octavia will go to rule the Grove. At least that was my take.”
Rance frowned. “She’ll dig in her roots. I think you’re right about her willing to send someone to kill me. Octavia has always been determined to get me to leave. I’ve always been suspicious that the fungus that harmed my mother’s last tree might not have been an accident.”
“You think she was trying to take out your mother even then?” Kat pulled out the chair beside him.
Rance ignored it. “It wouldn’t surprise me.”
Kat was worried over how casually Rance commented on someone wanting him dead. If it were him, Kat would burn the new Grove down to the ground if it prevented the woman who killed his child from power.
“Do you think she’d hurt Mother to get to me?” Rance asked nervously.
Xavier shrugged. “You know her better than me, but from what I’ve learned about your mother, I doubt she’d have any problems holding her own.”
Rance grinned. “She can be rather vicious.”
“Maybe we should move you to the main pack house until the danger has passed,” Kat fretted.
Rance stopped pacing and settled back in a chair, pinning Kat with a serious expression in his big eyes. “We still need to pick a new location for a Grove.”
“Do you know what to look for?” Xavier asked.
Rance nodded. “I’m sure I can find a spot in the same forest. Plus, starting a Grove on land I’m familiar with will be easier. I know that forest’s magic and it will guide me to a new home.”
“I’ll take you,” Kat offered.
Xavier scowled. “Are you sure? I could come along if you want.”
“Don’t you have a Mastery project to finish?” Kat asked.
Xavier bit his lip and didn’t reply for several minutes as if trying to come up with a counterargument. “Yes, but I don’t know if I’m comfortable with you two alone.”
“You’re not comfortable with me alone in a forest?” Rance arched an eyebrow at him. “Did you forget I’m a dryad?”
“But there are other dryads after you,” Xavier countered.
“The ones after him are locked up. I’m sure between us, we can stay safe walking in a known forest,” Kat scoffed.
Xavier’s sigh held a century of angst. “I don’t want you to think I don’t trust you to take care of yourself, and you’re right; I have a lot of work to do, but Melcori told me this has priority.”
“We’ll be fine,” Kat countered in a dry tone.
“I’ll convince Melcori to let you stay here until it’s time to grow the new Grove for your protection.”
“Sounds good,” Rance agreed with a sunny smile.
