“Well?” Piper asked, her voice cutting through the silence. “Did you find anything?”
I took a deep breath and stepped forward, pulling mynotebook from my bag, where I’d left it. “I know why Brightmore isn’t getting rain.”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
“Your valley is sitting in what I call a rain shadow,” I said, trying to translate the complex atmospheric condition into something they’d understand. “The mountains create a barrier that diverts moisture-carrying clouds around you instead of over you.” I gestured, searching for the right metaphor. “It’s like water flowing around a stone in a stream instead of over it.”
Sebastian frowned. “But we’ve had rain before. Plenty of it.”
“Because this only happens during specific atmospheric conditions,” I said. “When the seasonal pressure systems align in a particular way, which occurs roughly every fifty years, the wind patterns shift enough to push the rain away from Brightmore entirely.” I explained what we’d discovered in the archives and why we’d decided to stop her on our way to Silvervale.
I could see the confusion on most faces. They didn’t understand the science, and that was fine. It wasn’t like they needed to see how it worked. Knowing I could fix it was the most important thing.
“The important thing,” I met Piper’s eyes and swept my gaze across the gathered villagers, “is that manipulating atmospheric conditions is literally what I do as a weather witch. Tomorrow, I’m going to seed the clouds with magic that will trigger precipitation directly over your valley before the wind can carry it away. I’ll cast a spell after that to make sure you get regular rain for the rest of the growing season.”
I’d have to do something to ensure this issue didn’toccur again in fifty years, but I could think about how I’d do that once I’d solved the current problem.
“You can make it rain?” Quinn asked, her voice trembling.
“If everything goes according to plan, you should see clouds gathering by mid-morning. Rain by noon.”
The cautious hope on their faces transformed into excitement.
“Tomorrow?” Willa asked. “That soon?”
“The conditions are ideal right now,” I said. “And your crops can’t wait much longer.”
Everyone cheered, and suddenly people were talking over each other, asking questions, thanking us. I answered what I could, explaining the process in broad strokes while Raoul stood beside me, watching me with warmth in his eyes.
His face held an expression I couldn’t quite interpret, emotions that made my stomach flip over and my magic spark.
I looked away quickly, focusing on the villagers’ questions about tomorrow’s plan.
“You’ll need a place to stay tonight,” Piper said once the initial excitement had died down. “We have an empty cottage. The Harrises left last month because of the drought, but most of their furnishings remain. It’s not fancy, but it’s clean and comfortable.”
“That would be perfect,” Raoul said. “Thank you.”
“Let’s hold a village dinner tonight,” Piper called out, her voice rising to carry across the crowd. “An early celebration of hope. Everyone bring what you can. We’ll host a community meal with a bonfire and dancing.”
People hurried off to prepare.
These people had been suffering, and tomorrow I wasgoing to help them. I was going to use my weird, unpredictable, often inconvenient magic to do something that mattered.
“Let me show you where you can sleep tonight,” Piper said, gesturing for us to follow.
She led us to the edge of the village, to a sweet little thatched cottage with a flower box under the single front window with plants that had gone brown from drought. Piper pushed open the door and led us inside.
I took in the small fireplace with a neat stack of wood beside it, a tiny table with two chairs near the window, and empty shelves above a small cooking area. And?—
One bed.
Not even a particularly large bed, considering the prior residents had been dragon shifters and these people were universally larger than witches.
No sofa. No other room that might hold a second bed. Just one modest bed pushed against the far wall, covered in a faded blanket.
My heart started doing complicated things in my chest.
“It’s cozy,” Piper said in a cheery voice, oblivious to my sudden inability to breathe properly. “The fireplace draws well. The cave system along the back of the village offers a full bathing area.” She gestured to the small opening along the left wall I’d missed. “There’s a toilet and sink through the door. I’m sorry we can’t offer you both better.”
