My washbasin lived behind the house, right outside the kitchen window. The perfect setup for carrying hot water from the hearth and dumping it through the window. I’d also charmed a few morning glories to grow around the tub and around the garden gate. They only bloomed when someone came to knock. That way, I never ran the risk of being caught unawares and fully nude by an unexpected visitor. If they didn’t knock, well, I supposed they’d see a very naked Town Gardener first thing in the morning. Yet another reason to wake before anyone else in the town.
But now I had a Hesper downstairs who would inevitably be in my way. And the thought of getting fully nude anywhere around her made my insides curdle. Maybe she had the ability to sleep deeply, and I could have a semipeaceful morning before she woke up and ruined everything.
I made my way down the ladder, careful to avoid any of the creaky bits. My feet silently found the cold floor beneath.
Darkness coated everything still, the only light being the last moonbeams before daybreak. I padded into the kitchen, dancing my way around the loose floorboards. That’s when I remembered I had absolutely no firewood left. And I didn’t have the time to waste cutting more. I would just have to deal with a freezing bath this morn.
I then realized that Hesper was nowhere to be found.
The blanket I’d thrown down sat neatly folded and placed in the corner beside the hearth. The only sign she had been here at all was her cloak hanging on my kitchen chair.
A sharpthwacksounded outside my window.
Was that an axe?
Anotherthwack.
It was an axe.
I walked through the front door and turned left into the back garden. There I saw Hesper, her muscular back facing me, chopping my firewood. She’d changed out of her leathers and into a black, long-sleeved tunic that only went down to her midthigh. I tried to avert my gaze away from her brawny legs, but I couldn’t stop staring. How does she have that much muscle? She looked more harrowing than the tree trunks she expertly halved.
I audibly gulped before I tried to run back inside, but Hesper heard me.
She turned around, sweat glistening on her brow, and smiled. “Morning, princess.”
My heart leapt into my throat. Her voice was husky in theearly morning, a fact I did not need to note but that was going to live in my head, coin-free, for the rest of my life.
I crossed my arms tightly over my chest. “Mm-hmm” was all I managed to say.
“Thought you might like”—she split an entire stump in two—“hot water for a bath this morning.” Her tunic sleeves were rolled up. Why, why did she have to do that? I noticed a thin, black band tattooed around her left forearm. Then she swung her axe again, and I forgot about the world.
Much to my utter dismay, my mouth hung wide open. A fly, a bird, hells a whole turkey leg could have fit inside my gaping at Hesper’s brute strength.
She’s your enemy. You hate her.
I do?
Yes, you hate her.
Why?
Because. She is part of this quest that ruined your life. She almost jeopardized the entire Celebration and let the squirrel get away. And also, she calls you “princess,” so yes, you hate her.
Of course, yes. But was it really her fault? She had a job to do, after all. As for the squirrel… let’s be honest with ourselves—I onlymaybewould have caught it if she hadn’t opened the door when she did. Maybe I had been too harsh on her before.
Yes, of course you were. Even so, she is here on Eldrene’s orders, and her orders only. Nothing more.
Yes, nothing more.
“Do I look so terrible that you just had to draw me a bath?” I asked, attempting to joke.
“Not at all.” She moved the huge halved stumps out of the way,grunting as she did so. My heart leapt again—traitorous thing. “What does look terrible are your rosemary bushes underneath your bedroom window. Did a disease or pest get to them?”
“No.” I didn’t even have to look at the massacre to know what had happened. “Nothing of that sort.” Do I tell her? Not the whole truth, never the whole truth. But some explanation should be given. “Sometimes that happens,” I said tightly.
“Sometimes your rosemary bushes look like someone torched them overnight?”
“My magic—it, uh—” I kicked at the dirt, the irony ofmymagic coming out of my mouth curdled my stomach. “Well, sometimes that happens.”
