CHAPTER ONE
ELIZABETH
The mistpape vine wrapped around Elizabeth’s wrist tightened its grip, refusing to release the tendril she’d been trying to guide toward the sunstone plant on the neighboring shelf.
“Now, now,” Elizabeth said, stroking one of the vine’s leaves with her free hand. “I know you prefer darkness and she craves light, but that’s precisely why you need each other. Balance, dear one. Always balance.”
The vine shivered but didn’t loosen.
Her companion, a fluffy cat named Grimble, snorted from his perch on top of a cabinet filled with crystallized dewdrops.Stubborn thing. Wonder where it gets that from,he said in her mind.
“I haven’t the faintest idea what you mean.” Elizabeth continued her gentle coaxing, letting her magic seep into the vine’s structure. She’d never force it. Just provide the sweetest kind of encouragement. The mistpape had spent decades growing in one direction, away from anything bright or warm. Asking it to change now required patience.
Rather like asking a certain scholarly granddaughter to consider marriage and romance.
The kettle on her workbench began to whistle, steam rising in spirals. Elizabeth kept one hand on the mistpape while reaching for the heat source with her magic, lowering the flame to a simmer. The timing had to be exact. Too long and the starflower petals would release their prophetic properties too strongly, showing her futures that hadn’t yet solidified. Too short and she’d see nothing but vague possibilities.
You’re making this more complicated than it needs to be.Grimble stretched, his claws clicking on the cabinet’s glass surface.Yank the vine over and be done with it.
“Force creates resistance. Persuasion creates partnership.” Elizabeth smiled as the mistpape finally, slowly, began to extend its tendril toward the sunstone plant. “See? She needed to understand the benefit.”
And you think you can persuade Victoria the same way? The girl who once spent four days straight in her laboratory trying to synthesize dragon fire and only emerged because Cyrene physically dragged her out?
“Victoria is passionate about her work. That’s admirable.”
Victoria doesn’t believe she needs anything beyond her work. That’s problematic.
The mistpape’s tendril touched the sunstone plant’s nearest leaf. Both specimens glowed, one silver and the other a pale pink. Where they connected, the light merged into something new, a soft rose that spread through both plants.
Elizabeth released the mistpape, happy with the result. “Even the most independent souls benefit from connection. They just need the right match.”
Speaking of which.Grimble’s tail flicked toward the greenhouse entrance.You have a visitor.
Light shimmered near the door and a messenger sprite no larger than Elizabeth’s thumb zipped into the greenhouse. Its wings beat so fast they blurred.
“Mistress Thornwick.” The sprite’s voice chimed like tiny bells. “The coven sends word.”
Elizabeth waved to a small cushioned platform she kept specifically for sprite visitors, complete with a thimble-sized cup of nectar and crystallized honey. “Please, little one, rest while you deliver your message.”
The sprite landed, immediately reaching for the nectar. Between sips, it spoke. “The borders hold well, Mistress Thornwick. Your granddaughters’ alliances have given us more time than we dared hope.”
“But?” Elizabeth asked, already knowing there would be complications. There were always complications.
“But the pressure points along the veil are growing more pronounced.” The sprite’s glow dimmed. “The coven estimates you have perhaps two months before the imbalance becomes critical. The wolf shifter territories must be secured.”
Elizabeth nodded, unsurprised. She’d felt the pressure building herself, like a pattern with three corners completed but the fourth still missing. “Thank you. Please tell the coven I will make the arrangements.”
The sprite finished its nectar, bowed, and flew out of the greenhouse in a shower of sparkles.
Two months,Grimble said.That’s nowhere near enough time to convince your marriage-resistant granddaughter to wed the most intimidating shifter alpha in five territories.
“Your faith in me is touching.”
I’ve made a solid point.He jumped down to the workbench, settling near the still-steaming kettle.Victoria barely noticed when Lord Willow tried courting her last year. She thought his love poems were sample data for a linguistics study.
“Lord Willow was entirely wrong for her.”
And you think a wolf king who growls at diplomatic functions is right?
