“How do you sit in it?” I asked, crossing my legs. I’d chosen a pale blue dress with a sweetheart neckline that looked far too casual for an emissary, but appropriate for the gardens.
“Well, we usually sit on the stone bench on the back side of the pool. Didn’t you?”
Stone bench. I could kill him. I should kill him.
Alameda regarded me, idly tracing circles with her fingertips as if by habit, seeming to catch the subtle shift in my expression.
“Why don’t I get drinks for us, and you can tell me what that face is about?”
I stifled a smile. “What do you mean?”
Her mouth curled as she placed her hands on the table and whispered, “Adveho.”
In a second, a bottle and two goblets appeared on the glass surface. She poured us a pinkish drink and handed me a glass.
The ease with which they wielded their power still bewildered me.
“How can you create things from nothing like this?” I asked, lifting my glass.
“I didn’t create it. It’s a summoning charm. I just fetched it from the kitchens. This is pink ale, very sweet on the tongue but light on the head, so you’d better drink slowly.”
From what I’d learned, their ability to perform charms was taught from childhood. Finn had said that each charm was like developing a new skill, training a different muscle.
She seemed to ponder for a moment, eyes drifting over her vibrant garden.
“Tell me the truth, emissary manners aside. We’re just two women talking, and I promise it won’t leave this place.”
I braced myself. “Alright.”
“How much does Reagan annoy you?” she asked.
I let out a snort, too quick to stop, and that alone might have been answer enough.
“Quite often, as you noticed,” I replied honestly.
She chuckled, goblet in hand, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. “It’s clear in the way you look at him. And in the way he looks at you.”
I let the goblet linger at my lips longer than necessary. “Even so, he still gave me a chance to work for him.”
“Yes, yes. It’s curious because humans don’t usually stay here. They’re not allowed to,” Alameda pointed out. “So how come you’re here, living in Mountheim?”
I’d been expecting the question. When I asked Reagan, he told me it would be my decision whether to share my situation.
My leg bounced steadily against the chair as I considered her.
It struck me that she might have offered me a drink just to pry secrets out of me. But there was no harm in the question.
“I accidentally trespassed into Reagan’s territory and found myself in a courtroom quite quickly. He expected the judge would simply send me back, but she wanted to keep me to avoid anything like this happening again. He helped me with a personal matter, and I offered to work while I’m here.”
She rested her chin on her hand, her head bobbing in acknowledgement. “So, no dabbling in forbidden hexes, then?”
I let out a muffled laugh. “Is it not common at all in Erisea to have humans, either?”
Alameda seemed to still for a moment, long enough that I wondered what was wrong with the question. “Well, it’s not completely unheard of,” she replied finally, but her voice had gone serious.
She took a sip of her drink. “Do you know anything about the Order of Scions?”
I shook my head.
