“Thank you,” Kiela said to the captain. “That’s better compensation than tea. Good luck on your search. I hope you find whoever you’re looking for.”
Under his breath, he said, “I hope I don’t.” He waved to the townspeople who had gathered to see him off. “Thank you for your cooperation, people of Caltrey!”
He looked as if he wanted to say more, give a nice rousing speech, but from the deck, Fenerer called, “Hey, where should I put my stuff?”
Captain Varrik sighed and boarded his ship.
Kiela stood on the dock, watching them row out of the harbor and raise the sails, while the angry purple clouds spread across the sky. A streak of silver lightning flashed in the distance.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Definitely going to storm,” one of the fisherfolk on the dock said.
Kiela didn’t wait for others to express their opinions. As soon as the imperial ship cleared the rocks that marked the mouth of the harbor, she ran down the dock, through the streets, and to the pebbly beach.
Seeing her, Larran waved from the jetty. He then signaled to the merhorses to swim out into deeper water before he strode across the stones and jogged along the beach. Reaching her, he caught her in his arms and swung her in a circle, pulling her close. “They didn’t take you,” he whispered in her ear. “You’re safe. You’re still here.”
She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to thank him for moving the boat, for leaping to do what he could to keep her safe, for helping even when she didn’t think to ask for help. She wanted to melt into his arms and stay there. But the purple clouds were blotting out the sun. “Storm’s coming,” she said. “With the cottage wrapped in vines, Caz and Meep can’t get inside to safety. And Radane . . . What if the tree she’s in is damaged in the storm? We can’t leave her stuck in there.”
He took her hand and, without a further word, ran with her up the cliff stairs. She clung to the railing with one hand and to his hand with the other, and she ignored the way the wind slapped into her—it was no longer a gentle breeze. The roses at the top swayed hard, and the pine trees bowed as they ran between them.
“Caz? Meep?” Kiela called.
Caz poked a tendril out from beneath the brambles. “Kiela! Are we safe?”
Without pause, Larran attacked the brambles that blocked the front door. He sawed away the thicker ones and yanked the vines back. He then switched to the hammer, using the back to pry off the boards that he’d used to block the door.
“The imperial ship is gone, but a storm’s coming in,” Kiela told Caz. “Where’s Meep?”
Meep popped out from beneath the brambles. “Meep?” Behind them, she spotted the chicken. Somehow they’d prevented her from running away, even with the chaos of the excess growth and the intrusion of the soldiers.
“We need to let Radane out,” Kiela said. “Larran, do you have—”
He produced clippers from one of his pockets.
“Perfect.”
She ventured into the garden, using the clippers to cut her way through the brambles. She wished he’d had his scythe, but at least the clippers worked. It was incredible how thick the brambles had grown. She could see the spots where the soldiers had hacked through, but thanks to their captain, they hadn’t ventured deep enough.
All the work she and Caz had done to clear space for new growth . . . They’d have to begin again, which was far better than being hauled away from this place altogether.It’s only time and sweat.She told herself to be grateful it wasn’t worse. “Tree guardians?” she called as she continued clipping. “Can you bring our friend back, please?”
What if the cloud bears didn’t hear her? What if they couldn’t or wouldn’t release Radane? They’d been so desperate. . . It worked.But it was pointless if Radane was stuck inside a tree forever. She wished she could have asked more questions or done more research.
When this was over, Kiela was going to research nonstop: everything she wanted to know about forest spirits, everything about garden spells, everything about storms, everything about everything. She’d record all of it, of course—her own book about Caltrey.
Frankly, it sounded like the perfect life.
But first, Radane was still in a tree.
At last Kiela succeeded in climbing, squeezing, and cutting her way through enough of the growth to reach the tree that held Radane. Her arms and legs were crisscrossed with tiny scrapes, and her skin stung.
In the distance, she heard the rumble of thunder.
She knocked on the bark. “Radane? Can you hear me? They’re gone. You can come out. Actually, you really should come out, because we have to get to shelter—there’s a magic storm coming, and I don’t know if it’s a good idea to be inside a tree during it.” She remembered her parents shooing her inside whenever thunder and lightning swept over Caltrey. They’d cautioned her never to stand under a tree when there was lightning. She wasn’t sure if that applied to beingina tree, but she didn’t think it was a risk anyone should take, especially since this wasn’t an ordinary storm.
“Radane?”
No answer, and the garden was growing darker. She looked up in time to see a streak of silver zigzag above her, breaking the purple. Rain began to fall, hitting her face like tears.
