“It isn’t all of him,” Terlu said. “Just the remnant of a regret. A feeling.” Maybe love. He’d loved these greenhouses, even if that love had later been warped by fear. “Tell him we’ll do our best.”
Lotti repeated that and then said to Terlu, “I’d like to stay here with him, if that’s okay.”
“Of course,” Terlu said. If she could have given the rose a hug, she would have. This had to be immensely difficult for Lotti. The rose’s petals were spread open, her leaves unfurled, as if she were reaching out to the one who’d made her, loved her, and, in the end, failed her. Swallowing, Terlu turned to Yarrow. “Should we start searching?”
He nodded. “Can you narrow down at least what we’re looking for, or do we have to play yes/no questions with an errant breeze again?”
The breeze raced through the room, blowing the curtains, the sheets, and their hair.
Luckily, she knew the answer to that from her translation work.She patted her curls back down. “Shells. All kinds of shells: the shell of a hickory nut, a clamshell, a conch shell, a robin’s egg shell, the exoskeleton of a cricket, the shell of a box turtle… And it’ll be a large quantity. I vote we start the search here where he did his work.”
Together, Terlu and Yarrow searched the upstairs. It didn’t take long. A few chests of dusty clothes. A drawer of ointments, primarily medical. Laiken had had very little in his bedroom. Downstairs, in the workroom, they’d already been through everything looking for spells, but they double-checked each drawer and examined every pot and beaker.
“It’s most likely in the greenhouse,” Terlu admitted.
She’d hoped it would be simpler, but the greenhouse was a far more logical place than the workroom, closer to what the spell needed to affect. How, though, were they going to search all of the greenhouse? It was a mammoth task. She hadn’t even visited all the rooms!
We can’t do it alone.
She didn’t voice that out loud. He wasn’t going to like what she wanted to suggest.
Both of them pulled on their coats.
Yarrow opened the door and paused. Outside, his sister, Rowan, was strolling away from the dock with her wife. Ambrel was holding a fishing pole over one shoulder, and Rowan had a bucket that presumably held fish.
He sighed heavily. “The search will be faster with help.”
Terlu blinked at him. “Yes, but… You’re the one suggesting it?”
“I know, I know.”
“Want me to do the talking?” Terlu offered.
“Yes!” he said in a relieved exhale. “But… I’ll come with you.”
She took his hand and led him out of the workroom. Jogging toward Rowan and Ambrel, Terlu called to them, “Hey, wait up, please! I—we—need your help!”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Towing Yarrow behind her, Terlu caught up with Rowan and Ambrel beneath the snow-crusted pine trees. She panted, catching her breath. Outside, the sky was a washed-out white, and the wind slapped against the pine trees. The waves were crashing harder on the rocks, and the sea’s surface looked as if it had been shaken.
“Is everything okay?” Ambrel asked.
Rowan raised both her eyebrows at Yarrow in such a deliberate way that Terlu couldn’t help but think,This is a mistake. “Oh, look, you’ve decided to grace us with your presence. I guess we should drop everything and celebrate.”
Yarrow opened his mouth and closed it.
“Still have nothing to say to me?” Rowan asked.
“Hush,” Ambrel told her. “Terlu, what’s wrong?”
Yarrow had shifted partially behind Terlu, as if she could shield him from his sister. She wished she was close enough to take his hand—he should know he wasn’t on his own, facing a hostile force. “Short version: I believe the greenhouses are dying because of a malfunctioning spell,” she said briskly. “We need to find and destroy the ingredients, or the spell will keep destroying greenhouse after greenhouse. The problem is we don’t know where the ingredients are. They could be in any of the greenhouses.”
“Or anywhere on the island,” Yarrow added.
Terlu nodded. “It’s a lot to search.” She wished Laiken had kept notes about where he’d cast the spell. He’d left meticulous notes aboutwhatthe ingredients were, but notwhere.
Rowan stuck her hands on her hips. At the same moment, a wave crashed so hard on the rocks that the spray spattered on the snow. “So, you’re coming to us for help.” She aimed that at Yarrow, as if Terlu weren’t even there.
