Page 70 of The Human’s Heart

I’d seen Granddad do this a million times all over our property, but it never ceased to amaze me.

The trees responded to him and his magic immediately, growing and twisting and moving around almost like they were animals or something.

I glanced at Hugo to gauge his reaction, and his jaw was literally hanging open. It made me grin.

The trees danced and swayed and grew and tangled themselves together, slowly but surely taking the shape of walls. As the walls grew taller and taller, openings formed that slowly shaped into windows. Then parts of a roof, and because this was my grandfather we were talking about, he couldn’t just make it a simple roof either. It had peaks and different angles and different heights all over the place, making it look almost castle-like. The entire house itself wasn’t a square or rectangle either, because of course it wasn’t.

The kitchen area stuck out on the side while the library or secret room thing he was building stuck out on another side, but sort of blended in with the rest of the living room so it wouldn’t be obvious from the outside once he was done. The second floor was just as wonky and yet beautiful. He even added a balcony off the main bedroom, which was super awesome and would be relaxing to sit out on with my viramore. It would have a beautiful view of our coven land.

I’d always loved the tree homes my grandfather made. They were gorgeous and so full of life and absolutely looked like something pulled out of a fairytale.

When I was adopted at twelve and was brought to coven land for the first time, I’d honestly thought I’d fallen and hit my head and was actually in a coma somewhere. It was so pretty here, so calm, relaxing, so full of life and magic, that I’d thought there was no way it was real.

It took me a long time to accept the fact that I’d been adopted into such a whimsical and wonderful family… that it wasn’t all just wishful thinking or a dream that I’d wake from at any moment.

When I’d first moved to Clairiston City, I hadn’t wanted a home like this, but that was only because I didn’t want my house to stick out like a sore thumb. And it would have. There weren’t homes made of living trees anywhere else in the entire world, let alone in a college town known for its medical school and medical research.

Everyone in the entire city would’ve known an Ellwood lived there, and that wasn’t the kind of attention I’d wanted. Hell, I’d kept my connection to my family a secret simply because my grandfathers, dads, aunts, and uncles all had enemies. If one of those enemies knew I was living in that city alone, well… none of us had wanted to risk it.

But I loved these homes, and I couldn’t help the giddy feeling building in my chest as I watched my granddad’s amazing magic finish asking the trees to form my own living tree house.

My and Hugo’s living tree house.

Hugo reached over and took my hand, shooting me a wide grin. He could feel my excitement, and it was making him excited too.

As soon as Granddad finished and said, “Alright, you can go in,” I let out a whoop, kissed Hugo’s cheek, and quickly pulled him toward the door. Hugo, Granddad, and Grandpa all laughed at me as they followed.

Walking inside made my grin widen. The space was very open, and with no furniture at all, it looked huge. It was definitely way bigger than our house in Clairiston, that was for sure.

“Wow,” Hugo breathed out. “This is huge and so beautiful.”

He was right, of course. I honestly didn’t even understand how trees could form like this and somehow make the walls look elegant in their textured and slightly uneven ways.

Hugo suddenly released my hand and quickly walked through what would become our living room. I knew exactly what he’d spotted.

The bookcase that was also made of trees. The shelves were branches and looked a little wonky—yet somehow straight where it mattered—but that only made the whole thing have more character.

“Holy crap, does this really open?”

“Yep,” Granddad said, sounding amused. “There should be a tree knot on the second shelf from the top. Well, on the back of the wall. It looks like a knot, but it’s actually a button. Push it.”

Hugo only took a second to find the button, and he pushed it. When the entire bookcase started to swing toward him, he let out an excited little squeal that made my eyebrows raise. I’d never heard that sound come out of him before, and it was hilarious.

I had to bite my lips to stop myself from laughing, but from the small glare he shot my way, he’d felt my amusement anyway. I snorted out a small laugh and followed him into the secret room.

Nearly all the walls were filled with more bookcases, and Hugo excitedly bounced around the room. I hadn’t realized how much he’d like a room like this. If I’d known, we could’ve put one in our other house.

When my grandfathers walked in, Hugo shot them a humungous smile. “Thank you so, so, so, so much! This is awesome. I can’t wait to start filling it with books. I definitely want to put a little couch and a chair with a small table. Oh, and maybe even a beanbag chair or something in that corner. It’s gonna be an awesome little reading nook.”

Both my grandparents smiled at him, and Granddad said, “You’re welcome. I’m glad you like it.”

“I love it!”

I walked over and gave my granddad a hug. “Thank you.”

“No problem, kiddo. I was happy to do it.”

Grandpa added, “Especially if this means we’ll get to see you more often.”