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The thought of Seren warmed her further, and as she glanced up at Ceridwen, she saw the little devils dancing in those forest-green eyes again.

“So, you’re better at healing?” Changing tack would perhaps be the way to return to the line of questioning that had brought her here.

“I’m Earth. Earth heals, above all, it heals everyone and everything. It’s a task and a blessing. Something I have been fortunate to be able to do. As my mother did.”

“So… Earth.” Lark pointed at Ceridwen, who nodded. “Seren is Water, Deryn is Fire, since they are twins, that makes sense. That leaves Rhiannon. Air?”

“Air is sadly too simple for her. Think hurricanes and tornadoes and storms. Wind. Though, yes, the original element would be Air. Still, she is too strong. Too stubborn. Determined and, yes, too dangerous to be simply Air.”

“You’re saying magic is dangerous?”

Ceridwen’s smile was gone, her eyes turning cold.

“Yes, very much so. I hope to never see them again, but Rhiannon’s storms are legendary. She could blow everything off this island, the town, the school, and not break a sweat. And Deryn? I swear I grew up worrying she’d simply set the entire place on fire. She is very capable. And then there is Seren and her Water.”

“Seren can…” Lark trailed off, her thoughts going haywire on all the possibilities that gentle, kind, beautiful Seren could do anything destructive.

“Seren is perhaps the most dangerous of us all. And I thank Goddess for her control, for her sense of justice and fairness, for her moral compass, Lark. You can shelter from the wind. Even the strongest hurricanes have ways to be avoided or hidden from. You can extinguish fire. It will cause tremendous damage, but slowly, with enough resources, you can put it out. But water? There is no escaping water. It’s everywhere, its power and presence unimaginable. There is no hiding from it. Seren, as the most powerful of my sisters, is perhaps the biggest blessing this family has been given in ages. And I don’t say that lightly.”

“And Earth? How dangerous Earth can be?” Lark asked and watched Ceridwen’s eyes close.

“I guess we shall see.” Was her only answer and Ceridwen moved to the next batch of roses on the table, her breath coming out in shallower bursts the only indication that anything had been asked of her at all.

Lark tried to take it all in, her fingers fumbling on the flowers she was carefully wrapping.

“It feels like a book, a fantasy one,” Lark finally said, avoiding Ceridwen’s gaze.

“Not like a romance? Was the kiss that bad? Surely not. Seren is quite the woman about town here in Crow’s Nest, and while it’s a small town, it’s still a distinction—” Ceridwen closed her mouth abruptly, watching as Lark’s eyes went wide.

“Oops, maybe I should not have said that.”

“What do you mean, woman about town? I thought Deryn was… like that.”

Ceridwen smiled.

“It amazes me how fast you caught on despite being here only, what, three months?”

“Feels longer,” Lark mumbled and went on clipping off thorns with a bit more force than was strictly necessary.

“Doesn’t it just?” Ceridwen’s fingers kept combing through the petals, gently straightening the wayward ones. Lark had a feeling she was not simply filling the silence but actually meant something by the throwaway remark. Then Ceridwen shook her head and went on.

“Deryn has had her share of dalliances. Yet here she is now, flat on her face in love with Mayor Allende.”

“It’s different with Seren. Even if all the women of Crow’s Nest were to be after Deryn, none of them is Ms. Allende,” Lark said.

“So you’re saying that if all the women of the island were after Seren, then what?”

“I am not exactly Ms. Allende,” Lark said ruefully, her shears loud in the quiet hum of the hothouse.

“Why would you want to be?” Ceridwen’s smile appeared a touch nonplussed.

“Because no one would even approach Deryn with Ms. Allende around. They’re all scared of her anyway.”

“I see. You don’t feel fearsome enough.” And now the smile was teasing. Lark felt foolish.

“I have no idea what I am even talking about. I’ve only been here a few months. Nothing really happened. And Seren is… Seren.”

“You know, three months, three years, thirty. That doesn’t matter. You are putting roots here in Crow’s Nest. Yes, you’re still living with Victoria, but I doubt that will be your forever arrangement, even if I’m certain my aunt would not mind. She’d welcome you into her home forever, if you wanted. But you are also establishing connections. Your work at the Tavern has been noticed. You help at Blossoms all the time on your free days. Your work at the Refuge has been drawing collective praise from everyone. Sam Threadneedle cannot stop gushing about you whenever she comes to buy flowers for her wife. You’re everywhere on the island. I see people say hello to you, recognize you. Talk to you. Dragons doesn’t accept outsiders quickly, but when it does, it’s a strong bond. Give everything some time. Even Seren. Sometimes water moves fast, and sometimes it’s a glacier.”