Page 49 of Growing Memories (Valley of Sylveren #2)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Three days after the showdown in the greenhouse, Ollas found himself walking through the complex, once more bound for Trunk.

The message board at the head of the complex was nearly bare, with only an informational poster about the various greenhouse hours stuck to a bottom corner.

Soon enough, it would be covered with announcements for the fast-approaching Winterfest activities, and after that would come a fresh round of club openings and events and maybe a random call for housing in the spring term.

Cloak drawn about him to ward off the blessedly dry but cold air, Ollas slowed his step, taking in the neat, worn pathways tracing through the complex, the weathered paneling of the greenhouses, and the patina of age that turned the wooden frames a dark shade that was still warm and inviting.

Quiet filled the air. Not silence, but gentle shifts and creaks brought on by rippling breeze.

The Grove felt cozy and familiar and like home.

Even though he’d only been back full time for one term, the place had always been with him.

Would it stay? He’d be leaving again, and not in the way of upper-level studies where returning was relatively easy. He’d be gone, if not for good then at least for a while. Not so easy to stumble back to the Grove when homesickness struck if he was beyond the Valley’s borders.

Eyes still roving over the board, he began to move on and nearly bumped into another person coming up the path. “Ah— Oh, sorry, sir—er, Saren.”

Rai gave him a bemused look. “Ollas.” He gestured with one hand. “Walk with me a moment.”

“Of course,” Ollas mumbled, falling into step beside him as Rai continued along the path.

Rai was wearing his teaching robes even though classes weren’t in session, some dirt smudging the sleeves.

In one hand he held a cutting from the Trunk’s protector vine, secure in a glass vial filled with blue-tinted water.

Strange for Ollas to be nervous now considering that they’d spent the last three months as colleagues.

But then, being colleagues with a Master grovetender had always been a disconcerting notion for him.

“You’ve been busy,” Rai said. “How are you holding up?”

“I, um, well, I think?”

“You think,” Rai repeated.

“As well as can be expected. The school’s been very… accommodating.”

An understatement, and maybe even something of a dodge.

Ollas wasn’t in any trouble, formal or otherwise.

When Ollas had offered to resign, seeing as he’d piqued the wrath of one of Graelynd’s most powerful ruling bodies, the dean wouldn’t hear of it.

After giving his account of the events to Rai and the dean, he’d expected to be questioned by the school board, the Restorers, maybe even shipped down to Graelynd for gods-all-knew whatever reason to be grilled by Coalition folk or one of the Councils.

Instead, the dean had told him to pack his bags and keep his head down for a while for everything to blow over.

A sabbatical. It was laughable, considering he’d only been teaching for one term, but Ollas had taken the out, thanked the school, and negotiated seeing through his professional duties for his Initiate One class and the elective.

There was still much posturing going on with the Coalition, whispers of treasonous acts going on behind closed doors.

He’d barely had a quiet moment with Eunny since they’d left the greenhouse, as she’d been involved not only in her own debriefings but also several long meetings that included her aunt.

Whatever consequences were to be handed down to Bioon, he didn’t know.

But he’d faced down the notorious Coalition and come out unscathed.

Better than unscathed, because he had Eunny. She— they— had the seeds, and a fresh round of hope. His head was still spinning from the many turns of events.

“It’s my understanding that you’re being looked after by our good friends in Rhell,” Rai said.

“I’ve had an offer to oversee a course at a school in Rhell,” Ollas replied, staring straight ahead so he couldn’t know his mentor’s reaction. “Courtesy of the Sor’vahl family, no doubt, though the earth Magister in charge didn’t mention them.”

“Which subjects?”

“Arcane amendments and regenerative soil work.”

The professor stopped at a crossroads in the path, opting for a bench instead of choosing a direction. “Sounds right in your wheelhouse.”

Ollas sat next to him. “I’ve been very lucky. I feel kind of bad about it,” he admitted, sheepish. “Undeserving.”

Rai indicated the vine cutting in his hand. “A guardian wouldn’t wake for nothing.”

Ollas ran his fingertip along a single leaf. “Coincidence?”

“Greenhouses have been vandalized in the past. Disgruntled students. Tourists.” Rai shrugged.

“We once lost decades of work on a grain hybrid that had great promise for drought resistance, which we’d hoped to send south.

An accidental fire destroyed everything in the antechamber. The guardians didn’t intervene then.”

“What makes them choose?”

“The quality of the need. The querent’s intention.

One can’t say with certainty what the threshold is, but you met it.

” Rai smiled. “Miss Lee found a record in the archives that suggests the mother plant was a gift from Gyo the Earthen to Sylveren the Child when the Court began to leave the mortal realm. The motives of children aren’t always?—”

The wind kicked up, bringing with it a brief shower of icy rain.

“The gods weren’t perfect,” Rai continued in tones of mild annoyance. “They left for varied reasons, and we forge our own paths in their absence.”

Another petulant gust of wind blasted them before settling down. Ollas hid a grin.

“So, you’re bound for Rhell soon?” Rai asked.

“Yes, after finals.” Provided Eunny agreed.

Ollas realized that they hadn’t actually discussed their plans, too busy with the aftermath of dealing with the Coalition.

In the brief moments they’d been together, Eunny seemed enthusiastic about him sticking around, but, as he’d learned, presumptions instead of communication always led to problems. “I think.”

“I could speak to the dean if you’d rather stay,” Rai said. “I know you have family here, and you’ve only just returned. The Restorers approved a host of grants dedicated to the bioremediation research for Rhell’s poison. Multiple Magister-levels are going to be putting together labs here at home.”

“Thank you, but I can’t stay,” Ollas said, both touched and struck with a small pang of regret.

Rai sighed. “I was afraid you’d say that.” He looked up at something, a serene smile on his face. “But I am not surprised. Be well, Ollas.”

Ollas murmured his own farewell, turning to search for whatever the professor had seen. A smile spread across his own face, not serene but ebullient. Those little pangs of regret meant nothing when the sight of Eunny coming toward him brought such immediate joy.

“What was that about?” she asked, stopping in front of him.

“Goodbye, of a sort.” Ollas stood up and wrapped his arms around her. “Come on. I— What’s that?”

Eunny had fished from her cloak pocket the vial of their new delegation seeds. “Feels like we should do something. Memorialize them somehow.”

The breeze picked up, swirling the hems of their cloaks about their legs.

“See?” she said. “The Valley agrees with me.”

“Then we’ll plant one. Maybe two, for luck.” Ollas gestured at their surroundings. “Same place?”

She snorted. “I’d rather not. No light mage is meant to spend as much time in a greenhouse as I have this term.”

Ollas chuckled. “You know, we’re probably going to be doing greenhouse work in Rhell. This time of year, we won’t be able to do in-ground planting until?—”

Eunny clapped a hand over his mouth. “Don’t ruin this for me.”

He took her gently by the hand, pressing his lips to her curled fingers. “We’ve been talking about Rhell and plans and the work, but we didn’t really— I never actually asked if this is what you want.”

Her lopsided smile was followed by a soft laugh and a rueful shake of her head. “Gods, you’re sweet. It’s what I love about you.” She cupped his face between her palms. “We’re going. Together. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Same old Eunny, always moving forward. “I love you.” Ollas tipped his chin forward to kiss her.

Eunny deepened the kiss, her fingers moving to his shoulders and grabbing handfuls of his cloak. She released him with an exaggerated sigh. “No, we have to focus. Memorialization in progress.”

Ollas retrieved the vial from her, gently rubbing it between his fingers. He leaned toward her. “How do you feel about a little magic?”

The look she gave him was unimpressed, but she rolled her eyes and hooked her arm through his all the same.

They took the path back through the greenhouse complex, bypassing the buildings per Eunny’s request. Ollas led her to the base of the Grove’s mother tree, leaving the paved stone trails to settle in a spot between the massive roots.

The ground was a mix of half-decayed leaf litter and patchy grass, and it was easy enough to work up shallow divots with a rake of his fingers.

As Eunny had said, this wasn’t planting so much as laying to rest. Tiny motes of light drifted down from the canopy of fiery leaves overhead, their magic keeping the mighty tree always full and lush no matter the season.

Many of the gleaming dots dissipated before they reached the floor, but every once in a while, one made it, fading out in a small ripple of white-gold light.

“This is…” Eunny held her hand out to catch a drop of the Grove’s light, smiling as it absorbed into her skin. “Perfect.”

“Ready?” he asked.

She called a touch of light to her fingers, holding her hand in front of her face. “I’m still not sure how I feel about it. It’s going to be a while before I’m comfortable using it again.”

“I can do it,” he offered. “I think I have enough.”

She shook her head. “Together. I can’t let discomfort keep being an excuse.”

Eunny knelt, tapping a pair of seeds into her cupped palm.

Ollas joined her, and together, they called a touch of light to their fingers.

He slid his palm around to cradle her hand, letting her magic meld with his until it blurred together.

Eunny directed the lines of their combined light to pool in her hand and settle on the seeds.

Ollas drew on his wavering magic, helped along by Eunny’s steadier supply, causing the seeds to flare with soft, golden outlines.

Gently, Eunny tilted her palm until the seeds could fall into the shallow hole Ollas had made.

They landed with minute tremors, disappearing as Ollas smoothed soil back over the top.

Watering them in would’ve been ideal, but the ground was wet enough, and it would only be a matter of hours before the next rain shower came through.

As they dusted off their hands, a faint puff of white sparks drifted up from the ground. A soft pulse beat at Ollas’s temple, just once, but enough that memory stirred. The old calling that had been with him since the summer echoed in his head before fading away.

A glance at Eunny confirmed that she’d felt the same thing. She scrunched her nose at him in mock disgruntlement. “Guess it thought we needed the reminder that we’re in this for the long haul.”

A gust of wind scattered the sparks throughout the air, carrying them up toward the treetops. Eunny and Ollas watched until the sparks were lost to sight.

“Think it was wrong to waste two here when we’re about to leave?” she asked.

Ollas shook his head. “Now a little of them is here, and the main seeds are going to Rhell. Doesn’t get more fitting than that.” He helped her to her feet, one hand smoothing her hair from her face. “Feel ready for a new journey?”

Eunny laughed. She took him by the hand and tugged him back toward the road. “Almost. There’s one last goodbye.” A wicked gleam twinkled in her eyes. “And I want to hear the final judgment for my mother.”