Page 21 of Oaths & Vengeance (Realm of Zadrya #1)

Aella

M ealtime the last two days had been tense as expected. Lord Morgunn had desperately wanted me to marry Baron Elgord, and the king blocking it must have ruined secret plans. Maybe because finding a suitable prospect who would do what my uncle wanted wasn't easy? I didn’t know.

He certainly wouldn’t want to suffer the loss of my portal opening capabilities.

I’d always assumed that would keep me safe from marriage, but the Lord of Therress clearly thought to use me in another way now.

Aside from the mines, which he could have taken from Elgord if he chose, what did the baron have that he needed? I couldn’t think of anything.

On the bright side, he hardly paid attention to Rynn at dinnertime when we all sat together. She’d taken my advice and only spoke if prompted. Ulmar tried to draw her into a verbal trap several times, but thankfully, our younger cousin didn’t fall for it.

Now, I crouched in my garden, pulling weeds.

It needed to be done, but it also helped relax me.

The sweet scent of flowers, musky odor of the carnivorous plants, and freshly turned soil brought me a measure of peace I couldn’t find anywhere else.

Except for the cobbled walkway that ran down the middle, a variety of plants grew on either side at varying heights and colors.

Each species hummed with the vibrancy of life in its unique way, spreading that sensation to me. They were mine, and I was theirs.

Being within the high ivory walls of my private sanctuary gave me a respite from the tension within the castle, which I desperately needed since my uncle’s servant, Parzival, seemed to be watching me extra closely. He reminded me of a bird of prey waiting for his chance to pounce .

Finished with weeding, I grabbed a set of thick gloves—enchanted for protection—and a basket from the supply cabinet at the far end of the garden.

I moved to my four snapper berry bushes in the back corner, which were producing an impressive harvest this season.

The plant was known for being finicky and had difficulty surviving to maturity.

However, once it grew large enough, it could last decades with proper care.

The bushes produced some of the sweetest fruit in all the realm.

My uncle dearly loved pies made with the luscious red berries, so I was determined to gather plenty for tonight’s dessert.

Perhaps that would put him in a better mood.

He would know I had a hand in it since no one else in the area could successfully grow them.

One of my secrets to keeping my garden flourishing was feeding the soil small tendrils of magic now and then to enrich it.

My druid grandparents had taught me how to do that, but one needed to handle it precisely right, or the enrichment could go terribly wrong.

Too much power would make them grow very fast and strong, rendering them aggressive and territorial. More than usual, anyway.

I started to pick berries when one of the yellow flowers with thick, curved petals snapped at my fingers. If not for my gloves, I would have lost a digit. Thankfully, I only felt the pressure.

“Stop it,” I said, swatting at it. “Try that again, and I’ll cut you off.”

It withdrew, the petals drooping a little in resignation. They could be so moody.

As I filled my basket, a sebeska flew into the garden.

It landed on the nearby ivory-stone birdbath, taking a drink while waiting for me.

I admired its cerulean feathers. This one had a black head and black-tipped wings, but otherwise, it was all blue on top.

I could barely see the patch of white on its underbelly.

I went to it, removing my gloves and holding a palm under its beak.

A small scroll fell into my hand. My heart thundered as I unrolled it and read the neatly written script.

It was my husband, wishing to meet later tonight.

He’d warned me he would request my services soon, and it looked like that time was upon me. We had made a deal, after all .

I moved to the chest where I kept my gardening supplies. Inside, I also kept parchment and a pen. I quickly wrote a reply letting Darrow know I’d see him at ten tonight, as requested.

The bird took the note and flew away. As for my husband’s note, I stuffed it inside a compost bin and buried it deep.

Fire would have been better, but I didn’t have any immediately available, and I didn’t want to risk taking the message out of the garden.

It was the only safe place where no one would enter, and even if they tried, they wouldn’t live long enough to do anything about it.

Putting my gloves back on, I returned to picking more of the red berries.

Another bloom tested my patience, so I plucked it off and threw it toward one of my other carnivorous plants.

It plucked the flower up, chewed it thoroughly before realizing it wasn’t tasty, and spat the pieces onto the walkway.

“Told you guys not to mess with me,” I said, wagging a finger at the bush, and then returned to picking again. The rest of the yellow blooms cowered away from my hands as I worked. Sometimes, one had to show tough love to their plants when they misbehaved.

“Aella,” a male voice called.

I turned and found Tadeus standing in the archway.

He was just far enough back so the lavender crunchertrap flowers couldn’t reach him.

There was a time long ago when he used to come in here, but that was before I acquired some of my people-eating flora.

He looked past his shoulder nervously as if he worried about being seen.

“You’re back,” I said, hurrying toward him while pulling my gloves. At least he hadn’t shown up until I’d gathered plenty of berries, and he’d missed the messenger bird.

He ran a hand through his coppery-red hair. “Father summoned me.”

“Did you enjoy yourself while away?” I asked, giving him a brief hug.

The nervous look eased, and a grin slowly formed. “More than you want to know.”

“We all have needs.” I shrugged. “Glad you got some time away, especially while your father is in one of his moods. ”

Tadeus nodded. “Is there a way I could come in? I’m not really comfortable standing out here and had hoped to speak privately.”

It had to be serious for him to want to come into the garden, risking life and limb.

“Give me a minute.” I glanced at my most cantankerous flora. “It’s going to take a bit of coercion before they’ll let you through without a fight. They’re rather protective of me.”

“That’s one way to put it.”

I couldn’t argue the point, so I turned and put my hands on my hips.

“All of you plants listen to me. My cousin is coming inside here for a visit, and I insist that none of you harass or harm him. If any of you do, I will pluck you out of the ground, chop you up, and feed you to whichever animal’s dietary preference you meet. Nod if you understand.”

As I ran my gaze around the garden, each sentient plant gave me an affirmative gesture. I supposed it helped that I’d already carried through with my threat earlier on one of them. That was still fresh in their leafy minds.

I took Tadeus’ arm and guided him inside.

The most worrisome part was getting him past the crunchertraps, but thankfully, they could be obedient when they felt like it.

The plants near them were passive to avoid conflict.

Then, we moved past the tract vines spaced out with three on each side.

They were tricky. They only had two moods—friendly and deadly.

To my relief, their flowers swayed in a gentle greeting.

We stopped near the back, where I kept a table and a workbench. Though Tadeus was in one of his nicer blue tunics and black pants, he didn’t hesitate to sit. Thankfully, he wasn’t averse to getting dirty when the situation required it.

“Water?” I asked, gesturing toward the pitcher and cup a servant had delivered to the safety of the entry arch earlier. It was hitting the warmest part of the afternoon. Spring liked to throw in hot days like this to prepare us for what was to come.

He nodded. “That would be great. ”

I refilled the cup I’d been using. If it bothered Tadeus to drink from mine, he didn’t show it. He simply guzzled the water down, clearly thirsty. “Did you come straight here when you returned?”

“Yes,” he said, setting the cup down. “I knew you’d be in here avoiding my father.”

“More like avoiding everyone, but certainly him, too.”

My cousin grew quiet, broodier than usual. “I think father is up to something bad…very bad.”

I strained my ears to check our surroundings.

Thanks to the high walls, noise didn’t carry well, but the kitchen staff often came out during the hottest parts of the day to do some of their work where they could catch a breeze.

That happened to be on the other side of the garden on the north end where we sat closest. As of now, I couldn’t hear anyone over there.

“Why do you think your father is up to something bad?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

He shook his head and followed my lead with his tone. “I’ve just overheard small pieces of information that don’t make sense, but I know marrying you off quickly is part of his plot. He’s desperate to get you off the market, as it were, and with someone he can control.”

I wished I could tell him it was too late for that.

The trouble was that while we’d always had each other’s backs, I’d never confided with him about some of my extreme activities.

That was a step too risky to take. I was terrified of anyone finding out about my deal with Darrow and my uncle either locking me up permanently or killing me to keep me out of enemy hands.

Even if he kept the secret, he could say the wrong thing in front of his brother and get caught in a lie.

“Well, at least he can’t force me to marry Elgord,” I said, sighing.

He nodded. “I was really worried about that, so I started checking into ways to save you from it. Almost anyone would be better for you than that elf. That’s how I spent my days in Maradeyn while I was gone, and I even went to Porrine, trying to find a way around your curse mark since you could flee if you didn’t have that. Everyone said it was impossible. ”

“Thanks for trying,” I said, touched that he’d gone to those lengths for me. Little did he know that even Darrow and the king couldn’t find a simple way to resolve it.

He shrugged. “It didn’t do any good.”

“Any idea what your father is planning?” I asked.

His ocean-blue eyes met mine. “Something big. I think that week he was gone inspecting villages was more than it seemed, and I overheard him mention he met with someone named Vaslav.”

“That’s an unusual name.” It certainly wasn’t common in Therress or even one I’d heard while at the Court of Porrine.

“Anyway, just be…” he trailed off and stood, slowly maneuvering toward the northwest corner of my garden with his gaze on the stones there.

I went rigid, realizing I forgot to have the vines cover that section before he entered. It was another of those big secrets I’d never told him because I didn’t want to risk losing a portal ring that had taken me so much time and funds to build.

Tadeus stood over it with shock in his gaze. “How long have you had this here?”

“Well, uh…” I got up and moved closer to him. “A long time, but you can’t tell anyone.”

He shook his head. “You could have trusted me with this. No one understands better than I do how my father would react if he discovered this, and I know you must feel trapped. If this gives you a chance to escape every now and then for a while, I can’t blame you in the least.”

“Really?” I badly wanted to believe him.

He smiled. “I’m more upset that I could have used this too—with your help.”

“Sorry.” I gave him an apologetic look. “There were so many times I wanted to tell you, but it wasn’t easy to get it in place. I was afraid of anyone finding out.”

Though Briauna had known for a while, Rynn didn’t learn about it until the night we used it to have her cured.

I hadn’t seen the need for Tadeus to be aware of it since his father allowed him frequent trips away.

Most likely because he didn’t like his son and preferred him out of sight.

As long as my cousin used his powerful metal-working and enchanting abilities—mostly weapons—when needed, Morgunn didn’t care where his youngest son went.

He narrowed his gaze on the circle. “Wait, I recognize those stones. They’re the ones you had me work on…

fourteen years ago. You said it was so you’d have them in case you needed to create a temporary portal, but you already had a set, so these were extra as a precaution. That’s what I assumed, anyway.”

“Yes,” I admitted. “Those are your work, but the ring was the most difficult part. I had it commissioned in Porrine, then snuck it in here in pieces with a special spell that would bind them back together afterward. Anyway, it was all a pain, but it’s been useful.”

Tadeus patted my shoulder. “Just trust me. I would never dream of telling my father anything that could get you in trouble.”

I believed that, but there were still some secrets he was better off not knowing.

“Thank you,” I said, then glanced at the basket of berries. “Now, I’ve got to get these to the cooks if they’re going to have enough time to make pies.”

In fact, I’d picked enough the servants could make one for themselves.

With food shortages worsening due to the blight, their allotment had grown smaller while my uncle continued requiring ridiculous feasts for his meals.

I wouldn’t be stingy with my fruit, though.

The people here also deserved a treat to show that their hard work was appreciated.

He nodded. “Good idea. Maybe the pie will be enough to save us all from Father’s grief for a night.”

One could hope.