Page 17

Jasmine

Nerves tingled through me as I made my way up the hill. I could already see the large oak tree and the man standing underneath it that was making my heart race and filled me with dread. This was not how I imagined I would feel when I was about to return home with the trade alliance secured. I should be celebrating, not moping.

And yet it was hard not to, especially when this could spell the end of what I had with Ryburn. I didn't want that to be the case, but I wasn't naive enough to think it was going to be as straightforward as I liked him and therefore it would all be perfect.

Ryburn smiled when he saw me and I could tell from his nervous expression that he had his own mix of feelings about this situation.

"Hey." I gestured to the oak tree he was standing under. "Is this your family tree?"

He nodded. "Isn't she beautiful?" He touched the trunk, an expression of reverence on his face. Was that how I looked when I talked about tea? I didn't think so. The bond between a dryad and their tree was different from my connection to my magic. From how he'd described it, there were some similarities to how Katie and Oliver had talked about their ward bonds with their familiars, but it was different at the same time.

"She's gorgeous." I reached out to touch the tree, holding back before I did. "Wait, can I touch it or is that a big no-no in dryad etiquette."

"It's not something you should do without permission if you know that it's someone's home tree. But I'm a Silva, I can give you permission." He gestured towards the tree to make it clear that was what he was doing.

With a smile, I ran my hand over the oak's bark. I didn't know much about trees, but it seemed big and sturdy, a lot like Ryburn in that regard.

A rush of wind made the branches and leaves move. Or maybe it was the magic they shared because even though I wasn't a dryad, it felt like the tree was protecting him.

Seeing them together, it was just a painful reminder that there was a good reason we had almost no dryads in our town. They weren't known for travelling, especially not when they had a home tree like this.

I swallowed bitterly. "I should go to bed soon. We're leaving tomorrow at first light."

"Are you looking forward to being back home?"

"In a way. I had to push some of my duties on other people, including my sister, and who knows what chaos she's caused while I was gone. But yeah, I missed it. Home." I didn't usually ramble, but then again, I wasn't usually trying to hide how sad I was to be leaving. I'd come to really enjoy Ryburn's company, and I wasn't ready to say goodbye.

He scratched the back of his head and cleared his throat. His expression was harder to read than I expected it to be, especially after spending the time with him that I had recently. "There's something I wanted to run by you."

"I'm listening." And curious. Maybe he was going to suggest that we spent the night together. It wasn't the best idea for me to say yes, but if he asked, I knew I wouldn't say no.

"I know you said you didn't want anything casual or sporadic, but what if I was spending a lot of time at Purple Oak?" He fiddled with a bit of fabric from his jacket. "My brother wants me to stay on as the leader of the workers going back and forth."

A rush of hope made me breathless. "Really?"

He nodded. "I'd need to return to Grower's Cove sometimes. But I'd be spending most of my time in Purple Oak overseeing the work there."

"What about your tree? Won't you miss it?" I didn't want to say yes and take him away from something that was such an integral part of him, especially when I could tell from the way he talked about it how much care he had for the tree in front of me.

"I will, but it'll be here when I return. And it's not like there aren't trees in Purple Oak."

"I don't know enough about how dryad magic works."

"I can be away from my tree," he assured me. "And I can even find a new tree to be my home tree."

"You can?"

He nodded. "This is my family tree, it's the one I've been bonded to since I was two years old, but it's not the only tree I can have in my life. It's hard to explain, especially because I've never had a reason or the urge to bond to another home tree, but from what other dryads have told me, it's possible. Most of them say they know when they've found the right tree."

"Oh."

"I'm not saying that I'm going to be looking for a new home tree in Purple Oak straight away, because I'm not. But if a time came where I wanted to, then it's an option."

"I see." I took a deep breath. "What does this mean for us?"

His expression softened as he looked at me. "We could see where this goes, if you're up for it."

I closed the gap between us, not really thinking about my answer because I already knew it. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my eyes fluttering closed even as his arms tightened around my waist and his lips met mine.

The kiss was intense. Not in exactly the same way as the others we'd shared had been, this was a different kind of emotion completely. It was a need that neither of us had dared to put into words. It wasn't physical, it was about what was going to come on a completely different level.

"Is that a yes?" he murmured against his lips.

I threaded my fingers through his hair. "That's an absolute definite yes."

His grin lit up his entire face, and he kissed me again before he suddenly pulled back. "Oh, anyone could see us."

I shrugged. "And? I was only holding back because I didn't want to jeopardise the trade alliance. But with negotiations over, I don't care if anyone else knows. Unless you want to keep it quiet?"

His grin said it all. "Nope."

He kissed me thoroughly, not letting go of me until it was utterly dark and we made exciting promises and plans for the next time we saw each other. It made the prospect of returning to Purple Oak much less intimidating.