Page 8

Jasmine

The kitchen table was a mess of items that I was collecting for my trip to Grower's Cove. It wasn't very far, we'd only have to make camp twice, but I wanted to be prepared properly. It wouldn't be my first time travelling or camping but I wasn't as experienced as some others, like my cousin Reese who was setting off for one of her tours of the surrounding villages for trading and healing.

And that was without considering how important this journey was. It could make the difference between sealing our alliance and not.

"Fire kit, saw, tea, spare socks, bedroll, tent," I listed as I checked to make sure I hadn't forgotten something crucial. Or missed something on the list Reese had made for me.

The floor creaked behind me, and I turned, noticing my brother Brew sneaking in. He tensed and relaxed when he noticed it was just me.

"Your relationship with Katie isn't going to stay secret for very long if you're so obvious about coming home," I said.

He chuckled awkwardly and joined me in the kitchen. "Why are you up so early?"

"I'm preparing for my trip." I waved at the table, which should make it fairly easy for him to tell what I was doing. Love had clearly addled his brain.

"The sun isn't even up yet."

"And?" I counted everything on the table again, just to make doubly sure that I wasn't missing something.

Brew yawned and leaned against the wall. "You're stress-Jasmining. I can tell."

"I'm not stress-Jasmining," I deflected even if it was true. I was definitely overthinking this. There was just so much pressure on this deal and while we were going to survey Growers Cove, we also had to make a good impression. This had all sorts of potential to go wrong. "That's not even a thing," I muttered.

Brew chuckled and filled up the kettle so he could make himself some tea. "It's definitely a thing. And I've known you your entire life, I can tell when you're stressing out."

"Oh the first five years don't count, you can't remember them."

He shrugged, not seeming to care much. "It's a couple of nights under the stars, it's not that big of a deal," Brew said, cavalier as always. "As long as you have a blanket and some tea to heal scrapes, you'll be fine."

"That's easy to say for you, you're a healing genius. My magic isn't nearly as effective," I grumbled. It wasn't exactly something that I liked to admit, but my family was well aware that I lacked when it came to magical prowess. Tea would give me a boost and I could use it to heal myself of minor ailments, but that was about it.

There was a reason I was stepping into our mum's shoes and occupied myself with running the oasis. At least that was something I did have talent for.

"What are you so worried about? You're awesome," Brew said, revealing the sensitive and caring side underneath his bravado. He grabbed two mugs and filled them with tea, handing one of them to me.

"Thanks." I sighed and cupped my hand around the warm mug. "I guess I'm worried about messing up this alliance. They're asking us for a mill, which is so much more than we were expecting. It's not unfair, not when it'll take three years for the tea crops to grow to maturity, but it's still a lot. I'll be asking so much from the Millers, and their people for tea, something they don't benefit from directly. Will they think this is worth the trade?"

Brew nodded and took a sip of his tea, instantly looking more alert as a result. "Taz is going with you to assess how much work and resources it will take. And she knows better than anyone how valuable the medical bay is to maintain a good life and workforce."

That was true, and it was reassuring that someone else from the Four Families would be travelling with us. That way, I wouldn't have to deal with these issues alone.

"What else is troubling you?" Brew asked, watching me curiously as if he was certain there was going to be something.

I hesitated, not sure if I wanted to voice the next concern out loud. Then again, my brother was one of the few people who would understand my struggle. He'd also found himself attracted to someone he shouldn't be. Not that I thought my attraction towards Ryburn was anywhere near as serious as how he felt about Katie. I knew Brew, he wouldn't be acting like this if he didn't think she was special.

"I can't stop looking at Ryburn," I blurted out before I lost my nerve. Even though he and Katie had long given in to temptation, I knew they managed to resist their attraction to each other for a while.

Since I only had to spend a few more days with Ryburn, maybe their strategies would work for me.

Brew grinned and put on a childish voice. "Oooooh. Jasmine is in love ."

"I'm not in love! He's just cute. Ah, forget I said anything." What was I thinking?

Something crashed in the cloakroom, and we hurried towards the noise, finding Cami tip-toeing in with the same guilty look as Brew.

She froze when she saw us and grimaced. "Oh, no."

"What's wrong with all my siblings?" I wondered out loud.

Brew tapped his foot, giving her his best stern-man impression. "And where have you come from?"

Like he hadn't just done the same. I smothered a laugh. It was rather amusing.

Cami plucked a leaf out of her hair. "Nowhere. It's a long story. I don't want to talk about it." She hurried through us, dashing up to her room before anyone else could catch her.

So another dating disaster, clearly. I didn't understand what was making Cami so desperate that she kept putting herself in these weird, elaborate situations but there was a lot I didn't understand about my sister.

Brew and I exchanged a look and shrugged. We were used to it.

"So, tell me more about Ryburn. What about him means you can't stop looking at him?" Brew asked, grinning and clearly pleased the interruption hadn't made him forget about our previous conversation.

I sighed and drank some of my tea. Despite my lack of magical prowess, I felt the restorative power within me leech away some of the stress. "I don't know. I just get distracted by his smile and his eyes and I can feel my thoughts floating away when I stare at his arms. Not important. I want to know how I can resist it."

"Thinking about sheep works. That's an old tip from Oliver."

"Why does Oliver need to resist an attraction?" I asked. "No, never mind, I know he's been into Hana for forever."

Brew let out a strange squeak that he quickly covered up with a cough.

"You know something. Is he no longer into Hana? Did something happen between them? They kissed. They're together." I gasped when Brew's forehead crinkled. "They're together! Oliver Fields and Hana Steeper? What is wrong with all of you? You're not supposed to fall for someone from the other families."

"And you're not supposed to get fluttery around the head of the Grower's Cove delegation, but here we are," Brew countered.

"What's wrong with all of us," I corrected my earlier statement, frustrated by the truth in it. We were going to upset the delicate balance of power if this continued.

He shrugged. "Do you want the serious answer or the medical answer?"

"How is the medical answer not the serious one?"

"Because the medical answer is that your body wants babies."

I wrinkled my nose. "No thanks."

"I think babies are cute," he responded.

"Then go ask Katie to have your babies."

"Don't think I won't."

"Rooibos!"

"Hey, no need to full name me, Jas." He finished his tea.

"A secret relationship is one thing, a secret baby is another."

"I know. We're careful. Ish. Speaking of, you should take some of this with you." He pulled a dusty tin of tea off the shelf and set it down.

"What is it?"

He cleared his throat, suddenly looking a little less comfortable. "I am so not used to having this conversation with my sister."

"Brew?"

"If you give in to temptation, drink it afterwards."

"Brew!"

He shrugged. "If you don't want a baby, then you've got to do the things that prevent a baby. If you come down to the infirmary before you leave, I can get you some contraceptive tea instead."

"I'd rather die."

"Suit yourself. I look forward to being an uncle." He grinned and headed out of the room, leaving me staring at the dusty tin. I should leave it behind. I wasn't going to give in to my attraction to Ryburn, so I wasn't going to need it.

Despite promising myself I wouldn't, I still picked up the tin and put it in my bag. It was better to not need it, than to need it and not have it.