Page 7 of Shadows in Bloom

I grabbed one of the discarded papers. “Are you being particular, or are they honestly thatawful?”

I looked down at the listing I’d snagged from her. It listed a request for rare ingredients to be collected for the local apothecary, Corterly’s Elixirs & Brews. I recognized most of the names from books I’d read over the years. Most of them were fairly common plants and fungi that one would find growing in a variety of places, but a few of the plants listed were more rare and difficult to process because of their poisonous nature. The other ingredients were more peculiar and more dangerous to obtain, such as the teeth and horns of animals, but overall, the request wasn’tthatbad.

“Why not this one?” I held the paper in front of her. “It’s paying a decent enough sum of gold, depending on the amount we can collect. I’m familiar with most of these ingredients and they are easily obtained. It even says we will be paid by the ingredient, so there’s no need to go after the more dangerous items.”

Kallistra looked up from the pile of scattered jobs in front of her. “It’s too big a risk. We are on the outskirts of Elven territory. Their forests are a different manner of beast. I understand you have studied, but conventional knowledge is not enough to navigate their woods or pick safe food from poison.”

“Our people provided us with some of the most detailed maps available…”

“It’s not happening. I’ll find something better.” Her words were said in sharp, cold finality, leaving no opening to further argue my case. We would earn our gold babysitting kittens if Kallistra had her way.

“I’m tired,” I mumbled. “I’m heading up to the room first.”

I did not wait for her response before I trudged up to the inn room, stripped myself down to don a thin nightdress, and crawled under the cheap, scratchy bed covers. It was my first night on a proper mattress in months, comfortable as a cloud despite the covers, but I was so furious I couldn’t even indulge in sleep. No matter how many times I tossed and turned and adjusted myself, the simmering frustration dancing in my bones kept my mind alert.

I was dreadfully sick of never having a choice. Of course, I understood the need to take precautions given the grave importance of my pilgrimage, but I was not incapable of protecting myself from the slightest spell of danger. I believed I could handle a perilous situation if necessary, even though I hadn’t mastered using my magic yet. I knew the basics of wielding a dagger and shooting a bow. Besides, everything was a risk. Breathing was a risk. Gods forbid I mentioned that to Kallistra; she’d likely demand I stop breathing, too.

It must have been hours before I heard the door click open and felt Kallistra crawl into the bed beside me. She spoke to me in the dark. “I am not trying to upset you, Nairu. There are things you aren’t privy to—things I have to take into consideration.”

I twisted onto my side to face her. Only the faint outline of her features was visible from the moonlight shining in from the window. “So, tell me.”

I felt the sigh of her breath against my cheek. “I cannot.”

I flipped onto my back once more. “Because you are Keeper and I am Saintess? Or because you do not trust me?”

“You need to have faith in God. Everything will be worth it in the end.”

I wanted to scream at her. To throw her from the bed and stare into her eyes as I shouted my truth and tried to make her understand. How could she not comprehend how much I’d given up already? How could she expect me to maintain my faith and be grateful when, thus far, my life had been... I’d been isolated and sheltered in a way that had changed me. I was struggling every day not to let it consume me, but I was to maintain my faith? My hope that there was a happy ending waiting for myself and everyone else relying on me at the end of all of this?

My people would never touch me—harm me physically. There were no scars upon my body, no calluses roughening my hands or feet. Instead, they’d taken away every single freedom of choice, from what I wore, to what I ate, to who I talked to. They’d kept me packed away neatly, like a doll in a box.

It wasn’t until Kallistra and I had spent a few months in the Dwarven city Korghrum that I realized it was different—the way I had been raised. It was the first major city we’d stayed in during our pilgrimage, and my first time being around so many strangers. Their behavior was odd. They shared drink and food, laughter and touch. They brawled in taverns, gambled, shouted, and cursed. They were all so very familiar with one another. As it turned out, I was the odd one. It apparentlywasn’t normal to live as I had. Alone. And it was then that I realized how painful it was to accept how I had been raised. Amidst all the lively joy in Korghrum, I’d discovered how sheltered and deprived I’d been.

I sighed. I knew there was nothing I could do but endure. “Yes, Kallistra. I know.”

“Try to get some sleep.”

I obeyed her command to the best of my ability, dreaming of faceless parents and dark, empty rooms.

Chapter 4

Kallistra and I had all but given up on the job hunt. The few questionable leads we had bothered to follow up on had turned out to be far too questionable upon further inspection. Kallistra was already breaking most of her personal tenets by letting us take on a job in the first place, so pushing her toward the more unsavory types would cause her to shut down the idea completely. So, I’d decided to let her take the lead, and as a result… we were getting nowhere.

After spending the entire day outside on a wild goose chase, we were exhausted, starving, and ready not to think about our dwindling funds and hopeless prospects. We retired to a table in the corner of the inn and ordered as much of a meal as our budget allowed. I couldn’t complain, given that it was a significant upgrade from what we’d been eating for the past several months. Bread and cheese were a luxury at this point.

“Pardon my intrusion, but I’m making rounds and didn’t think it fair that I ignore the two of you simply because you’re sitting inconspicuously in a dark corner.”

I didn’t move an inch, only moved my head to stare out of the window, to keep my face out of sight. Kallistra did the same, ignoring the male, in sure hopes he would give up and go away. I almost felt bad. The voice was kind. But many had been before—before they saw me. We’d been careful exploring our leads, making sure I stuck behind Kallistra, hiding or forging lies about how I was a unique sort of Faeling, if necessary. In the close quarters of the Minstrel’s Menagerie, the poor lighting was the sole thing helping to hide my features, and not well.

A female’s voice grumbled incoherent words before speaking to us clearly. “Ignore him. We have ale and a proposition that may be of interest. One that will reward.”

Kallistra was the first to turn her head at attention, assessing the two strangers with a pointed glare while I gauged her reaction to them. Of course, with her, it was near impossible to tell what she was thinking. She was probably trying to scare them off with that mean look. But I had heard the female’s words. Reward. Coin? There was potential there. I dared to turn my head, keeping my hood low over my face to get a peek at them.

The female was a young, Elven beauty with long, bright red waves and green eyes that sparkled like gemstones. Various jewels and chains of gold adorned her pointed ears. Just a single one of those earrings would have the potential to provide enough food for Kallistra and me for a month. She was bold to wear sucha thing to an inn like this, but I was certain she was well aware of that. The sharpness of her eyes, the way her smile curved with feline-like coyness—it was as though she dared someone to touch her. The dagger on her hip and the bow on her back were no decoration. With that much confidence oozing from her, she had to be skilled.

The Elven male beside her was just as stunning. His black hair shimmered with shades of deep blue—long and straight, ending just below his chest, while wild pieces framed his face and forehead. It was his eyes, though, that truly shocked me. The blue in them was so icy they appeared silver. But there was warmth there, and a kindness to his smile that contradicted everything else about him. He didn’t wear weapons other than a dagger, but his attire had me guessing he was a noble of some sort. Not traditional robes, but a flowing top with loose sleeves tucked into a pair of black leathers, exposing more of his chest than I could comfortably look at.

I waited for Kallistra to speak, directing my eyes to the table in front of me. The silence was awkwardly long before she tilted her head to the side, indicating for them to take a seat beside us.

---