Page 61 of Crown of Ellova: Vol 1

Nueena explains the rest, speaking quickly. “But I want to see if I can grow the flower. Since we had no idea what the anafaea and salvidah looked like, I had no way of imagining it, but since Inara’s diary had drawings and other details for the other ingredients, there may be hope, but it must be grown here.”

We slip off our shoes and walk to the center, kneeling on the cleared soil. Tavien holds the book for her to memorize the flower. She digs her hands in the packed earth and they start to glow, the light shining out through the gaps in the soil. Her eyes are closed,mouth mumbling what sounds like a prayer or plea to the goddess Ellova herself. I watch as the large empty planter sparkles with tiny dots that shine brighter and slowly reach upward. Small green leaves extend outward, transitioning through three different stages of growth in a matter of minutes, which should have taken weeks or even months.

“Nu! You did it,” I whisper as the seedlings expand, growing a dark green stalk topped with white buds.

She opens her eyes, and her smile takes over her face at the swirls of white flowers that surround us, a faint glow to their petals. The anafaea flowers that lie before her are beautiful, and she runs one finger over the nearest one’s leaves.

“How is this possible?” I ask, awestruck.

A plant that can cure most anything.

A plant that will save so many lives.

Nueena’s back straightens with pride. “I can grow anything as long as I can see it in my mind, but without knowing what it looked like, there was no hope of growing it again. Magic always seeks an outlet, eager to grow and create. I just needed to direct my magic into the soil, mold it, imagine the seeds in my hand growing, blooming. I could feel my magic mixing with the magic of the garden. Whatever magic is left from Zarella in the roots and soil.”

I nod. “Sounds like how my metal-wielding works. When can we harvest it?”

“It needs to fully mature for seven nights under the moon,” Tavien says, beaming as he surveys the new floral life his Zemra created. “Then the real work begins. The elixir will not be easy to make. I’m still collecting texts to bring some clarity on what is needed. We need to wait ’til the bud turns dark blue and fully blooms. In the meantime, we can start to collect or research the other ingredients, like the salvidah plant.”

“Are we not a little too old to be playing in the garden?” At once, we all turn to Lillian, who wears an amused half smile at us kneeling in the dirt.

“Never too old for gardening,” Nueena says as I stand and hold out two hands, pulling her up. She walks through her new blooms,careful of each delicate one. When we step onto the winding stone pathway, she flicks her wrist at the bottoms of our dresses. The dirt falls to the ground, leaving perfectly clean fabric and skin. “And to what do we owe this early-morning visit, Lils?”

“You are all requested in the command room if you are done here.” Lillian turns around, sword swaying at her hip.

The ray of sunshine that is Viella greets us with a perky “Good morning.” As she opens the command room doors for us, her eyes linger on Lillian. “Hello again.” Viella winks at her.

Lillian’s cheeks turn slightly pink at that.

Nyvenah and Alachite are sitting at the table, eating their morning meal. Nueena places a kiss on her father’s cheek and then her mother’s moonlight hair before sitting down next to her. The command room overlooks Ellova in every direction. The circular space is lined with tall arched windows in a crystal dome tower with natural light pouring in from the early-morning sky, tinting the room in shades of pale blue and purple.

With a wave of Nyvenah’s hand, breakfast appears on the plates laid out on the table. Roasted rosemary potatoes, round lamb sausage, fruit, and sweet pumpkin pastries.

The four of us who just arrived begin to eat as Viella, Spy Guardian for Ellova, says, “My spies from Adreania have returned. Grayden has been crowned king. He is making few outside appearances, and when he does, it is with a poorly made imitation of the crown. He has been speaking to large groups from one of the balconies, telling them that the cure to the sickness is in Kalvorn and they must be ready for war.”

“You may need to intervene,” Alachite says to me.

The fork I was using crashes into my ceramic plate. “Me? How?” My body curls in on itself, dread pulling my limbs inward.

“Well, we had a spy bring back a copy of their laws.” Viella holds up a faded scroll. “It clearly states, ‘Loyal to whoever wears thecrown.’ It appears the treaty, the laws made when Inara and Drystan married, never changed.” Viella says, her bright smile gone. “It is also all over their currency, flags, banners, really everywhere,”

I try to think back to any time I had seen the law, but it was always dark when I went and I paid little attention to the decor of a castle I hated to be in.

Nyvenah sips her tea. “Revealing yourself to be queen may be enough to stop whatever plan he has until we can make contact with Kalvorn.”

But what if it’s not? What if I make myself known and the kingdom chooses Grayden?

“My spies also reported that Grayden did meet with the king and queen of Kalvorn again and it did not go well,” Viella adds. “We need to gather more information on Versairen and see if they truly will aid Grayden in a war against Kalvorn per the treaty of their princess who is married to him.”

I push the plate away, too nauseated to eat anymore. “You have someone from Versairen here—Leon. He had plans to send me there because…” Nyvenah and Alachite raised me, loved me as their own. This will not go over well. “The last night I was in Adreania, Grayden threatened me?—”

“Threatened you how?” Alachite’s voice is low, his eyes narrowing. It makes me want to sink into my chair like a dewling.

I take a deep breath, pushing away the feeling of Grayden’s hands on me. “Grayden had shown interest in me for a while. He made some threats of what was to come. When he became king, I was to return to the castle immediately or my children would be killed.”

“Children?” Nyvenah looks confused between Nueena and me.

My stomach twists painfully again. “A few years ago he took an interest in me. The night we met, he requested that I stay after the bazaar and join him in his chambers, but I lied and said I was married with children. I don’t think he was used to the rejection. He implied that my…um…choice in the matter would end when he became king.”

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