Page 76 of A Baron of Bonds
She nodded emphatically. “It’s possible, but extremely unlikely you’ll be with child, Karus. Especially since yourliberummark just left your wrists. You will now begin to gothrough cycles of bleeding. It’s complicated, but when people have their mark, their bodies do nothing to produce what’s necessary to conceive a child. But…”—she rose and took my hand—“once your first bleeding begins, it’s all very possible from there. Your body will begin to actively produce what it needs to make a child and not drinking styris tea…it could easily result in one.”
I grimaced and bit my bottom lip. “What if just one of us drinks it? Is that enough?”
“You could do that. Though, I’ve been with plenty of mothers on their birthing days when only she or her companion drank the tea. Your best bet is tobothdrink it. Every time. And it only stays in your bodies for about two hours.”
“Glad I don’t have to take it,” Figuerah mumbled.
“What is styris tea?” Moira piped up again.
Clairannia turned to her. “It’s a drink that stops human bodies from conceiving a child when they come together.”
Moira made a face of disgust and I laughed. “Is there anything else, then? Any other spells or things we can do to prevent a child for now?”
Clairannia shook her head. “Styris tea is your best bet. Theliberummark is impossible to re-implement on companions and nothing works better than the tea. If something else was easier, we wouldn’t have new generations of children to take our places.” She looked around at each of us, her medicus conduit side lecturing. “Our population has stayed at a steady number, if not slightly declining in the past fifty years. We actually need companions tohavechildren.” She turned back to me, nudging my hip with hers. “Just when they’re ready.”
I agreed, “When we’re ready.”
“Do you know what this big meeting is about, Karus? We thought we’d get here and have to defend you both. The Queentold us there would be no trial for Rev. She also said it was up to you what you’d tell us afterward.”
“The Queen knows more about the Blightress than she’s told us so far. I’m going to guess she wants all the leaders of the isle to hear the same information and discuss the next steps she has planned.”
“I can’t believe she has a Grower.” Moira mumbled, hopping from one cushioned chair to the other.
“What exactly is a Grower? What can they do?” I asked, beginning to pace.
A soft knock came to the door followed by, “It’s Rev.”
Clairannia got there first, swinging it open and hugging him tightly, her arms stretched up high, her toes almost at a point to reach him.
He grinned wide and kissed her cheek before letting go. “It’s good to see you.”
She pushed his shoulder. “Yes, well, you’ve been awfully busy, I’ve heard. You know you’re in just as much trouble as she is,”—she pointed back to me—“if not more so, because, honestly, I don’t think Karus can help but do the first thing that comes to her head. Butyou—” she jabbed her finger in his chest and stormed, “you couldn’t have waited another few days? I realize I’m being selfish, butreally, Rev? After everything you’ve both been through, you had to do that without us?”
He glanced at me with anI told you solook.
“Clairannia…” Figuerah crossed the room to both of them, reaching up to give Rev a tight squeeze. “You’re gonna have to get over this, girl.”
“I know, I know. I just wanted to be there because I love you both, and I’m just…”—she wiped a tear from her face—“I’m just so happy for you.”
I laughed and rushed to her side, the four of us embracing in one big hug, all of us having been through so much love andloss together. I caught Rev’s eye, my own brimming with tears of happiness, and he leaned in to kiss me.
“So, Growers are the fae that grow things.” Moira sat cross-legged on the table of sweets, a chocolate bun in front of her, licking her fingers. She continued, choosing not to join in on our embrace. “Their power comes from Felgren, of course, and their numbers wane and grow with the seasons. During Karus’s winter, there were very few to be found. I don’t know if that’s part of why it lasted as long as it did, but lately, they’ve been popping up everywhere.”
It was so rare to hear Moira speak of her own kind, we all turned to listen.
“That’s why I’m surprised there was a Grower with the Blightress. We fae only stay in Felgren. Well,” she added, shrugging, “most of us only stay in Felgren. Growers have the power to revive dead trees and rebuild devastation. They’re the ones who’ve been helping Felgren return since Karus destroyed most of the Blight. They’re the ones who kept track of its growth in the first place.”
“Why haven’t we ever seen one before?” I looked to Rev in question. He shook his head, confirming he had not either.
“They don’t want you to see them, so you don’t.”
I puffed air out of my lips. “We really need to get back home.”
Rev nodded, moving into the room and closing the door. “Thank you three for coming. I’m sorry you missed the companion binding, but we can celebrate when we get back to Felgren.”
Clairannia and Figuerah looked at each other and then back at him.
Figuerah spoke first. “Rev, Karus, we can’t go back with you. We need to return to our lives. Our people are depending on us as conduits, and they need us now more than you do.”
