Page 116 of Fortress of Ambrose
“Less fighting, for sure.” I only overheard a single yelling match in the last twenty-four hours, down from three the day before that. “Just be sure they’re choosing to participate. Don’t force them.” Some of them may want nothing to do with the Order’s traditions, rightfully so. “Same with the clothes. It’s their choice, right? They can wear whatever they want.”
“Um, sure. Yes, of course.” She squeezes my arm, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so excited. “You haven’t even heard my wildest idea yet. Though I’m not quite sure we can pull it off.A ball!”
I blink. A thousand reasons why a formal dance seems like the most frivolous waste of time run through my mind. But her glee and the calmer atmosphere over the last day shut my mouth. If she believes putting on a dance is what the guests need, then so be it.
“Great.”
“You don’t think it’s bizarre, do you? At a time like this? When the world is such a mess?”
I shrug. “Maybe that’s when we need a ball most of all.”
She squeezes her hands to her chest. It is refreshing to see hernotoverwhelmed. I was beginning to feel bad for the woman. But she signed up for this life, overseeing a House. I didn’t.
“I did want to talk to you about my grandmother’s roses, if you don’t mind.”
She gives instructions to the others and leads me into the hall. “Alright, what exactly is it you’d like to know?”
“They protect the estate.”
“They never did until your grandmother died. But yes.”
“I also noticed that they take on toushana, absorbing it. And it causes them togrow,notbe destroyed. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
She pulls at the ribbon on her dress. “You start talking about that darkmagic stuff and it gives me an uneasy feeling, Quell, I must tell you. In my day, we didn’t discuss such things.”
“My grandmother had toushana. You do know that, right?”
“I figured it out by going through her things after she died, trying to get her affairs in order.” Dexler looks away. “It felt wrong invading her privacy.”
“You were trying to help, it’s fine. Did you learn anything about the roses?”
“I learned how to trick them to let people inside. I also learned that they reproduce prolifically. Other than that, no. I did find a gardening journal your grandmother kept. She was big on documenting things. I have it in my office. I’ll drop it off in your room.”
I thank her again and round the corner, where I spot Ube leaned against the wall. I freeze and clear my throat. “How long have you been waiting here, Ube, is it?”
“Yes. And not too long.”
But long enough.
His propped-up foot finds the floor. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation about the roses.”
“Yes, and?”
He rubs his palms against his pockets. “I, uh, also saw you the other day at the garden wall. I happened to be leaving the Sunrise Corridor and looked out and noticed you were having trouble with the gate. There’s a hole in it, I think.”
I search him for dishonesty.
“I think I can help.”
I can’t afford to turn down any knowledge that could help keep us better insulated. “I’m listening.”
“The roses feed on toushana, like normal roses feed on water. If they’re overwatered, they’ll die. Much like if the black roses get too much toushana at once, they’ll decay. Is that what happened?”
I nod. His countenance brightens as he pulls a paper from his pocket. “Here, I drew a diagram for you. Only give each flower toushana inproportion to its size. Instead of feeding it lots of toushana at once, feed it toushana in small doses over several hours, even several days. It’ll let the petals absorb the magic more slowly.” He flips the paper over. “Androses are not the only thing that can absorb magic that way. But they have to be the purest metals. A gate won’t work. Jewelry usually works better.”
How closely was he watching me? The picture he’s drawn also has a list of other ideas. I take the paper with narrowed eyes.
“I’ll look into all you’ve said. I won’t keep you.” I leave him there, equally moved at this help and creeped out. Was that him in the window? It had to be.
