Page 19 of Blossoms and Bloodlines
She was usually right.
Which meant there might be more truth in Gael’s words than she’d wanted to believe.
Ann grabbed the remote and flicked on the TV. “Have you watched the new show about the Tudors on Netflix?”
“No,” Beth replied, distracted, lost in her thoughts.
“Supposed to be great. Want to watch it?”
“You know I do.”
“I’ll go get more snacks and blankets.” Ann stood and was already halfway to the kitchen when she said, “You should totally text him a dirty pic.”
Beth groaned and pulled a pillow over her face.
THE PUB WAS QUIET,as it usually was after the lunch rush and before the after-work crowd.
Harlan, a retired guide in his eighties, sat at his usual table with a steaming cup of his usual tea subtly fortified with tonic by the twins, and a dog-eared Sudoku magazine. Near the window,a tourist couple from Seattle lingered over pie and coffee, debating tomorrow’s hike.
Beth and Elara sat at a side table with mugs of herbal tea, elbow-deep in the monthly inventory logs, a lull-day ritual neither of them loved but both endured.
“I know something’s on your mind,” Elara said gently, eyes still scanning the papers. “Your aura’s all weird. Not worried, just... unsteady. Undecided.”
Leave it to the High Lady to read her like a well-worn book.
“Should I bother lying?”
“You could,” Elara said, lifting her eyes with a faint smile. “But I’d know. And I’d worry. Because why wouldn’t you talk to me? We always talk.”
Beth sighed and dropped her pen a little too hard, the softthunkon the wood betraying her frustration. “It’s nothing big. Just...” She hesitated, fingers tightening around her mug. “You’re the High Lady.”
“Yes.”
“So you know things. Bad things.”
Elara’s smile faded, and she leaned back in her chair. She didn’t change, exactly, but her eyes hardened a bit, weariness passing over her face. “Yes,” she said softly. “I do.”
Beth hesitated, then sat up straighter. “So... okay. Direct approach. Is it true Bryn manipulated someone in your family into being with him?”
Elara blinked—actually blinked. Surprise, yes. But what followed was something colder, deeper. Her expression sharpened, lips tightening with fury. “Where did you hear that?”
“I guess that’s part two of this conversation,” Beth said. “But can you tell me what happened first?”
Elara’s gaze dropped to her mug. She turned it slowly in her hands.
“Magic’s complicated,” she said carefully. “Human laws only go so far. Magiks living out in the open is still new, at least by elven standards.” She glanced up, serious now. “A lot of what keeps things running is tradition and vigilance. The High Family carries most of that weight, especially when safety’s on the line.”
She looked up, her voice steady but tinged with old weight. “Aureth is our cousin from our father’s side. Not a close relation, but family. She was staying with us for a summer when she met Bryn. He can be charming.”
“But?”
“But while he’s not especially powerful, his affinity is emotional coercion. It’s subtle, persuasive, layered.” Elara’s voice softened. “Aureth’s stronger now, but back then... she was young, still developing her shields. Maybe like a human fresh out of high school.” She shook her head. “Aryon and I knew she planned to end it. Just a summer fling, she said. But Bryn didn’t want it to end. Being tied to the High Family would’ve been an enormous social leap for him. We could see his intentions weren’t pure.”
Beth said nothing, waiting.
“No one but Bryn really knows what happened that night,” Elara said quietly. “She went to him willingly, it seemed, but the next morning, she didn’t remember being herself. She remembered saying yes–to being with him, sleeping with him, even getting engaged. But it was all a blur.”
Elara’s fingers tightened around her mug. “Aureth was clear. She might have said the words, but she hadn’twantedto. She said it felt like something had pressed on her thoughts. Like her emotions didn’t belong to her.”
