Page 78 of In Her Own Rite

“Oh, yeah. I wanted to congratulate you. I heard you shifted today.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“That’s awesome. How’s it feel?”

A sigh. Something easing, just a little.

“Okay, I guess. I’m gonna keep practicing. Actually, you know what? It feels really good. I’m proud of myself. I feel like I’m finally doing it. What no one thought I could do.”

Something in my chest hurts. “Listen, Em—”

“I don’t want to hear it right now. I’m celebrating today, okay? I don’t need to deal with our stuff.”

I swallow. “Okay.”

She asks me about the rebels we caught, her voice betraying surprise when I tell her about Thalia trying to strike a deal for her and her sister.

“Is the council going to do it?”

“I don’t know. Yourfikaelders are against, but I think it’s smart to at least hear what she wants. I’m gonna try to talk to her tomorrow.”

“Okay. Be careful, please.”

“Why?”

“Just that you have a thing about protecting the underdog. Don’t let her manipulate you.”

I bring a hand to the back of my neck, thinking. Is that what’s happening here?

“Hey, I have to go,” Em says, interrupting my thoughts. “Quinn and Maren and I are going out for dinner to celebrate. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

“Okay. But wait, before you go. I have a question.”

“Hm?”

I look at the painting in my hands. “What’s the name of the purple flowers you planted in the garden out back?”

“Rhodoras. Why?”

“Nothing, just—I remember how much you like sitting out there in the summer. You were the one who planted them, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Why those? Are they special for you?”

She lets out a breath. After a second she says, “They were my mom’s favorite. She got them from the Ralph Waldo Emerson poem, ‘The Rhodora.’ That’s who she named me for. The poet.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah. She used to keep a book of his poems by the bed. But I have to go now, okay? I’ll call you later.”

“I’m gonna call you tomorrow, okay?”

“I might be too busy tomorrow,” she says. “We’re gonna do some new mental training for the first time.”

“Doesn’t matter. You don’t have to pick up. But I’m gonna call.”

“Okay,” she says finally. “We’ll see.”

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