“But I don’t know her as well for I haven’t seen her since.”
“True.”
“We should gather our berries, Candra,” Zezilia observed. “It is almost lunch and I am sure Master Aleron is hungry after his walk.”
“Master Aleron?” Candra made a face. “Come on Zez. He is a friend of the family. You can call him Ilias like the rest of us.”
“Please do,” I interjected before Candra’s unusual social skills made the situation worse. Apparently considering the matter closed, Candra grabbed my hand and dragged me in the direction of the brandleberry patch on the far side of the field. “After lunch Zez and I can take you to see the tree house. Then...”
“I can’t stay long,” I said.
“What!” Candra stopped and glared up at me with her fists on her hips.
“I am actually here to see her.” I nodded my head toward where Zezilia stooped to retrieve four of the six pails of brandleberries. “I have to give her the final test before she becomes a talent.”
“Oh, that.” Candra tossed her head and trotted off to pick up the remaining two pails. “After that I am sure you can find the time to at least see the tree house.”
As I opened my mouth to point out that I also had business with her father, Zez said, “He probably has other duties to perform. He is the Sept Son.”
“But he was Ilias first and if my father hadn’t trained him, then he would have never been the Sept Son.”
“I am sure that there were other trainers who would have been willing.”
“But they weren’t Father.”
“There were none better,” I interjected. “Can I help carry?”
I directed the question to Zezilia, who was balancing four pails, but Candra responded. “Sure.”
“I meant Zezilia. She is the one with four pails.”
“Why do you think I pick slowly?”
Zezilia’s eyes widened and then she laughed. “So that is why you always want me to go with you. You know that I will pick quickly and you can be lazy.”
“I am not being lazy, just slow.”
Seeing that this could be a long discussion, I interrupted by taking two of the pails from Zezilia’s willing hands.
“I expected that you would have an entourage,” Zezilia mentioned, pointedly changing the subject.
I couldn’t help smiling at Candra’s stormy, silent response. I turned my attention to Zezilia’s interested face. “I left them taking the longer way by road while I enjoyed the freedom of a short cut. Your brother is going to lecture me for it, but I needed to get away for a time and remember a freer period of my life.”
Coolness filled the shadowed hollows in the midst of mysterious monolithic trees. Their roots gnarled and twisted from before I had first discovered their secrets. Now, their massive trunks rose thicker and sturdier than ever while all the land around them changed with the seasons.
“When was that?” Candra asked, apparently forgetting her pout.
I looked up at the living canopy arching high above us. “When I was young and we were all living at home. Those were good years.”
“You mean with all your brothers?” Zezilia asked.
Lowering my gaze to her face, I caught glimpses of a similar longing in the depths of her eyes.
“Selwyn should be at lunch,” Candra offered as she stepped between us. “He promised to bring over Zezilia’s horse this afternoon.”
“Your horse?” Zezilia nodded at my question, but avoided my eyes. For a moment, I was afraid I had somehow offended her. “Have I done something that needs apology again?” I asked. Mint infused my mouth. She lifted her eyes to mine as a wave of surprise came across the brief link between us before she broke it off. Shaking her head, she turned away to look at the trail passing beneath her feet. Before I could try again, Candra was tugging on my arm.
“Selwyn is giving me a horse too. He says he has one picked out for me already. Her name is Sprite and she was born in the spring. Did you have a horse of your own when you were growing up?”
“No. We all had to share one. That poor horse.” I smiled at the memories. “Just imagine one horse and seven boys. By the time I was old enough to ride, he was so slow I could walk faster than him.”
“Galatea already has a horse. She rides it when her beau comes calling every week. They go out riding with Delmar as chaperone.”
“So, little Teaia has a beau. My, she must be getting tall.”
“She is taller than Zez,” Candra offered thoughtfully.
“Is she still infatuated with me?”
Candra laughed. “Oh, no, she loves Korneli.”
I felt my eyebrows rise involuntarily. “I am assuming that her beau’s name isn’t Korneli.”
“His name is Tyre. No, she loves the Korneli that came to test Zez before you.”
I couldn’t help the laugh. It came out short and abrupt, but I cut it off quickly. It was wrong to laugh at the child’s heartache. But I couldn’t help envisioning Korneli’s face when I told him this news. Tears came to my eyes with the effort of not laughing.
“She moons about all day talking about Korneli. Then when Tyre comes, she brushes her hair, washes her face, puts on a huge smile, and plays happy for him.”
“Then why does she see Tyre?”
“Because Father says she has to or he will ban Korneli from coming.”
“I see.” I glanced over at Zez. Her eyes remained on the road. “I am sorry if I did something to offend.”
“You didn’t,” she replied without acknowledging my presence physically. Something was wrong, but apparently she wasn’t going to tell me what.
Zezilia
IT TOOK AN ETERNITY for the house to come into view. The whole while, the Sept Son continued glancing my way as he kept up with Candra’s chatter. I purposefully avoided his eyes. Something was wrong and I wasn’t sure what it was, but the feeling increased tenfold when our eyes met. My heart thrilled at the sight of the cottage just beyond the kitchen garden
