The smell of flowers thickened the air.
Sanna tilted her nose back, startled by the fragrance. Flowers this time of year?
Luteis, are there flowers here?
Yes.
What colors?
Blue, orange, and yellow.
Those are Mam’s favorite, I think. The smell is familiar. Like citrus and honeysuckle.
What a fortunate coincidence.
Unlikely to be a coincidence at all, but Sanna didn’t voice that. Mam, or someone else, must have used magic to make the flowers bloom.
The sound of giggling children, and a cry from farther away, bounced off the close spaces of the lower floor where Mam and Sanna lived. Sanna shrank back into the hallway, away from the chaos. She counted at least four voices, but there could have been more. More than five and it became too overwhelming to keep track.
Luteis couldn’t follow her in here, and he didn’t like peeping in through the windows. In fact, no one liked a giant dragon squinting at them. Which only made it more difficult to understand what she didn’t see in the room.
These old houses in the Dragonmaster village, at the base of the Circle of the Ancients, had been a quick, safe refuge when they needed it the most. The remaining Dragonmasters had fled from burned Anguis and set up a new community here, one that made it easy for Elliot and Mam to merge lives. Elliot and his children lived just next door, so Mam didn’t have far to go.
Which meant Sanna could stay here in this big house. Technically, it gave her what she wanted most. A place to live.
Except, not really with her dragon. Nor with her desired privacy. She didn’t want to live right next to other witches who would intimately know her daily routines. Mostly, she didn’t want to need them.
She craved the freedom of her own place. The ability to do what she wanted with it, piece it together. The walls would be shorter, not quite this tall, as she didn’t need a lot of space.
Only a couple of weeks had passed since her sight completely disappeared, which meant that the hope of living alone might be asking too much.
Did she know how?
Had she adapted enough to her changing sight to be alone?
Weeks or not, it felt like an age.
Isadora’s plea to her to consider learning from another blind witch continued to ring through her mind. Not a bad idea, certainly. But it would require her to go into the Network. Unless the witch would come here?
No. Elliot wouldn’t like that. Neither would Mam. They wouldn’t want others to know they lived here, even if the witch wasn’t a threat. Besides, could blind witches transport? How long would it take a witch to arrive here by walking? Someone would have to escort them . . .
Sanna shook her head.
Too many questions.
Hand ahead of her, she stepped toward the staircase on her right. Her right hand found the wall before her left found the banister. She walked up, toward Mam’s room. At the top, she called out.
“Mam?”
A door breezed open to her left with a stirring of air. Sanna turned toward it. Mam spoke, her voice thick with tears.
“Sanna?”
Arms wrapped her. Sanna jolted, not expecting it, but didn’t pull away. Mam gave a little cry into Sanna’s shoulder.
Awkwardly, Sanna patted her back.
“Mam?”
“I’m sorry. I’m just . . . I’m emotional today. Come inside. Isadora just wrote. She should be here any moment now.”
Mam grabbed Sanna’s wrist and tugged her in. She stumbled to a stop, momentarily disoriented until she could find the wall on her side. The rustle of a dress followed. When Mam spoke, she sounded quieter.
“What’s wrong?” Sanna asked.
Mam sniffled. “I miss your Daid, that’s all.”
“Daid?”
“Isn’t that strange?” Mam laughed, a breathy bundle of tight, strung-out nerves. “I’m handfasting another man, yet I can’t stop thinking about Rian. I just . . . I miss him.”
“Me too.”
“He would have wanted this, I think. Elliot is a good man, and it’s not like we plan on having children. I’m beyond that now and with his four and the three that Adelina left behind, we already have so many mouths to feed. This is companionship and survival and . . . I’m not so afraid when Elliot is with me.”
The conviction in Mam’s voice struck a deep chord. Sanna sobered, washing away her frustrations. Her fears. Because of Luteis, she never thought of what it must be like for Mam to live without Daid on a day-to-day basis.
“Mam, I’m sorry that I left the other day.”
“Oh, I expected that,” Mam drawled wryly. “I’m always upsetting you, Sanna.”
Sanna hid a wince. She deserved that.
“I’m happy for you and Elliot.”
“Are you?”
The uncertain question also made her wince, but perhaps she deserved that, too. “Yes, I truly am. I’m sorry that I didn’t act like it at first. It just . . . it surprised me, that’s all. I don’t want you to be alone and I want you to be safe. Elliot is a good man. He was like a daid to me after Daid died. Both of you are grieving. It . . . makes sense, as you said.”
A warm hand came to her cheek. Sanna leaned into it.
“I know, amo. There has been so much change for you. My hope is . . . at least . . . this is one thing that might help you?”
Sanna kept her body from stiffening by sheer willpower. Would their handfasting help her? She could see why Mam might think so. If Mam lived with Elliot, Sanna could stay in this house by herself, close to others that might help her.
She could.
But that wouldn’t take her away from the constant whispers. The questions. The awkward silences when she walked into a room and no one knew what to say. Or if one of Elliot’s children grabbed her arm in an attempt to help her when she didn’t need it.
There was too much history behind all of them for her to stay here. To them, she was a fallen Sanna of the forest. The one who used to run on the branches and understood the dragons. She had once been a leader.
Now?
She needed something new.
Fresh.
Hers.
Yet, she couldn’t tell Mam that. Not today, on her handfasting day.
“Mam, you’re doing the right thing.”
A clear voice came from the doorway. “Yes, you are.”
Sanna whirled, grateful Isadora had arrived. She wished only that she could see her. Did she dress up for this day? Had Maximillion bought her new gowns befitting an Ambassador’s wife? Isadora approached, slipped her hand in Sanna’s. Mam let out a peep of a sob.
“Happy tears!” she insisted, hugging them both. “These are happy tears.”
“Of course they are, Mam,” Isadora said with a little laugh. “We all miss Daid, but we’re happy for you and Elliot. Daid would approve. This will be so much better for all of us in many ways. Sanna and I are here for you through all of it.”
Isadora pulled Sanna closer, her fingertips digging into Sanna’s side. Sanna leaned into her sister’s firm hold, not sure of who held up who.
A long minute later, Isadora pulled back. “Now, let’s get you handfasted and have a little party! I might have been snooping, but I thought I saw a Leto nut cake down there and I. am. starving. Also, Max sent a few treats as a congratulation. I think you all will be pleasantly surprised.”
* * *
Twenty minutes later, Isadora squeezed Sanna’s hand. “Mam is lovely, standing next to Elliot,” she whispered in her ear. “He has his best clothes on—they’re still quite patchy, but you can tell he tried—and what little hair he has left is brushed to the side. It’s horrible, Sanna. Truly.”
A giggle interrupted her. Sanna rolled her lips to keep from laughing as Isadora tightened her hold on Sanna’s fingers.
“You would die laughing if you saw it, but don’t tell anyone I said so. He looks so proud. Mam’s tears have dried up. She’s all smiles, and she seems quite content. Oh, they’re starting their promises. Elliot has taken both of Mam’s hands and he’s holding them so tight, his knuckles look white. I think he’s nervous. Oops! I better be quiet.”
According to Isadora, witches in the Network had another witch handfast them, instead of just doing it themselves the way the Dragonmasters did. Elliot spoke first, promising Mam protection, shelter, and companionship. His deep voice rang through the room.
Mam’s more demure, raspy voice followed with similar vows. They ended as quickly as his. Though simple, they were heartfelt.
Commotion broke on the other side of the room after a short pause. Elliot’s five children—only Lucey wasn’t present—and the three Parker kids whooped and cheered.
“Just kissing,” Isadora said with a laugh. “That’s all you’re missing.”
Kissing? Sanna fought back a wave of nausea. Gross. She didn’t want to think about Mam and Elliot that way. Isadora stood up, prompting Sanna to do the same, and everyone clapped lightly as the clomping of feet went by.
“Where are they going?” Sanna asked. Isadora kept their arms looped together as she half-twisted to look behind her.
“To throw the herb sachet out the door for good luck! Might as well wait in here. They’ll be back, and there’s not much to see.”
“Literally,” Sanna said dryly.
Isadora laughed.
Elliot’s children thundered after the happy couple, shouting. Above it, Sanna heard Mam laughing and calling out in response. Slowly, Isadora sat back down and Sanna followed. Relieved for a moment of quiet, Sanna tried to reorient to the room. Her hand reached out, feeling in front of her.
Nothing.
“Where is Max?”
“At work.”
A hint of shock filled Sanna’s voice. “He couldn’t make it for this?”
Isadora stiffened ever-so-slightly, though her tone remained light and unbothered. “Not with final Network negotiations around the Mansfeld Pact hitting a new crest. He sent a gift for them, but I didn’t ask him to attend. It seemed . . . like too big of an ask.”
Movement seemed to indicate motion, as if Isadora had waved a hand toward something.
“The gift is from his Assistant,” Isadora continued, a bit aimlessly. “It’s a beautiful bouquet of flowers from a hot house somewhere and a card. Mam’s favorite flowers, even.”
Ah.
So that explained the smell.
“He also sent some treats from a bakery. There’s not much sugar, but they managed to scrape together some sort of frosting that’s delicious.”
“That’s very kind.”
“I thought so, too.”
They fell back into silence as feet returned amidst peals of laughter and low, rolling chuckles. Somewhere in that mess, Jesse would be helping his siblings. She thought she heard his voice making a few commands, but ignored it. In the chaos, they hadn’t spoken yet. That was fine. With Mam’s motivations at the top of Sanna’s mind, she wasn’t sure she wanted to talk to Jesse right now.
A body lowered onto the chair at Sanna’s right and an arm squeezed her shoulders.
“Thank you,” Mam whispered, “for being here.”
A kiss pressed to Sanna’s temple followed, and Mam retreated again. Calls for food in the kitchen sent the plethora of noises back out the door. From the forest came a familiar sound of scales sliding across ground, fluttering, giant wings. Luteis’ serpentine voice followed.
Has the ceremony finished?
Yes, I believe Mam is feeding those who came.
“I better help Mam,” Isa said. “Do you want to come into the kitchen?”
“Not really.”
Isadora paused, hand still on Sanna’s. “What do you want, Sanna?”
My eyes back.
To see the forest, not just smell it.
My home.
“I don’t want to be here,” she said slowly. “Can I have a break? There’s . . . a lot of noise and . . . I’m overwhelmed.”
Isadora squeezed her fingers. “Go with Luteis. Take a break. I’ll help Mam and keep her occupied. Come back in an hour. Things will have settled by then.”
With relief, Sanna stood up.
“Two chairs,” Isadora called. “Take a right.”
Fumbling to find the backs of the chairs, Sanna worked her way slowly to what she presumed was the middle of the room. A cool rush of air led her to the right.
I’m here, little one.
Coming.
Hand ahead of her, Sanna stepped out of the house and into the forest, feeling the soft earth at her feet in relief. A rush of heat slid past. She reached out, touched the edge of a waiting wing, and followed him into the trees. Somehow, Mam’s handfasting threw into sharp relief exactly what Sanna wanted, and it wasn’t the Dragonmasters.
Once at Luteis’s side, his tail wrapped her wrist. She followed it, climbed carefully up his back, and settled at the juncture of his neck.
“Luteis, I know what I want.”
What is that?
“To build my own house in Letum Wood and live there with you. No more mumbling about it. We’re going to do it.”