The day felt like it had been going on forever. Enough had definitely happened that I felt like I should look outside and see the last dying rays of the sun, if not outright darkness. I’d even broken out the wine already! Instead, the world was only just starting to get into the rhythm of a busy morning.

  Thankfully, there were small morning chores to help me ground myself and calm my emotions a little. I insisted that Alys let me handle breakfast so she could catch up with her family. Cooking was different with the group chattering in the background, but it wasn’t bad.

  If anything, it was strange. The hum of conversation brought to mind the times I had cooked with my parents, a memory with jagged edges that usually tore at me more than it soothed. Today, however, I found myself feeling deeply content. These odd new circumstances were giving me new memories. Somehow, their presence in my mind made the old memories not hurt quite so much.

  Everyone was quite taken by my cooking, too, which was nice. Granted, I did cheat by using the seasoning I’d made out of powdered wildefire fruit, setting aside small wildefire-free portions of each dish for myself and Soren. But any praise offered freely by The Molten Expanse had to count for something.

  Though… I wasn’t sure how to take some of Shaessath’s compliments. Particularly her ‘joking’ comment that I was so skilled at making food and drink, she just might steal me away and take me home with her, even if Alys refused to budge.

  Alys certainly saw this as reason enough to sit a bit closer to me and wind her tail around my waist, which Amara thought was adorable. Not that Alys’ mother seemed to need much reason to fuss over us.

  With my in-laws well fed, however, it was time for the day to begin officially… and my dragoness was stolen from me so quickly, it felt like she was gone in a blink. Amara scooped up both Alys and Soren as soon as the dishes were cleared. The next moment, they were off on a tour of the home Alys had built for us.

  The draconian mother would have dragged me along as well if not for my begging off. Alys’ mother was already fully on-board with mothering me, which was another point I didn’t quite know how to feel about. I didn’t need the three separate reminders to ‘bundle up before going outside’ she gave me prior to wandering off with Alys and Soren.

  I had a good reason for declining Amara’s invitation. That ‘good reason’ was the intense gaze of The Molten Expanse tracking my every move.

  I hadn’t forgotten her words about the bloodline purification conversation we still needed to have. I certainly didn’t want to test her patience, no matter how pleasant she had suddenly become towards me.

  “Ah… I was wondering if you would like to accompany me for a walk, since I have to check on something before I can head on over to my laboratory?” I was proud that I managed to speak with only the barest hint of trepidation shining through my voice.

  “You are asking me to go with you on a walk?” The dragoness arched a brow at me, looking amused rather than upset. “Hrm. Very well. I suppose I can, though I hope you are not wasting my time.”

  She stood, stretching her wings as she did so. I couldn’t hold back a small snort of my own amusement, which earned me another arched brow.

  I rushed to explain myself. “It still strikes me as odd, how similar you are to Alys. I understand she is your granddaughter, but your mannerisms, the way you talk, even small verbal tics… It is all so very similar.”

  “Hrm.” She snorted, making my lips wobble for a moment. She noticed, and I swear I saw a bit of a flush on The Molten Expanse’s cheeks. “It is only natural. I am her grandmother! Surely, you took after your own grandparents, too.”

  I hated to bring the mood down, but…

  “I am afraid I never met them.”

  The dragoness was visibly caught off-guard. “Truly? That is… unexpected. I would have thought fae knew more than a few generations of their ancestors.”

  “For most Noble families, that is likely true. Belladonnas tend to choose The Slumber more often than most. We’ve had startlingly frequent changes in family heads throughout our history, from what I understand.”

  She said nothing to that, though her expression became contemplative. I turned away and collected my coat, frowning at it a little since I still hadn’t found the chance to acquire a warmer one. I allowed myself to get distracted far, far too easily.

  Opening the door, I gave her a perfect little bow to go ahead, just as I’d been taught. It was reflexive, and I startled myself by doing it, but it made her laugh.

  “Well, child,” she chuckled as we set off. “You’ve got me out in the cold. What are you intending to ‘check on’ out here?”

  Despite her complaint, I felt enough heat radiating off of her that I wondered if I should have left my coat behind.

  “You were informed about the invaders,” I began. “And, unless I misunderstood your comment earlier, you also know how we dealt with them?”

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  “Roughly. You used poisonous plants, actual poison, and ambushes, correct? The elders were vague on what happened afterwards, but if my guesses are accurate, you then proceeded to steal the fools’ names and sent them back to their masters confused and terrified. Excellent work, that.”

  The praise struck me more profoundly than I thought it would. Probably because I knew that The Molten Expanse, of all people, had no reason to be insincere.

  “Thank you. That is what happened, yes. Along with… a bit of an extra ‘gift’ I sent along with the soldiers.” I had no idea why I felt the need to confess that, but I did. “Now, as to the purpose of this walk. During the clash, I grew a particular kind of tree called manchineel, which is… let us say, dangerous to be around.”

  “Explain.”

  That single-word command again, just as my dragoness liked to use it.

  Explain I did. I described the tree’s traits and the danger it posed to the vast majority of mortals. I even gave her a detailed explanation of the mutated stinging nettle I had deployed.

  “And once the soldiers were dealt with, you just left these plants alone?” the dragoness asked, exasperation in her voice.

  I sighed. “Not exactly. I might have delayed it by a week, but I was ready to destroy all of them. I did root out the nettle, in fact. The manchineels, as I discovered, had been… altered, while I wasn’t looking.”

  She didn’t like that. She didn’t like that at all, judging from the noises she made and the little gestures of her wings and tail I had learned to read from observing Alys. She doubly disliked what I had to say when I finally told her about the spirits, even though I was purposefully vague about the properties of the flower. I intended to show it off to her when we got to our destination.

  She didn’t, however, blame me. Her frustration seemed to be fully reserved for the spirits. She even listened patiently to my frustrated ramblings about the potential schemes the spirits might be trying to hatch and what it could all mean.

  “I simply don’t know whether any of this is good or bad, and I can’t even do anything to either spirit, anyway!” I huffed, feeling much, much better now that I’d had a chance to vent to someone. Particularly someone who not only was actually listening, but who also might be able to do something about the issue.

  I felt like a child running to their parent to complain. The comparison promptly stirred up a host of other emotions, which I promptly ignored.

  “Nature spirits can be difficult to deal with.” The Molten Expanse gave a rumbling growl of irritation. “If they are powerful enough, you can’t ever know if you’ve managed to burn them out. They can hide for decades or even centuries before resurfacing. You can’t guess at their intentions, either, since they can be some of the most benevolent or most malignant creatures around. All you can do is wait… or leave.”

  She added that last comment pointedly, once more hinting at her desire to take Alys and me away to her lair and hide us there. Frankly, I still felt some desire to agree, but I would never go behind Alys’ back to make plans for our future.

  “Well… I suppose the benefits are nice, at the very least,” I admitted with a scowl.

  “The benefits?”

  “With the change they’ve undergone, the tree’s leaves and fruit now have beneficial effects. And the flowers are something truly special. We are just coming up on the clearing now. I suspect you might understand more about their effect than I can.”

  Again, Shaessath said nothing, but she did start walking a little faster. It didn’t take us long to arrive at our destination. Vegetation suddenly gave way to the bare ground where I had unleashed my poison, giving us an unobstructed view of the mutated manchineel trees… as well as the one I’d grafted the flower to.

  By this point, the tree was fully transformed. The red patterns that adorned the flower now also fully covered the poisonous purple veins of the tree. The leaves positively glowed gold, shot through with those odd, natural symbols. The tree’s few fruits were pure gold in color, with not a symbol in sight, but they pulsed to my senses with the mana they contained.

  A few flowers had sprung up on the tree’s branches, too. In spite of the season, new fruits were starting to grow. The flowers hadn’t changed much in appearance, but the white portions of them looked purer now, for lack of a better word. The blush that adorned them was even more vibrant and pretty.

  The flower I’d grafted had undergone almost as significant a change. It was about twice as large and vibrant as it had been. And, unless I was sorely mistaken, I could see two spots on the manchineel’s poison veins where small shoots had broken through the bark, only just starting to develop. I hadn’t expected the flower to start propagating on its own, so the sight of these new shoots sent a thrum of pure excitement through my body.

  My reaction was nothing compared to Shaessath’s.

  She had frozen in place at the sight of the flower. Then, before I could say anything, she was beside the tree, moving faster than I could track. Only when her hand was raised and reaching for the flower did she force herself to stop, with visible effort.

  “This is the flower?” she asked, refusing to look away from it.

  “Correct. From what I can tell, it has some kind of bloodline purification effect on draconic creatures. It works for Alys, at least. She has one by her hoard chest, right next to where we sleep. I couldn’t find anything harmful about it, and trust me, I tried.”

  “It does have that effect. And more.” Shaessath breathed out in awe. “It is not harmful. I would be able to tell, but there is no sign of that. No, the flower is merely a wonder…”

  Her expression became gleeful as she stared at the shoots, eyeing them like they were most precious treasures. I suppose they were, actually.

  “And you have more than one now, you said?” she mused. “Three, from what I recall, with two more on the way.”

  “I thought I would have to separate and graft the flowers manually, but it appears they can propagate on their own,” I confirmed, more than a little satisfied myself. Not only did it mean less work for me, but I would have a larger supply of flowers to gift to Alys and use in various potions that could help her.

  Shaessath’s face positively lit up. “If we can get enough of these flowers…”

  “They are not particularly difficult to raise, not with my mana.” I hesitated. “I could force the issue and increase the number of flowers quickly, but it would be best to let them propagate naturally. The plants will be healthier, tougher, and more potent that way.”

  “Very well.” She nodded, though I could tell she was tempted to ask me to produce as many flowers as possible, as quickly as possible. “I have to say, this walk you invited me on has most definitely been worth it, child.”

  I beamed before I could stop myself, even as I panicked slightly. It was alarming how much The Molten Expanse’s approval was starting to matter to me, beyond the mere assurance of my continued survival.