Marjoram follows after the gardener, lowering her head. No, no. Oh, no no no no. You are a queen. You should not be bowing to me. That cannot end in a good place. “Please raise your heads, both of you. You shouldn’t be bowing to me.”

They both raise their heads. I don’t like the look in either of their eyes. Marjoram’s is calculating but I expected that. After all, a noble’s a noble. Their job is to exploit every resource they can, hopefully for the benefit of their people.

Fiona is the one making me uncomfortable. Her eyes are too wide and her lips are slightly parted as if she’s searching for words just out of reach. She looks a little star-struck. Like someone who’s just witnessed a saintly miracle. Which, technically, if I think about it, she has. She thinks I have some blessing from her sacred tree. I’m the equivalent of an elven saint.

Saints, the real ones, save me.

I get to my feet and they follow suit. My gaze goes across the field and the heart I don’t have sinks when I notice that the robed casters who had attended the ceremony are still present, looking defensive. Did they see? We were grouped in close to Kierra so our backs should have obscured most of what happened. Ugh. Can I escape? Will they even let me escape?

“You’re worried.”

I look back at Marjoram who is smiling softly. “There is no need to be afraid, Lou. The ceremony has been completed, albeit a bit differently than usual. That makes you family. My family does not need to fear me.”

“I…see.” The smile only has a bit of an edge to it. I feel myself relaxing mainly because I want to relax. “What I just did…that’s a secret. I’d like it to stay that way.”

“I see no reason why it shouldn’t. Isn’t that right, Fiona?”

The gardener nods hastily. “Your secret will be safe with me, holy one.”

“Good. Then shall we go find my niece and my sister? If we hurry, we can catch them while they’re still torturing the man. Criminals should be put on trial, even if we are simply going to execute them.”

“Right.” I follow after Marjoram as she starts across the field, coming up beside her with Fiona trailing along behind me.

“I don’t see why you’re so tense, Lou.”

I jump. Is she fishing for information? What more does she need to know? She just watched me pull an elven heart out of my chest, not that I could tell any difference between it and a human one, and not die. “It’s just, someone who can do what I can do is very rare. Dangerously so.”

“Indeed. I have never seen a physical affinity of that strength, especially in a human.”

…eh?

Did she just say the physical affinity?

“To repair an organ so quickly. I’ve never seen a healer use your methods before but it was quite effective. Dangerous is correct. Someone with your talent is invaluable.”

The saints, no. Cosmo, you glorious elemental! I’m erecting a personal shrine to you wherever I go. This is what I get for trusting in myself. When I think about it, it’s not that surprising. No one’s going to immediately jump to the conclusion that I’m part elemental. To them, what I can do might just look like someone skilled with the physical affinity.

Cosmo, I know I threatened to slap you if we ever meet again but I swear, I will kiss you.

“Thank you for understanding,” I say meekly. “I’ve been hiding what I can do. My father is a noble and he wouldn’t hesitate to try and use me for his agenda.”

“Then why do you want to go back to the human continent? If you were to stay in the Violet Dusk Province—”

“Forgive me for interrupting you, Your Grace, but I must return home. It is not just for my family. I have a place waiting for me at the Grand Hall.”

Her gaze narrows with respect. As I thought, even on another continent, the Grand Hall’s name rings out. Humans may not be the most gifted but we sure are persistent and we’ve made incredible discoveries. Our master casters can stand toe-to-toe with any of the races.

“That is something worth returning for. We have our own schools but it would be more productive for a human to study under human teachers.” Shouting in the distance makes me look up to see Kierra and Morgene dragging a bleeding Rondel between them. Marjoram looks over to me. “I look forward to what you will become, Lourianne Tome.”

-

Later that night, we’re back in Morgene’s tree. The original plan was to head out right after the ceremony but in light of the circumstances, everyone decided it would be best if we rested another night. Kierra looks completely healed but her mother, in a rare and completely unexpected show of maternal hovering, insisted that she rest a night just to be sure.

I’m lying on the large bed in the upstairs bedroom when Kierra comes up the ladder. We’ve both changed out of the white robes used for the ceremony into the more common leather and furs the elves favor. She stalks up to me with an expression I haven’t seen before. I sit up as she kneels at the side of the bed. “What’s wrong?”

“…I just had a chat with my queen.” Kierra reaches out and grabs my hand, kissing the back of it. “She told me everything that happened. You saved my life, dedia.”

I thought they were going to keep that to themselves? Ah, I guess Kierra would be the exception if there ever was one. Still don’t trust that gardener, Fiona. “You heard about that, huh?”

“You pulled out your heart and gave it to me, just like the Great Savior that inhabits the Sacred Tree. Though technically, it was my own heart. Or was it?”

“It wasn’t. But your aunt doesn’t know that.”

She grins up at me. “She seems to think you have a pure physical affinity. I said nothing to correct that notion. I’m glad that was the proper course of action.”

“What about Rondel?”

Her smile turns into a scowl as she climbs onto the bed beside me. “I came upon my mother just as she was about to slay him. My appearance kept her from killing him and she kept me from killing him. He will be tried by the queen and executed in the most painful way possible. The craziest thing? He kept screaming about how I betrayed him to the very end.”

Bastard. Wish I could have had a turn with him too.

…think I might have spent too long as a troll. I can feel that explosive anger I utilized in the morning brawls creeping up on me. Probably shouldn’t be in the same room with that guy. Killing wolves and trolls are one thing, but elves? They look human. That’s a little too much deviancy, even for me.

Kierra hums as she puts a hand in my hair, raking her nails across my scalp in her usual way. “Never mind. He is meaningless to us now. Tomorrow is a new day when we begin our lives together. I’m looking forward to it.”

“I’d drink to that,” I mumble, moving closer to her. I almost lost this. That is driven home to me but instead of being terrifying, it’s invigorating. Because I saved her. I saved this. I deserve it.

And I’m not losing it without a fight.

“Goodnight, dedia.”