It’s love.
It’slife.
And I’m finally ready to live it.
CHAPTER 21
CLARA
The morning sun creeps over the treetops like it’s still making up its mind.
But I’m already wide awake.
Heart racing. Stomach twisted. Palms damp with nerves.
There’s a hearing scheduled on the main lawn—Magical Environmental Board presence confirmed, full documentation review on deck. Official. Public. And completely out of my comfort zone.
But I can’t sit back and watch them erase what we’ve fought for. Whatheis.
So I run my thumb over the edge of my dad’s old field notebook for luck, square my shoulders, and knock on the first door.
“Julie?”
She answers with sleep still clinging to her eyes and a coffee mug that says Plant More, Worry Less.
I don’t even let her sip.
“I need you to speak at the Grove hearing.”
She blinks. “Now?”
“Please.”
Her brow furrows. “You okay?”
“I just… I need people toseewhat we’ve built. What’s here.”
Julie glances over her shoulder, then nods. “Give me five minutes and a clean shirt.”
Next, I find Callie sorting seed trays behind the greenhouse. She’s mid-count and halfway through a conversation with a butterfly perched on her braid.
“Clara,” she says with a smile. “You look like a mission.”
“I need your voice.”
She tilts her head. “About?”
“The Grove. Its integration potential. The way it’s evolved with my dad’s methods. With mine.”
Her smile widens. “You want me to wax poetic about dirt and harmony in front of people in robes?”
“Yes,” I say, dead serious.
She sets down her tray. “Then I’m in.”
Last stop is Hazel.
She’s already in the clearing near the stone ring, chalking wards into the grass with her usual mix of mischief and concentration. Her hair’s pulled into twin buns, and she’s got a toad nestled in her side pocket.
