“It truly is.” Iris studied Rosavyn more carefully, struck by an unexpected sense of kinship. She feltseen, much like she had during her conversation with Lucie in the tea house garden. It was curious that she should feel this with someone like Rosavyn—full-blooded fae from one of the most distinguished families in the United Fae Isles. “But why would society find fault with you?”
Rosavyn sighed. “I have not manifested yet. That is why I’m still ‘Miss’ Rosavyn rather than ‘Lady’ Rosavyn. A little humiliating at my age, though Grandmother insists it will happen when the time is right.”
“How old are you?” Iris asked before she could consider the impropriety of such a direct question.
“Eighteen,” Rosavyn answered, not seeming to mind.
“But that’s hardly too late,” Iris said gently. “I’m nineteen, and my magic only revealed itself a few months ago.”
Rosavyn gave her a small, rueful smile. “That’s kind of you to say, but it’s different for someone like you. No one has established expectations for half-fae manifestation—the very fact that you have magic is considered remarkable. For full-blooded fae, the patterns are well-documented. Most begin to show signs by seventeen, some even earlier. With each passing month, I become a ‘less desirable prospect.’ By nineteen, I’ll be practically unmarriageable if I haven’t manifested.”
“Surely not.”
“Well, perhaps not by nineteen. But certainly by twenty years of age.”
Iris shook her head, struck by the absurdity of it all. Here sat Rosavyn—beautiful, lively, and from one of the most prestigious families in the United Fae Isles—yet society considered her somehow lacking because her magic had not yet revealed itself. While Iris, with her mixed heritage and “useless” magic, had been elevated to “Lady” simply because she could enchant paper. “The rules do seem rather arbitrary,” she observed.
“Completely nonsensical,” Rosavyn agreed emphatically. “But enough about my magical shortcomings. Tell me about the apprenticeship! Is it as boring as I’ve always imagined it might be?”
Iris laughed. “Well, I’ve only been there half a day and already your brother’sextremedisapproval ensured it was notdull. He found my presence in ‘his’ study utterly intolerable and made no effort to hide his belief that I’m completely unsuitable for the position.”
Rosavyn rolled her eyes. “Of course. He’s been after Grandmother for years to choose an apprentice, but I’m certain he expected her to select someone proper and predictable and utterly boring.” Her eyes twinkled. “How delightful that she chose you instead.”
“You don’t mind?” Iris asked hesitantly. “That she selected an outsider rather than … well, someone from your own family?”
“Mind?” Rosavyn laughed. “No, of course not! We’ve always known it would not be one of us. Grandmother informed us of that when we were all quite young. Besides, Grandmother has always done precisely as she pleased. It’s one of the things I admire most about her.”
A comfortable silence fell between them, broken only by the gentle chiming of the bell flowers and the distant murmur of the party they’d both escaped. Iris found herself studying Rosavyn’s open, animated face, marveling at how different she was from her stern, controlled brother.
“You’re nothing like him,” she said finally. “Lord Jasvian, I mean.”
“Thank the stars for that! Can you imaginetwoof him? Bloomhaven would collapse under the weight of all that propriety.”
Iris laughed. “He does seem rather … intense.”
“That’s a charitable description,” Rosavyn said, thought there was genuine affection in her voice despite her teasing. She sighed and added, “I should probably return to the party before Mother sends out a search party.”
“I suppose the same goes for me,” Iris admitted as the two of them rose reluctantly from the ground.
“But I’m so glad we had this chance to meet properly. Perhaps we might see each other again soon? Perhaps a promenade through Elderbloom Park that doesn’t involve me sprinting in the opposite direction?”
“I’d like that very much,” Iris said, surprised by how sincerely she meant it.
Rosavyn beamed. “Excellent! Then it’s settled. Friends?”
“Friends,” Iris agreed, the word warming her from within.
It was only as they walked away from the clearing that the thought struck her—with no small amount of dread—that a friendship with a Rowanwood would undoubtedly mean she’d find herself more frequently in the presence of the ever-disapproving Lord Jasvian.
Chapter Fourteen
Iris lifteda sprig of lavender to her nose, inhaling deeply and closing her eyes to fully appreciate the delicate floral scent. She set it down beside the small pile of herbs and tea leaves spread across her desk, then reached for a spoonful of dried chamomile. A faint herbal sweetness tickled her senses as she leaned in to capture the aroma.
“Notes of apple,” she murmured to herself as she scribbled the observation on one of the loose sheets of paper scattered across her workspace. “And … something earthy?” The tip of her self-inking quill danced across the paper as she continued writing. One of the small advantages of having manifested magic was that her own power flowed into a quill when she used it, meaning she never had to dip it into an inkwell. Even if her magic was, as Lord Jasvian had so charmingly put it, ‘useless,’ at least it spared her the inconvenience of splattered surfaces and overturned inkwells.
It was Iris’s fourth morning at the tea house, and after spending the previous two days in the kitchen with Lissian and Saffron—who, it seemed, was calledMamaSaffron by almost everyone—and observing the main floor, she’d been instructed by Lady Rivenna the previous afternoon to begin this morning inthe study. She’d been at her desk for nearly an hour, cataloging the characteristics of The Charmed Leaf’s extensive collection of tea ingredients.
So far, she was enjoying this sensory exploration more than she’d expected. And if she was being entirely honest with herself, the peaceful solitude of the early morning study offered a welcome respite from the curious stares and whispered comments that followed her everywhere else in Bloomhaven.
