“It’s all Mama and Adelaide. They cleared all the weeds, planted the seeds. Mama cast some clever spells, and, well, now it’s flourishing.”
“So why do you sound upset about it?” Draven asked.
“Did you want to bring Georgie here?” I asked abruptly.
“What?” Draven shot me a confused look.
“Did you want to leave your old life behind and bring Georgie here? Did you want that for yourself?”
Draven ran a hand through his hair. “No,” he said finally. “I didn’t. I liked my life. I liked creating powerful spells, living in the capital.”
So he did work for Witch Superior. That answer confirmed it.
“But I brought her here because it was best for her.”
I wondered if he truly believed that or if Helena was right and he’d just done it to get Georgie away from the vampire and their grandmother. When he talked about Georgie, it didn’t seem like he spoke with any kind of ulterior motive or jealousy. He spoke with tenderness, with love. It was in these moments that I was most confused, that I had a hard time believing Helena’s story to be true. But it still wouldn’t make sense why she’d lie about such a thing.
“Well,” I said, “I don’t think this place is what’s best for my family. But they’re all acting like we’re going to be here forever. We have a business. We have our cart. Our potions. We were never supposed to be here forever.” My hands clenched into fists by my side.
We both ducked under a vine that hung from a branch, then rounded a knotted tree, the trunk thick and twisted.
“And why do you think this place isn’t what’s best for you?”
I squeezed my eyes shut. I’d said too much. “Because we’re nomads. We always have been.”
“Does that mean you always have to be?” he asked.
“You don’t understand.” He couldn’t, not without all the information.
“Maybe not,” Draven said softly. “But I know what it’s like for life to change suddenly, to have to adapt to a new normal.”
“And do you like your life here now? Has anything changed?”
He paused. “Yes and no. I do miss the excitement of creating spells that would make a difference in the world. I miss the excitement of helping others. But I need to create a safe, stable home for Georgie.”
He must’ve been a spell caster then. They often worked to make spells for Witch Superior, spells that could help with any number of things in the witch world. Those spells were guarded closely, not the kind that would ever be released to the public.
“But you’re making a difference here,” I said.
He scoffed. “Right. With my flying mugs that almost kill people?” He raised an eyebrow, and I laughed.
“You’re running a tavern that creates community. That brings people together. Every time I’ve come into the tavern, all I’ve felt was joy from the people there. You don’t have to wield all that power to make a difference.”
He paused and turned. “I never thought of it that way.”
I shrugged, and we continued walking. “That’s what I always told myself about our potions. That we made a difference to each person that stopped by our cart, even if we weren’t changing the entire world.”
“Is that what you want for yourself?” he asked. “To make potions?”
I’d never been asked that question. Not even by Johanes. He assumed I just wanted to be his wife, follow him wherever he’d go. Truthfully I’d never thought about it. My only focus was on our survival, on keeping my family in the Witchlands where we belonged. I had no big dreams for myself. No grand goals.
“I always dreamed of going to the Institute and studying herbal remedies,” I said.
He stayed quiet, so I went on.
“I liked the idea of growing herbs, using them to make something that could heal a wound or ease a cough.” I shrugged.
“You didn’t attend the Institute?” he asked, and I winced, once again chiding myself for revealing too much.
