It’s #bookqw and ‘nothing’ Fern can do will help save the magical island.
Excerpt from Chapter 8:
She blew out a breath. “Why are they making it so hard? If the isle is in a crisis, you’d think they’d just open the doors.”
Beri shrugged a shoulder to his freckled cheek. “Merlin says the old ways are hard to break. He and others argue to relax certain rules, while some fight to keep them. ‘We’ve always done it this way’ is their mantra. ’Tis improving. The process was shortened for the new wizards.”
Gran had implied they didn’t have to be wizards—’Tis clear you’ve inherited the touch, and tha’ is enough—just people working on the land.
“I’m missing a connection here, that maybe Lady Lark forgot to tell me,” she said, not even trying to cover her ignorance. “We—or I, since it’s my trial—needed to replant to pass inspection to keep the Meadows. My wildflowers have flourished, but where does the energy come from?”
Beri side-glanced at her, and Fern knew Gran’s omission was huge. “Maybe ’tis nae the same where you come from, but working with the plants and wildlife on this land creates magic. Plants supply the most, being directly in the soil. The energy can be drawn off for personal use, but a portion stays with the land, used by the enclave for our protection.”
Yeah, huge. Fern hugged her knees and made herself ask, “Is anyone else conducting a trial in the Meadows?”
“Several of us.”
“But—” This land is Gran’s! She nearly blurted it. Anything she said now wouldn’t come out right. She rose and turned away when she couldn’t keep her eyes from welling up. If Beri and other wizards passed their trials in the Meadows, then they might be given charge of their family land, the land Fern often now considered hers. The thought was like a thorn stabbing her heart.
She liked it better when she didn’t know everything about this island.
“You have to understand,” Beri said, rising, “that every one of us is doing all we can to ensure that Giuthas and the pine groves thrive. The decisions will be hard, but they will work out for the best.”
Fern dashed her fingertips across her eyes. Her hands tingled. And he was watching. Would nothing go right this weekend? “I get it.” Gran. She had to talk to Gran. No, she had to finish their projects. It was up to her to put things very right, as Gran had said.
~~~
Thanks for reading!
The Witch of the Meadows is available to buy on Amazon. Or read free with your Kindle Unlimited subscription.
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