Page 31 of Stranger's Choice
She smiled. “The land? No. The plants? Yes. No one dares touch my plants, though I will sometimes allow the younglings in so that I may teach them a few things.”
Sebin spotted a plant he knew and had a sudden idea. “Mewae, do you, by any chance, have samples of some of these plants dried?”
“Of course. Any that are worth drying, I have back in my shop.”
“You tend this garden and a shop?”
“My daughter runs the shop.”
“I think I might like to visit that shop after you finish my tour, but first I will need to learn the names of the herbs I want. If I can recognize them.”
“What do you wish the herbs for? Perhaps I can figure out which you want based on the use.”
“Tea. I want to brew myself a nice cup of herbal tea in the evenings.” He pointed at a bunch of chamomile flowers. They were not the plant that had first given him this idea, but he would have to be careful about pointing that one out. “That one, I know, makes a nice soothing tea.”
Mewae nodded and told him the Imperial name for the chamomile. Then she plucked a single flower and handed it to Sebin, so that he might simply show her daughter the plant he wanted.
Sebin made a show of looking around, then turned back to the plant that had first caught his attention. He went over and touched its leaves. “This one is . . .” He struggled for the right words. “Cooling. Refreshing? Good for an upset stomach?”
Mewae nodded slowly and pinched off a single leaf, handing it to him and saying its name.
She must know the plant’s other use. Sebin debated giving up on his ploy. He could ask Mewae for the other herbs put into a contraceptive tea—he only knew one other and did not know if he would spot it in her garden. Or he could stop with only one and hope he had not made her too suspicious. He could try to find the tea ingredients in the city and hope word didn’t reach the Emperor.
Sebin pointed out a few more herbs for his own tea. He wasn’t sure the herbs he recognized would blend to make a tasty drink, but that wasn’t the point. While he searched for the other plant he knew that went into contraceptive brews, and debated asking Mewae outright, he invited her to make her own suggestions.
Finally, he spotted the bunches of tiny white flowers he was looking for. He pointed. “What about that one? I think I’ve seen it back in Moial.”
Mewae hesitated before answering. “That is empress’s veil. It pairs well with thementahpeyou looked at earlier.”
She knew. Sebin met Mewae’s eyes and saw her assessing him. Reassessing her decision to trust him and help him with Rin.
He didn’t look away. “The Emperor knows immunity is a possibility now. She should not be left in a position where her every choice is taken away.”
Mewae stepped forward and grabbed the sprigs of herbs, flowers, and leaves in Sebin’s hands. “I will mix your teas myself. It will be better that way than getting the ingredients separately. I will put in a few of my own favorites as well. Come.”
Sebin followed her back to the village. He waited in the main room of the shop under Mewae’s daughter’s watchful eye while the mother went into a back room. She emerged only a few minutes later, three pouches in her hand.
She held up a red pouch. “This is tea for energizing.”
The green pouch, she told him, was tea for relaxing. And the blue pouch . . . Mewae held onto that one a bit longer than the others. “This tea is for upset stomachs.” She said the words carefully and quietly. “If you find that you often have an upset stomach, you should drink it once a day. One spoonful of the mix per cup only. No more than one cup a day.”
“Understood.” Sebin accepted the final pouch. “Thank you.”
The Emperor hadnot been pleased to hear that anywhere Sebin’s future intersected Marsone’s, Auraelie’s visions had been blocked. The next day, he had her deliver drinks to dozens of people. The fleeting moments of not-quite-contact drained her, as her power rushed out of her body and latched on to the futures of those connected to her through the metal of the goblets she gave them.
Every time, she saw snippets of gray, blankness her power could not penetrate. She wondered if Sebin truly caused the gaps in her visions, for they impacted too many people, in so many probable futures. But Sebin was the only person ever to evade her magic, and she had never seen the gray spots before he arrived. It was too much of a coincidence to think that something else was causing the block on her power.
She wouldn’t put it beyond him to impact so many people’s lives, either. He had done little at court so far, but she had the feeling that when he finally acted, the ripples would be huge. She wished she knew what he planned, though. It was for the best that he told her nothing she might have to hide from the Emperor, but she longed to know all the same.
Soon, Auraelie felt the toll from her power flowing out of her over and over. She could not cut it off, could not pull it back. Given the chance, her magic would continue to pour out until her life went with it. It was worst with the people so nervous about receiving that drink that they moved slowly, accepting it without snatching it from her hands.
Then the tips of Pianti’s fingers accidentally brushed against Auraelie’s.
The contact lasted a mere eye-blink. Auraelie stumbled back, gasping and shaking as innumerable futures slammed into her after her power rushed out.
Pianti stared at her, not even breathing. It took all of Auraelie’s will to turn and walk back to her spot behind the dais. Each step was an effort. It was a wonder she did not stumble into anyone as she went, for she could not see the floor beneath her feet, her mind still locked in the trove of images her magic had amassed during that fleeting touch.
Whatever blocked Auraelie’s visions, Pianti touched it closely. More than Auraelie would have expected, even given how much time Sebin had spent with her recently. If Sebin truly caused the gray spots, then he was more entangled in Pianti’s future than Auraelie liked. Not that she cared if he was entangled with Pianti. She didn’t. But she should have been able to tell. She spent all day and a portion of each night with him—when did he even have time to consort with the other woman?
