Find my fun? What on earth did that even mean? I didn’t have time to waste on silly games. I had species to discover and work to do or I’d never make dean and my mother would never let me forget it.
While my mother was harsh, I owed my success to her. In fact, I owed everything to her. She’d brought me to the university from the time I was an infant, exposing me to research and science since the day I was born. When she read to me, it was purely academic texts. My toys? Accurately scaled figurines of wildlife. And I’m almost positive my first words were ‘grant proposal.’
Everyone knew my mother. Dr. Anya Thornheart, world-renowned beastologist. Dean, then eventual headmaster of the prestigious Silverleaf Institute of Magic for over twenty years. Discoverer ofaebifma mantelia, a species of frog whose mucosal glands secreted a powerful substance used to create a cure for arthritis.
I leaned against a tree and closed my eyes, listening to a distant waterfall and the cries of tropical birds high in the trees. I would never reach that level of notoriety, never carry on my mother’s legacy.
“Are you feeling all right, CeCe?” Emberly asked, approaching.
I opened my eyes. “Yes, of course. Why do you ask?”
My friend gave me a warm smile. “You just looked deep in thought.” She nudged my shoulder and held out a canteen. “Water?”
“Thank you.” I took it and drank before handing it back. “How are you feeling about being away from your wife for so long?”
Emberly let out a sigh. “I miss Rosamund already and I know she misses me. It’s going to be tough. We haven’t been separated for this long before.”
Rosamund and Emberly were the only friends I really had. The only ones who didn’t balk at my penchant for orderliness or almost obsessive need to work. Who loved and supported me. And they were the only ones who I’d ever opened up to about my fears and struggles, something I preferred not to talk about. Those women were the sole people in my life who knew absolutely everything about me and had never judged me once.
“I’m sorry. I miss her too. If you need to vent to me, you know you can,” I offered.
Emberly squeezed my hand. “Thank you, love. How are you getting on with Doctor Flirt?”
“It was refreshing to see his enthusiasm with that insect and our students…But other than that, he grates on my nerves. You know what he told me?”
“What?” Emberly gave me an amused look.
“He said since I don’t know how to have fun, he was going to help me with that. He was going to help me ‘find my fun’ or some nonsense.” I scoffed. “Can you believe that man?”
Emberly waved a hand. “I think that’s a fantastic idea.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Absolutely. I already told you this trip will be good for you. I think Liam will be good for you too. He will challenge you to let loose and enjoy yourself.”
I glanced around the group. Liam was in the middle of a lively conversation with the graduate students, showing them a large blue butterfly resting on a nearby vine. He caught my eye and gave me a ravishing grin, then turned back to his discussion.
“You know,” Emberly said, following my gaze. “Doctor Pendragon is quite good-looking. And friendly. And after that terrible relationship you had with Ambrose, maybe you need to open yourself to other possibilities.”
I whipped my head to my friend. “What? You’re joking.”
“Not at all.”
“I stay away from men like him. He’s entirely too rash and impulsive. Not interested.”
Emberly pushed off of the tree. “That’s exactly why you should consider it.”
She walked off, leaving me alone.
“Doctor Thornheart?”asked Sylvie as she pulled her horse next to mine. We were only a couple of hours away from our final destination and I was antsy to get down and stretch my legs.
“Yes, Sylvie?”
“I never got a chance to say, it’s an absolute honor to work with you.” Her blue eyes were bright, her honey brown curls bouncing as our horses stepped over a fallen log.
“Thank you.”
“Your mother. She’s—well she’s my idol, to be honest. Her work onaebifma manteliais unparalleled. I can’t stop thinking about what it must have been like for her to make such a life-changing—no, society-changing—wait, no—world-changing discovery. I mean…what was it like for you when that happened?”
