Page 51 of Board Games and Broomsticks

She was already out of the door before Elowen had finished putting on her coat, and when the elf joined her a few seconds later, she gave Nyssa a smile that stopped her heart. ‘Ready?’

‘Ready.’

Nyssa started walking in the direction of the forest, keeping her pace slow enough to allow Elowen to fall into step beside her. She’d left her broom at home today, needing the walk to and from town to clear her racing thoughts, and though she missed the chance to have Elowen behind her, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist, she was also grateful for the distance.

She still hadn’t told Elowen about having a confirmed date for her final test with The Coven of the Sacred Owl; she had wanted to, but after their kiss at the grove in Tŷ Canol, finding a way to explain that she might be returning to her coven had felt impossible. And even though now would be the perfect time to tell her, Nyssa found the words lodging in her throat when she saw how … happy the elf looked.

Nyssa didn’t want to ruin that. Not yet. Not if she didn’t have to.

And so instead, clearing her throat, Nyssa asked, ‘Do you think Liora will annoy Alaric to breaking point by the time we get back?’

Elowen chuckled. ‘I think it’s a good job Nyx stayed behind to chaperone. Deities know I needed the break.’

‘You must truly be fed up if you consider this a break.’ Nyssa gestured to the entrance of the woods that lay at the far end of the lake the cottage sat next to. The forest itself wrapped around the entire south side of Nighthaven, and if one followed the winding path that wove from the grounds of Hawthorne Cottage through the woods, you would eventually come out near the town entrance. It was a route Nyssa never chose, both because it took far longer than her usual one and because it held a far higher chance of being led astray by pixies if one didn’t keep their wits about them.

‘Well, if you forget the reason why we’re here, Nighthaven’s woods are rather peaceful. And the company isn’t so bad, either.’ Elowen gently nudged Nyssa’s shoulder with her own, and witches-dammit, Nyssa actually giggled.

Nyssa would have been embarrassed if it wasn’t for the pink tinge that her giggle brought to Elowen’s high cheekbones. If it made the elf look at her like that, with so much tenderness it made Nyssa’s heart feel like it was about to burst, then she’d giggle whenever Elowen asked it of her.

‘It is nice to be out here again,’ Nyssa replied. ‘I haven’t visited the centre of the forest since before my grandma passed.’

She’d walked on the forest outskirts to forage and ground herself, and she’d fallen into the grove near the cottage when they’d been attacked by that darn owl, but Nyssa hadn’t had a reason to venture too far inside. Whenever she’d thought about it – whenever her feet had begun to lead her towards the forest centre – the worry that she might find the places in her memory devoid of the charm they’d held when her grandma had been alive had caused her to turn in the other direction.

Now that she was here, though, it was like no time had passed. The trees in the forest proper were just as tall and vibrant as Nyssa remembered them, their leaves the same dusky oranges and mud-rich browns as the foliage in town. It didn’t hold quite the same magical quality as Tŷ Canol, but it was close.

‘It’s one of my favourite places in Nighthaven,’ admitted Elowen, tucking a strand of hair behind a pointed ear. ‘It reminds me of Tŷ Canol.’

Nyssa thought of her old coven quarters, of the longing for quiet nights spent in the coven library or afternoons in the greenhouse, and couldn’t help but ask, ‘Do you ever think about going back? Permanently, I mean?’ Just as she had in Tŷ Canol, Elowen looked so at home beneath the trees, her skin glowing, the green of her eyes more vibrant. As if simply being here, surrounded by nature, was feeding the very core of who she was.

‘I used to. Especially whenever I came here.’ Elowen gestured around at the thickening trees. ‘I’d still like to make up with my parents, and maybe one day I will, but Nighthaven is my home now. Everything I need is here, and … Elder Rhydian was right. Just because my path differs from my clan doesn’t make me any less of an elf.’

Nyssa wished she could feel the same certainty whenever she thought about the decision she’d have to make. Instead, her gut twisted, and she turned away from Elowen before the elf could ask Nyssa about her own plans.

‘There should be a spring up ahead.’ Nyssa was already walking in its direction. Elowen’s footsteps followed a second later, the crunch of leaves and acorns beneath her feet echoing through the otherwise silent forest as Nyssa rambled on. ‘My grandma always used to say a selkie lived in it, and that its waters were potent for spell work. Could be a good place to check out for the ritual.’

‘I know the place.’ From the slight flatness to Elowen’s voice, it was clear the elf knew Nyssa had purposefully put some distance between them, and it took everything Nyssa had not to stop and tell her about the new trial date and how conflicted she felt about it all. It will only hurt her.

Shoving aside her guilt, Nyssa instead focused on recalling the route. It had been over a decade since she’d walked it, and yet she remembered every turn in the trail, every tree stump her grandma would claim acted as a marker to a fairy ring. It felt so familiar that Nyssa could almost feel her grandmother walking beside her, basket hooked over her arm and the scent of her magic lingering on the breeze.

The sensation only grew stronger when they reached the spring. If Nyssa closed her eyes, she could see her grandma kneeling down beside the water, her hands cupped as she thanked the spring for its offering. The urge to follow in her footsteps had Nyssa kneeling at the edge of the small, bubbling pool and staring down into the crystal-clear water below. The forest floor here was mossy and spongy against Nyssa’s knees, and the leaves on the trees surrounding the circular spring were still lush and green despite the season. Fireflies danced across its surface, their light reflected in the water like a dozen tiny, golden stars.

‘The earth here is powerful,’ Elowen commented, lowering to her knees beside Nyssa and pressing her palms to the ground. The moss seemed to shimmer at her touch, its hue somehow becoming even brighter as the elf closed her eyes and asked, ‘Do you feel it?’

Nyssa did. Not just in the earth, but in the air. And she knew even before she dipped her hands into the spring that she’d feel it in the water, too.

Her own magic felt different just from being here. More awake. More alive. Nyssa bowed her head towards the spring’s surface, and although she wouldn’t be taking a sample today, she whispered a small thank you to it anyway.

She was just about to pull her hands out of the water when something moved beneath the surface. The faintest ripple, followed by a blur of green, white and grey moving towards the spring’s edge.

The selkie.

Its head emerged a half-second after Nyssa removed her hands, only stopping when the water reached its chin. Green, seaweed-like strands of hair floated around an angular face with skin that shimmered, scale-like, and its wide, pupilless black eyes stared unblinkingly at Nyssa.

‘Hello, kin of Lisabeth.’ Its voice was childlike and somehow held the faintest echo, a slight refraction like the glint of sunlight on a stream. Beside Nyssa, Elowen let out a small, awed breath.

‘Hello, kin of water.’ Nyssa had never met a selkie before, but she knew from her grandmother’s teachings that they were a member of the fae, and that treating them with politeness and respect was of utmost importance.

‘She is no longer with you,’ the selkie said, gaze drifting to a spot just over Nyssa’s shoulder, ‘at least, not in body.’