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“Good. Reivaka has told me how you behave around trees.”

He glances at her. She takes a comfortable mouthful of tea.

I put my cup down and go to him.

We take the garden path beneath the first bronze leaves. He keeps my hand in his until the Heartwood disappears behind the branches. Then he turns, catches me around the waist and lifts me to the broad curve of a root, where I can reach his mouth without pulling him down.

I laugh against his lips.

“Was this what you found?”

“I thought you might like the height.”

“I do.”

A white flower opens beside my hand. I touch its petals, then slide my fingers behind his neck and draw him close again.

“Show me what else you had in mind.”

He smiles, and the branches fill with flowers.