In the days that followed their arrival at Applewood, Charlotte fell into something of a routine. Every day, she would meet with friends or acquaintances, attend luncheons with her mother and sister, or have tea with former schoolmates.

  Charlotte invited Micah to every single occasion, but after several of these social gatherings, he felt rather like a lame duck: unproductive, unwelcome, and otherwise ill-suited for the aristocratic trappings to which Charlotte was accustomed. From sitting at a tea table among gaggles of finely dressed and tittering Rypsy ladies to attempting conversation with strangers unfamiliar with the Black Sons and thus prone to staring at him, all while attempting to maintain the deception of her return from Carnel, proved difficult to say the least.

  She constantly apologized to him, telling him she was attempting to catch up with friends and her old life before they left, since it might be a while before she could come home again. He understood but requested that he be left to his own devices while she was engaged in her social activities. She pouted but relented in the end.

  Normally, such things wouldn’t have troubled Micah, and he would have been content to endure the full schedule with her, but Jasper’s constant presence unnerved him. He attended nearly every event she did, always by her side and demanding the bulk of her attention. The way he flirted with her, touched her, and generally presented himself as eager for her affections troubled Micah. Though, when he assessed the situation, he realized Charlotte’s blushing and happy responses to his advances disturbed him far more. He found that not being around them at all both helped and hindered the situation, and he longed for when the painful pressure in his chest would be gone.

  The day when they would leave Astenbury couldn’t arrive sooner.

  To distract himself, Micah resumed training in Cure Magic. While he was able to help Olivia in a different way, he planned on attending to the bulk of the quota assigned to him by Arabella for his new mission by using the forgotten art of crystal healing. There were so many people in lands of every kind that suffered from ailments, maladies, and injuries he might be able to treat if he advanced in the skill.

  And it turned out that Applewood possessed a rather well-equipped Arcana Lab, which he requested use of the moment Sophia happened to mention it in passing one morning. In a large room adjacent to the library was a full stock of every kind of provision he imagined could be useful for the study of magic, and many more he could not: spell books, chemist kits, seal tablets, full supplies of the three basic crystals, and a shelf of common potion ingredients, organized alphabetically in glass jars. Tables were lined in a semi-circle pattern, consisting of wide space and a sink to the side of each. The stone walls were enchanted to ignite lanterns when someone entered.

  Why the Goodsteels had an Arcana Lab, he couldn’t imagine. Only Charlotte would have been able to use it, and she probably couldn’t identify more than five objects in the room. But considering the family’s wealth, perhaps it simply existed as a status symbol. Regardless, Micah planned on making good use of it.

  After a few days of hard study and training, he made several breakthroughs. Using a Cure Stone, he was soon capable of closing large flesh wounds with no trace of a scar, albeit at the cost of a sizable portion of his spiritual energy. He also learned how to eradicate a few mild poisons from the bloodstream, ward off basic curses, and even heal burns.

  But even with so much to divert his attention, he constantly dwelled on Charlotte. It dawned on him that things were different. She was happy here, always eager in her latest pursuits, full of stories and gossip to tell him each time she returned to Applewood. She loved her home, her city. And Micah knew that leaving it again would be hard for her.

  Being with me would be hard.

  This thought consumed him whole, dragging all memory of their experiences together the past few months into a well of undrawable waters. The truth of the matter was that Charlotte was no longer in immediate danger. Micah had many enemies in Carnel, but none outside. Nathanial Vash had no authority or resources outside the country, and he wouldn’t dare try to find them on his own. And Marshall Kalem was no longer a threat.

  Even if more kidnappers came for her, this was her home. Naturally, she wouldn’t want to leave, but he planned on taking her away. These oppressive thoughts troubled him so much, it started to keep him up nights, and it distracted his focus during training, frustrating his advancement. By the fifth day since their arrival, he realized he was doing more harm than good, and decided to take a break from training, satisfied with his accomplishments thus far.

  After lunch provided by the quiet yet amicable head butler with the immense mustache whose name was Jaufery, Micah searched the library for something to read and picked several interesting titles. Hauling the books away, he let himself outside, turning the path around the mansion leading to the gardens.

  He had taken a walk through them with Allendale the other day in order to exchange their bits of information, and he found it pleasurable, perhaps more so than the Asterly Gardens. Though hardly as big, the walk among the trees and flower bushes featured an incredible scent. The cool, friendly winds of the land brushed through each tree, mixing musky pine with sweet apple, a welcome assault on his senses. He enjoyed the initial walk so much that he took at least one a day, alone or with Cal or Charlotte, depending on who was around.

  Halfway in a descent to a ravine where a brook trickled through thick brush, a wooden terrace had been constructed into the hill, overlooking the forest. A marble table was set up with several chairs and an umbrella. No one occupied it, so Micah sat down, kicked his feet up on another chair and dove into the first book, eager to temporarily disregard his constant ruminations of Charlotte.

  It wasn’t long, however, before he was interrupted. Hearing footsteps, he looked up to find Olivia traipse up the short steps to the terrace, her own nose buried in a book. The title read Blue Symphony by Sampson Daxon. Without bothering to look up, she reached her hand out to locate a chair and found the one his feet were resting upon. When the chair wouldn’t budge, she finally looked up and squeaked in fright.

  “Oh,” she said with relief. “It’s you.” Then her face turned red, and she quickly hid her book behind her back.

  “Am I using your chair?” he replied.

  “No,” she answered, looking away.

  Her face flushed redder with each second, and she frowned as if she were half-ready to cry. She didn’t sit, but she didn’t leave, either.

  “I didn’t take you for a fan of fiction,” he said.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  She looked up in horror. “What do you mean?”

  “Blue Symphony… that’s a romance novel, isn’t it?”

  “Oh… oh, this?” She brought it around and laughed nervously. “No, of course not… I mean it is. But I was just… uh… researching the author… for, um…”

  Micah watched her stammer in obvious embarrassment, but he was completely confounded as to why. When Olivia realized she was babbling, she stopped and sat down in one of the empty chairs, pouting in the trademark Goodsteel manner but accompanied with an angry turn.

  “I like them, okay?” she confessed heatedly, hunching her shoulders. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  “I agree.”

  “Oh…” Her forehead scrunched in confusion. “I thought… well, never mind. Is it okay if I sit here?”

  “It’s your house, not mine.”

  “That’s true.”

  She sat back in the chair, crossed her legs, and opened her book again, reading voraciously. Micah watched her for a moment, amused by her strange behavior. The girl was something of a mystery, complete with quirks galore. She was demanding, even brutish in her words sometimes, yet she possessed a refined loveliness emblematic of her family and every bit as alluring as her sister. If Charlotte was a sunny day, then Olivia was the moonlit night.

  It was in that moment, watching her bite her lip as her gaze flew back and forth across the page, that he realized something. For the past weeks, he had desired someone to talk to about Charlotte. What better person than Olivia? Though young, she was still a girl, and her revealed affinity for romance only confirmed the notion that it was a good idea.

  He clapped his book together, which broke her concentration, and she glanced at him.

  “Can I ask you something?” he said.

  “Y-yes,” she replied, closing her own book.

  “Do you know anything about courtship?”

  Her eyes widened, and her face flushed again. For several moments, she sat stunned in her chair, blinking rapidly. Micah was used to this kind of reaction, so he attempted to clarify.

  “I ask because I know nothing about it, and… well, I’m trying to learn the rules and fundamentals of the subject. But I have found practically no books yielding sufficient information on its various rituals.”

  “Oh.” Olivia exhaled mightily, and she smiled, first with relief then morphing with teasing allure. “I get it now.”

  “Get what?”

  She leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table. Her teasing smile widened. “You like my sister, right?”

  It was Micah’s turn to feel uncomfortable. He squirmed in his chair, but realized it was necessary to confide the truth if he was going to make any progress. This was his chance, and he had to take it. Jasper’s cavalier expression flashed in his mind, and he gained some measure of courage.

  “Yes,” he answered quietly.

  Her nose scrunched. “But how can that be? Everything I’ve read about the Black Sons of Carnel suggested love is impossible for you. In fact, ever since I met you, you’ve acted stranger than I would have believed. I expected someone with the personality of a brick.” Her expression turned suspicious. “Are you really a Black Son?”

  “It’s a long story, but let’s just say Charlotte changed me.” He felt heat rise to his face. “She opened my heart… and saved me from myself. Now I have this longing to be with her, and I want to know if it’s possible. She’s all I desire in this world, and I’d do anything for her.”

  Olivia smiled warmly, her face the picturesque image of a dreaming girl. “How romantic,” she sighed.

  “So can you help me?” he asked. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

  Her dreamy expression was replaced by a small frown. “Well, I don’t have much experience with relationships myself.” She brightened. “But I’ve watched Charlotte, so I know some of the rules. And I do owe you for everything you’ve done for me, so I can try my best to help. I’d much prefer she was with you than Jasper. Ugh. I honestly don’t know what she sees in him.”

  “Imponderable.”

  “So,” she said in a business-like voice, sitting up in her chair and folding her hands together. “The rules of courtship.”

  Micah also sat up, producing a small notebook and crystal quill from his jacket.

  “Okay, so if you want a girl to like you, you have to treat her nice. Mother always says, ‘Love is the show, but a compliment is the ticket.’”

  “Treat… her… nice…” Micah said out loud as he wrote it down. “That makes sense. What kind of things should I do? I’ve tried doing the best I can so far, but I guess I’ve been doing it all wrong.”

  “Well, Charlotte told me you are a complete gentleman, so it sounds like you’re doing a good job. But she complained you never open up to her. So you have to share your feelings and tell her what you’re thinking.”

  “Share… my… feelings…” He tapped his pen on the table. “That sounds difficult.” How can I share something even I don’t understand?

  “Oh! And tell her how pretty she is. She said she dresses her best every day, trying to get you to notice.”

  “She does?”

  “Yes. So, if you tell her, it will make her happy.”

  “Tell… her… she… looks… pretty.”

  “Let’s see…” She hummed, drumming her fingers on the table. “Girls like flowers. That’s a good one. Get her flowers. And hold doors open for her. And never look at other girls. Very important.”

  “Never? How would I do that?”

  “I don’t mean you can’t look at other girls. You just can’t look at other girls. Do you understand what I mean?”

  “No.”

  “Okay, well don’t worry about that one. I don’t think it will be a problem for you, anyways.”

  Micah scratched the entry from his notebook. “So these things will let her know I want to court her?” he asked.

  “Well, maybe. But it would be much better if you just confessed to her.”

  He frowned. “Just ask her outright? That sounds… risky. What if she says no?”

  “Isn’t it worth the risk?”

  “Yes…” He slumped in his chair. “But the thought still makes me apprehensive. Has Jasper confessed his feelings to her?”

  “No. Definitely not.”

  “Why not?”

  She snickered. “Because he has an ego the size of a planet. Even Mother says so. He’ll flirt with Charlotte all day, but never confess any kind of feelings. It’s like he expects her to eventually just fall at his feet and beg to be with him.”

  Micah nodded, feeling hopeful. “Do you think Charlotte will accept if I ask to court her, then?”

  “I wish I could tell you, but I honestly don’t know. She may appear to be an open book, but truthfully, she’s much more secretive about what she really wants than most people can imagine.”

  “Unfortunately, I am well aware of that fact.”

  She seemed sad she couldn’t give him a better answer, but then she cheered up. “She definitely adores you, though. You’re all she talks about sometimes, and she’s always bragging about how she got you to take off your mask.” Olivia blushed. “She said you’re really handsome.”

  The wind gave no relief from the heat rising under Micah’s mask. He looked away. “That’s a good thing for me, right?”

  “Well, duh,” she replied. “Although it doesn’t do you any favors to leave your mask on all the time. But I understand why you can’t. In fact, I was telling Charl— oh! Here she comes now. Shhh!”

  Micah turned his gaze up the hill. Charlotte was scampering down the knoll elatedly, holding several slips of paper in her hand. Micah quickly stashed his notebook away, nodding conspiratorially to Olivia, who nodded back and smiled.

  Charlotte finally reached the terrace and climbed the steps, flushed in her excitement. “There you are!” she squealed, hiding her hands behind her back. “I’ve been looking all over for you. I have great news! You’ll never guess what I got today.”

  Olivia thought about it for a moment before gasping and getting out of her chair. “Are those tickets to Sky Blue City?”

  “Oh, you party pooper,” she replied with a fake pout, holding the four tickets out for them to see. “Yes! For tomorrow. We should go, the four of us. It will be so much fun!”

  “The four of us?” her sister repeated with a sneer. “You mean Jasper, too?”

  “Oh hush. He was the one who got us the tickets, so of course he’s coming. Just try and think how much fun it will be. I know you’ve never been and neither has Micah, and it’s the perfect time of year to go. C’mon Olive, come with us. Pleeeease?”

  Olivia looked at Micah, who stared back blankly. A resolute expression came over her, and she turned back to her sister.

  “Okay, I’m in,” she replied. “But I don’t trust Jasper. He gets too frisky with you, and lacks even a trace of decorum. So, on the trip, I will sit next to him wherever we go, and Micah sits next to you. That’s my condition.”

  She shot another glance at Micah.

  Charlotte giggled. “That’s not much of a condition, darling. But I accept.” She kissed her cheek and hugged her, nearly hopping in her excitement. “Oh, how thrilling. Sky Blue City, here we come!”