The Poison Season(74)

Fiona’s eyes fluttered open. “Oh, Leelo. How are you, dear one?”

Leelo sat on the arm of the chair, careful not to bump her mother. “I’m fine, Mama. Are you all right? You don’t look well.”

“It’s just another bad spell. It will pass, as it always does.”

“You’re not singing enough,” Ketty said over her shoulder. “You always get sicker when you don’t sing.”

Fiona ignored her sister and stroked Leelo’s cheek with the back of her hand. “You look so beautiful, so grown.”

Leelo smothered a shy smile. She felt different, but she couldn’t imagine she looked like anything other than her old self. “I don’t know about that.”

“Well, I do.” Fiona gestured that she wanted to get up, and Leelo helped steady her. “Come upstairs with me. I have something I want to show you.”

In classic Sage fashion, she chose that moment to chime in. “Dinner will be ready soon.”

“We won’t be long,” Fiona said. “Help me up the stairs, darling.”

Leelo couldn’t remember the last time she’d been in her mother’s room. Once, it had been Fiona and Kellan’s, and she had distant memories of sitting in the corner rocking chair with her father, of her mother brushing her hair at the vanity. But now there were two small beds, one for Fiona and one for Ketty. There were no bright felted ornaments in here, just lace curtains yellowed with age and a charcoal sketch of Leelo and Sage as girls.

“What did you want to show me?” Leelo asked as her mother sat on her bed.

“It’s in the wardrobe. There’s a box at the top. Fetch it for me?”

Leelo nodded and opened the doors of the wardrobe. Inside, it smelled like cedar and lavender. All of Mama’s sweaters were folded neatly on shelves next to her few skirts and single dress. Though she delighted in making clothing for Leelo, she was a creature of habit, wearing the same plain blouses and skirts most of the time.

Leelo reached up to the top, feeling among the knitted blankets and linens, until her hand closed on a small wooden box. She pulled it down, her fingers running over the carving of two swans, their necks bowed toward each other, forming a heart.

“Where did you get this?” Leelo asked as she handed it to her mother.

“Your father made it for me. He was quite a skilled carver, you know.”

Kellan had been a carpenter—he’d made most of the furniture in their home—but Leelo had never known he could craft something so delicate. “It’s beautiful.”

“It was my wedding gift. He said the swans are a symbol of fidelity, since they mate for life.”

“How did he know that?”

“I think he heard it from his father, who heard it from his father. He was among the group of people who settled Endla, though he was just a child at the time.”

“I wish I could see that. Two swans, swimming together.” Leelo traced the curves of the swans’ necks with her finger. She’d only ever seen birds drown, thanks to the poison in the lake, but once upon a time, that hadn’t been the case. At least according to the stories. “Do you really believe the Forest made the lake poisonous to protect us?”

Fiona’s brow was furrowed, her mouth curved in a frown, but after a moment she swallowed down whatever she had been planning to say. “Your father always said that stories are like wood, bending and warping with the passage of time. But I believe there is some truth to the legend, yes.”

Leelo’s heart began to pound as she realized what she was going to ask her mother. “Mama—”

Fiona lifted the lid of the box before Leelo could finish. Inside was a little green velvet pillow, topped with two gold rings tied with a satin ribbon. “Your father’s and my wedding rings. I stopped wearing mine when he passed away. It felt wrong to wear it when his was no longer on his hand, and the thought of burying him with it was too painful. So I’ve kept them here, in this box, ever since.”

“Why are you showing me this?” Leelo asked.

“Because when the time comes, I want you and your partner to have them.”

Leelo’s eyes met her mother’s. They were the same color as Ketty’s and Sage’s, but the hazel was softer, more green than yellow, and there was none of the guile Leelo always saw in their gazes. “Mama, I don’t plan on marrying. Not yet, anyway.”

“I know. But someday. It’s clear to me you’re in love. I don’t know why you won’t tell me about them. I hope you know I would support you in whatever partner you chose.”

Leelo flushed at the shame of lying to her mother, who truly wanted what was best for her daughter. “I want to tell you about him. It’s just...”

Fiona lowered her voice. “You can trust me, darling. I won’t tell Ketty and Sage.”

“I know you wouldn’t. Not unless you felt like you had to. And I’m afraid when I tell you who it is, you’ll think you have to tell them.”

She took Leelo’s hand. “Why?”

“Because he’s not...” Saints, was she really going to do this? There would be no turning back from here. But she had crossed the point of no return a long time ago, the moment she pulled Jaren to shore.

“I know about Nigel,” Leelo blurted, then threw her hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to say it. She was going to tell her mother about Jaren.