Page 8 of Healing Elixirs & Wicked Crows

Even if it meant betraying her all over again.

All I Need is You

ROSEMARY

Tap.Tap, tap.Tap.TAP!

"Okay, okay!"I muttered, setting my journal and pen down with a quiet sigh.Crossing the room quickly, I noticed Herb perched outside, his beady eyes locked on mine.His blue-black feathers shimmered, capturing the dawn's gentle light.

"Hold on a moment," I said to him as if he could understand me."I may have some seeds for you."

Herb had shown up several decades after I'd woken in the cottage, and he hadn't left since.The first time I saw him, he was impossible to miss, slamming his little body into the window, his beak tapping frantically at the herbs drying behind the glass.Somehow, he’d broken through.He’d flailed through the hanging herbs, feathers flying, and had crashed into the back bedroom.His caws had been so loud I’d had to cover my ears as I’d ducked each time he’d swooped by.Pure chaos.

It had taken me two hours to wrangle that damn bird out of the cottage.That had been forty years ago.In all that time, he’d remained just as unchanged as my slumbering sister.He'd show up every day, searching for herbs or seeds.The only way I knew he was the same bird was the spot of white on his beak.

It hadn't taken long for him to develop the name Herb since he damn near destroyed my entire collection of dried herbs.The length of his life far exceeded a normal bird’s lifespan.I figured he was a familiar who had yet to find his witch.Or maybe he’d lost her.Poor thing.He'd have to look elsewhere as I barely had enough magic to maintain my healing endeavors.

Besides, the seelie didn't take familiars even if they held enough magic to do so.To take a familiar was to create a bond that lasted until death.A seelie bond was a powerful thing, and the death of a familiar was dangerous for a seelie, often fatal.That was a risk I could not take, not while Briar was trapped in slumber.

Still, Herb remained even without the familiar's bond, and whether he knew it or not, I was secretly grateful for the company.

I stared at his dark brown beady eyes as he cawed a sound that resembled 'no.'

I pressed my lips into a firm line to avoid smiling."Yes," I insisted, leaning forward as I pushed open the window."You want your special treat?Then you will eat the good stuff first."

Herb cawed in protest again, his head shaking side-to-side.Stubborn thing.

"Fine then, fly away and come back when you are more agreeable."I turned away from him.

His little talons clicked as he hopped across the windowsill and onto my worktable.I sat back down, pulled open my journal, and let my gaze linger on the page as he stood idly in the center of the worn table.

Caw!

I closed the journal and glared at him."The seeds then?"

With a frustrated sigh, I pulled a bowl from the cabinet and filled it with seeds, placing it in front of him.As he pecked through the offering, I returned to my seat and picked up where I'd left off.

Like the dozens before it, this journal held every recipe I'd tried in my relentless attempt to wake my sister.But today's entry was different.It detailed everything I could gather about the daemonacus flower.On another page, I'd started a list of what I'd need to bring with me to find its petals.

Herb hopped on the tabletop, his little feet tapping against the worn wooden surface as he danced.He opened his wings, flapping to get my attention.The bowl now sat empty.

When I looked to him, he seemed to nod toward the book in my hand.It seemed as if he were asking me what had happened.

"Kasto returned from his journey and brought with him a promising book," I explained, nodding toward the thick tome still open on the table next to my reading chair."I think I’ve found the missing ingredient.The one thing powerful enough to wake Briar."

As the words filled the room, hope bloomed warmly within my chest.After failure upon failure, I couldn't remember a time when I'd felt any hope at all.

I watched Herb as I spoke, and even he seemed to perk up with my words.Perhaps he could sense my hope in some preternatural way only nature seemed to offer.

My satchel sat next to my worktable.I hadn't packed everything yet, but I'd started placing clothing into the bottom for the long trek.The crow followed my gaze, his shiny beak pecking at the table before he hopped closer to my pack.

"It means I must leave Briar for a time.There is no other way.I need to travel deep into the Everland Forest.It is the only place the daemonacus flower can be found.Time is limited.There is only a single full moon left before the bloom disappears for another ten years' time."A heavy sigh fell from me."I trust that you will keep an eye on things here.Briar will be safe here for a time without me.I will return as quickly as I can."

The crow seemed wary, or maybe that was just my own wariness.Yet everything I had spoken was true.Briar would be okay in my absence.That was the nature of her curse.She would remain asleep, untouched by time.The only change would be the dust that settled around her.Except, as my gaze lingered on the doorway to the back bedroom, I couldn’t help but think that wasn’t necessarily true anymore.Time no longer seemed to be on our side.

I turned from Herb, walking around the room to snuff out the candles one by one, the sunlight now sufficient to light the space.

I prepared a simple breakfast of eggs and toasted bread from the loaf I'd baked two days ago.I tossed Herb a slice of fresh bread before taking my plate to my worktable.I would miss our cozy cottage and simple life, but if there was a chance to wake Briar, I had no choice.