Page 54 of Evergreen

“A dryad will survive even if his grove is destroyed,” Professor Paulson said, stopping me before I could go into a frenzy. “Linden won’t need it to live. But he will become nearly powerless until he begins to nurture a new grove somewhere else. But growing trees takes time. It’ll be decades until he returns to his full power.”

My mind reeled at that. Decades. Linden would be powerless for decades while he tried to rebuild what had been taken from him. All because some development company had apparently bought the land and had every legal right to destroy it.

“That’s not fair,” I said, my voice rising despite how exhausted I was. “There has to be something we can do. Some kind of legal recourse or⁠—”

“We’re exploring all options,” Professor Paulson assured me. “But for now, the most pressing matter is the Elder Council’s decision regarding your actions. They’ll want to speak with you directly once you’re well enough. I’d suggest you rest and prepare yourself mentally for that conversation.”

She stood, smoothing down her skirt. “I’ll inform them you’re awake. They should be here within the hour.” She paused at the door, glancing back at me. “For what it’s worth, Mr. Reed, I think what you did was brave. Foolish, perhaps, but brave.”

After she left, I was alone with Linden again. He was quiet, his thumb tracing slow circles on the back of my hand. I could feel the tension radiating off him, the way his magic was flickering beneath his skin like it couldn’t quite settle.

“Hey,” I said softly, tugging on his hand until he looked at me. “Look at me.”

He did, those golden eyes meeting mine, and I could see all the fear and uncertainty he’d been carrying for the past two days written across his face.

“We’re going to figure this out,” I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. “Together. There’s got to be something we can do.”

“I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me,” he said, and there was something almost broken in his voice. “You were just trying to protect me and now⁠—”

“Now nothing,” I interrupted. “I’d do it again. In a heartbeat. I’d call down lightning a thousand times over if it meant keeping you safe.”

He leaned down and kissed me, soft and desperate, like he was trying to convince himself that this was real. That we were real. That what we had wouldn’t be torn apart by bureaucracy and legal technicalities.

“I love you,” he whispered against my lips.

“I love you too,” I replied. “And we’re going to get through this.”

I wasn’t entirely sure I believed that. But I was going to hold onto it anyway, for both our sakes. I needed Linden to believe it too. There was no point in falling apart yet. Not when there was a fight on the way.

The hour passed in a blur of anxious waiting. Linden insisted on staying beside me, his large frame taking up most of the bed as he held me close. I could feel his heartbeat against my back, steady and grounding, and I tried to match my breathing to his. It helped, a little.

When the knock came at the door, I tensed immediately. Linden’s arm tightened around me, a silent reassurance that he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Come in,” I called, my voice still hoarse.

The door opened and two figures stepped inside. The first, was a man with wild, red hair pulled back into a ponytail, his bright, green eyes almost unsettling. The second, was a shorter man with dark hair and brown eyes.

“Mr. Reed,” the red-haired man said, approaching the bed with a smile on his face. “I am Elder Briar Hall, but you can just call me Wild. This is Elias Thorne, my… colleague. We are the representatives from the Elder Council who have come to speak to you about the incident with Rose Development.”

“You mean come to arrest me?”

Elder Briar Hall laughed at that, far louder than I expected. “We’re not coming to take you away, Mr. Reed. I can assure you of that. I have already secured your safety in that matter. Even without your testimony, I was able to convince the rest of the Elder Council that you acted with a sound mind in that situation.”

“So… I’m not in trouble?” I asked, hope filling my chest. “Linden’s grove is safe?”

“Yes,” he said. “And no.”

I slumped back against my pillows. “That’s a stupid answer.”

“Cass,” Linden hissed, using my real name. “He’s an Elder Council member!”

“It’s fine,” Elder Briar Hall said, waving it off. “What I mean is that you are not in trouble. But the grove is also not safe yet.”

“What do you mean the grove isn’t safe yet?” I asked, pushing myself up on my elbows despite how much it hurt. My body was still sore from head to toe.

Elder Briar Hall exchanged a glance with Elias, who remained quiet, observing. There was something about the smaller man’s reserved demeanor that made me think he was the type to let others do the talking first.

“It appears that Rose Development owns the land legally,” Wild explained, settling into the chair Professor Paulson had vacated. “They purchased it at a government auction three years ago. Linden’s parents never paid property taxes on it. They lived off the land and didn’t have any conventional income. Nor did they have a mailing address or any sort of formal documentation for the local human government to find them. So when the taxes went unpaid, and the property was seized, it went up for auction.”