Page 23 of From the Edge

“Miss Rowan, do you know what you are?”

“Hungry.”

“No, an opal omega.”

“Oh. That. Yeah.” She walked over through the garden gate, and he followed her, gasping as the thick and rich herb and vegetable garden surrounded them.

“This garden is incredible.”

“Thanks. This is where I get my ingredients for tea and dinner.”

“May I take photos and samples?”

“Let me clip the samples. The garden can be difficult.” She went to get the rosemary.

There was a light wave of giggles that went through the garden, and the healer paused. “It is sentient?”

“Yes.”

“You are tied to this land.”

“Oh, yes. Very much so.” She stroked the rosemary to wake the oils then clipped the herbs, tucking them into her basket. “Was there anything in particular you wanted to examine?”

He walked over to the lemon balm. “Lemon balm?”

“The base of most of my teas.” She stroked the plant to wake it up then trimmed the stems it offered her.

“What are you doing there?”

“I am waking the plant and asking it for a contribution, and it offers me what it wants to spare.”

“Do the plants ever refuse you?” He watched her movements.

She locked her herb snips. “Nope. Not if they know what is good for them.”

She went to the garlic bed and worked a bulb loose. The rest of the meal was waiting inside. She moved past the healer, her heels clicking on the walkway.

“Why do you wear heels in your home?”

“So that it knows where I am. You have to exit the garden with me. It doesn’t know you.” She chuckled as she approached the gate. “You don’t want to feed the plants. I guarantee you won’t enjoy it.”

He moved toward her and exited the garden before she did. The door closed, and Rowan felt the magic take over, protecting her garden the moment the gate latched.

She walked with him. “You can ask all your questions while we cook. I will ask the house to connect Mell’s room with the other next to hers for a suite, so the family has the space it needs.”

“I don’t suppose you have a lab?”

“It’s in the cellar, but yes.” She opened the kitchen door and set the basket down on the huge table.

“May I see it?”

“After dinner is in the oven. Some things have timing, and slow roasting meat is one of them.”

“I can peel potatoes.”

She smiled. “Then that is what you shall do.”

She hauled out an eight-pound roast that made his eyes widen. She trimmed it with a flexible knife and looked at him. “So, healer, what did you want to know?”