Chapter 169 THE GARDEN CHEER UP

Chapter 169 THE GARDEN CHEER UP
CHAPTER 169

THE GARDEN CHEER UP

ROWAN

But that's the least of my problems. My problem now was Ember was not handling it well. Her face had gone pale and thin. She barely ate. She skipped classes and practice more often than she showed up.

Lance and Magnus tried to get food into her, but she only managed a few bites before pushing the plate away. I felt every wave of her grief through the blood bond. It sat heavy in my chest and made me restless. I needed to do something.

I pulled out my luminary and opened the group chat.

ROWAN: Hi

I waited for a few seconds watching the chat and praying silently they're online.

KAEL: Any reason for messaging, Vampire?

I rolled my eyes and pressed my lips tightly forcing myself to keep calm. I nodded for this and I couldn't afford to let a dragon's ass pissed me off.

ROWAN: Reserve your assholery attitude for another day. I'm here because of Ember. I have an idea that might cheer her up.

LANCE: I’m listening. Spill it.

RAGNAR: Your idea is going to work, Rowan. Go along with it.

MAGNUS: Do you've do that? You could have allowed us to hear it and allow nature to take it's cause.

ROWAN: My grandmother’s garden needs weeding. It’s been neglected for weeks. I want all of us to go with Ember and work on it together. Fresh air. Something simple to do with our hands. It might help.

RAGNAR: It'll cheer her up but she won't come willingly. Kael should be the one to talk to her.

KAEL: She won’t listen to me. She barely looks at any of us right now.

RAGNAR: She will listen to you on this. I’ve seen it. You’ll get her out of the room.

MAGNUS: Fine. Lance, send the coordinates of the garden.

ROWAN: Shouldn't you be asking me that particular question?

LANCE: Lance shares the coordinates of Rowan's grandmother's garden

MAGNUS: On my way. Kael, go get her. Good luck.

RAGNAR: I’ll grab snacks from Emberplate.

I closed the chat and headed to the garden early. The air smelled of damp soil and old roses. Weeds had taken over half the beds.

I started pulling them by hand, the dirt cool and gritty under my nails, until the others arrived.

Kael appeared at the gate with Ember beside him. She wore a simple dark shirt and pants, hair pulled back. She looked smaller than usual.

I walked straight to her and pulled her into a careful hug. She smelled faintly of soap and the academy laundry. I kissed her cheek once. A soft, short sound left her throat—almost a giggle.

“Kael said you needed help weeding your grandmother’s garden,” her eyes roamed the area.

“I do,” I answered. “Will you help?”

She gave a small smile that didn’t fully reach her eyes. “Yeah. I’ll help.”

We spread out. Magnus attacked a section of weeds with too much force, yanking plants that were supposed to stay.

Lance used earth magic to reshape an entire flowerbed, muttering under his breath about “proper structure.”

Kael stood near the old stone fountain like he hoped no one would notice him.

Ragnar dropped a bag of snacks on a bench and started pulling weeds with quiet efficiency.

I kept glancing at Ember. She moved slowly at first, kneeling in the dirt and working in silence.

After a while she drifted toward the far corner where the dragon’s breath flowers grew—deep red blooms with dark centers that my grandmother had planted years ago. I had shown them to Ember the first time I brought her here.

She sat down beside the cluster and looked up at me. “Tell me about these again.”

I crouched next to her. The soil was soft under my knees. “They’re called dragon’s breath. My grandmother planted them after she visited a dragon territory once. She said the color reminded her of fire that didn’t burn everything it touched. They only bloom fully in late summer if the soil stays a little dry. And they're very impossible to grow but my grandmother has a way with stubborn plants.”

Ember reached out and touched one of the petals with the tip of her finger. “They’re still pretty.”

“They are.”

I stayed close. Our shoulders almost brushed. The bond between us had been cold and heavy for days. Now a thin thread of warmth started to move through it. I felt her breathing steady a little.

Kael drifted nearer, pretending to inspect the stone wall behind us. Lance and Magnus argued in low voices a few beds away about whether they had improved or ruined the east section. Their bickering was loud enough to carry.

Ember glanced toward them and the corner of her mouth lifted. It was small, but it was real. I watched the way the late afternoon light caught the side of her face and felt the bond warm another degree.

I handed her a small trowel. Our fingers touched for a second. Hers were cool. I kept my voice quiet. “We can clear around these so they get more space. If you want.”

She nodded and started working beside me. We pulled weeds in silence for a few minutes. Every so often her arm brushed mine.

Ragnar appeared behind me without sound. He looked at Ember for a long moment, then leaned in so only I could hear.

“I told you it would work.”

I didn’t answer. I kept my eyes on Ember as she laughed once at something Magnus yelled across the garden.

The sound was the best thing I had heard all week. The bond felt warmer still.

The garden looked nothing like the neat place I had pictured when I suggested this. Tools were scattered. Half the beds were a mess. Snacks sat open on the bench.

But Ember was outside, her hands in the dirt, and for the first time in days the weight in my chest had eased.