A gentle squeeze of his hand pulled Cody from his thoughts. He turned his head and caught the soft curve of a smile on Fleur's lips. Her gray-blue eyes held a silent question.

"Yes. Yes, I'm ready to go." He ran a hand through his hair, distracted. A day like this... it wasn't like any other day. Cody understood why the rules existed, but that didn't make it any better.

Hand in hand, they crossed the square. Small clusters of people lingered, their voices hushed. Cody's gaze settled on Nova's parents, their slumped shoulders weighed down by the comforting hands resting on them.

"I never would have expected this from Nova," Fleur murmured. "Did you?"

Cody hadn't known her well. She had trouble sleeping and had tried several of his tea blends over the past year. "I can't imagine what it's like to have a brother living in exile. Not being allowed to see him—it must be unbearable."

Fleur scoffed. "Her brother was a disgrace. If he still haunted her that much, she should have erased him from her memory."

Cody said nothing. Orion had been... eccentric, sure. But he had always been kind to Cody—sometimes even downright sweet. And his crime, if you could even call it that... It might be unnecessary, but not disgraceful.

Then again, he did drag you into a scandal.

Cody had always been an outsider. His so-called aunt raised him—the woman everyone secretly feared—without anyone really knowing where he had come from. It had taken years before the other parents let their children play with him. And even then, it wasn't until after his twelfth birthday, when his abilities awakened, that people started to accept that being different wasn't necessarily bad.

Fleur had helped with that, too. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful girl in the village, an exemplary citizen. Through her, he had stopped being a curiosity—he had become something more. Something that shimmered in the sunlight, with fiery hair that lit up the darkest corners. Sometimes, she affectionately called him her little gold nugget, as if he were a rare treasure meant to be admired.

He could still hear Orion's laughter when he overheard that nickname, whispering it into Cody's ear in amusement every chance he got.

The memory sent a shiver down his spine. And just like that, his thoughts were back on Orion.

Of course, he wasn't curious enough to leave Holtgaard. But he did wonder. How was Orion now? What was his life like? What did exile even look like? Did he regret leaving? Or did he believe his real life had only just begun?

Fleur squeezed his hand, as if she sensed the direction of his thoughts. "Will you come home with me?"

"I, uh, think I'll spend some time in the herb garden." A strong brew would help lull these memories back to sleep. He didn't like the idea of his mind being so preoccupied with someone who had been banished. Who knew if an archivist might pick up on it and question his loyalties?

"Do you need help?" Fleur smiled, though there was a glint of hesitation in her eyes—she didn't want to leave him alone.

Cody hesitated. He wanted time to himself, but pushing her away felt wrong. "Sure. I could use the help. The biteweed needs harvesting this week, and it's a miserable job on my own." He wasn't great at asking for help, which often left him with unnecessary cuts on his hands.

"Of course. You can finally tell me what you even use those awful things for. I always imagined they belonged in your aunt's workshop instead."

"She uses them too," he admitted. "Mostly for a powder that calms children having tantrums. But if an animal inhales it by accident, they go wild." He smirked, recalling a forest mouse that had spent a week desperately gnawing at the walls of his aunt's workshop. "In tea, though, it has a calming effect. Makes you a little dreamy."

A crease formed between Fleur's brows. "And yet they're such nasty plants."

Cody smiled. "Nature doesn't give up its secrets so easily."

They reached the property he shared with his aunt, the fence gleaming in the sunlight—he had repainted it just a few weeks ago. He pressed down the latch, and the gate swung open smoothly.

The gravel crunched beneath their feet as they followed the path. A hand-painted sign pointed visitors left for Cody's Tea House, right for Lavinia's Brews.

They took the winding path through the herb garden toward his house. It wasn't big—he had built it himself after graduating—but it was enough for him.

Fleur had hinted more than once that she was ready to move in with him, a subject he kept dodging. He wasn't sure why.

But something—something held him back. Like he wasn't ready yet.

Cody opened the door and reached out for Fleur's cloak. He hung it on the rack beside his own and stepped inside.

He hesitated. He hadn't used a single spell all day. He could heat the water in an instant and get them into the garden faster. Normally, he had no problem waiting. But today, something gnawed at him. He didn't know if it was Fleur, or Nova's banishment, or something else entirely. He just felt... unsettled.

In the end, he let the impulse pass. He walked to the stove, opened the iron door, and struck a match. The fire caught, and he closed the door again, dropping the cooled match into the bin with the press of a foot.

He took the kettle—its surface textured with tiny, scale-like ridges—filled it with water, and set it on the warming plate. While it heated, he turned to his tea supply, running his fingers over the jars. He usually let instinct guide him, but Fleur liked sweet flavors, so he chose a chamomile base, added rose petals, and set out some elf sugar to stir in later.

He was so focused on his task that he barely noticed Fleur slipping her arms around him, resting her chin on his shoulder. The fruity scent clinging to her was almost intoxicating.

For a moment, his vision blurred in and out of focus. He blinked hard, a warmth spreading through him, like he had just taken a sip of tea at the perfect temperature.

The restlessness that had gripped him all day finally began to fade. He let his hands rest on the wooden table, tension draining from his shoulders. As he leaned back into Fleur's embrace, a slow smile crept onto his lips.

Everything was as it should be.

Cody was glad that Fleur had come along. Working together was much faster. He always played his harp to make the biteweed drowsy. How long they remained sluggish was unpredictable, so he usually ended up with plenty of bite wounds while pulling out the roots. Now, he could keep playing while Fleur loosened the plants from the earth. At his instruction, she sprinkled salt over the roots, killing them without robbing them of their properties.

Once they had harvested all the biteweed, Cody put away his harp. He took his wand from the drawer in the living room and pulled it from its dark blue fabric sheath, which was laced with silver thread. Lovingly, he ran his fingers over the smooth wood, which vibrated softly beneath his touch.

"You're getting impatient with all this waiting, aren't you? Let's see if there's something for you to do in the garden."

The council did not approve of excessive magic use, but Cody had always felt that his wand wanted to release its magic.

On his way outside, he passed Fleur, who was slicing wild mushrooms in the kitchen. She had offered to make her famous mushroom-snail soup, and his growling stomach had readily agreed.

He pressed a kiss to her cheek before heading out. It was nice having her here. Maybe it was time for her to move in after all. He could barely remember why they hadn't taken that step yet.

Wading through the ankle-high grass, Cody made his way to the salt pool. Kneeling down, he ran his fingers through the thin layer of salt mixed with soil. The granules felt rough and sticky as he rubbed them between his fingers. It was time to replenish his supply. Wiping the salt off on his pants, he shifted his wand to his dominant hand. Pointing its tip at the flattened hollow, he wrote salt water.

The vibrations he had felt before intensified. The wand's tip began to shimmer, and a few droplets slid down the wood before a firm stream of salt water poured into the pool. With two circular wrist movements, he halted the flow.

Satisfied, Cody observed the results. In a few days, the water would evaporate, leaving him with fresh salt. It was possible to conjure solid salt blocks instantly, but experience had taught him that salt formed naturally—or at least more naturally—was purer and more potent.

Cody resumed his stroll through the herb garden. Halfway through, he sat on the edge of a well, letting the last rays of sunlight warm his face. He listened to the chirping birds and the distant voices carried by the breeze.

There, basking in the golden light, he lost track of time. It was Fleur's voice that pulled him back to the present, calling him inside with the promise of her delicious soup.

Cody returned to his cottage and sat down at the table. Together, they enjoyed their meal, and more than once, his gaze lingered on Fleur's shimmering eyes. Her smile held him captive, clouding his mind like a mist, leaving him unable to recall what they had spoken about once dinner was over.

After their meal, Fleur left—she had an evening shift at the Memory Vault. As soon as she was gone, a heavy emptiness settled in Cody's chest. Slowly but surely, the memories of earlier that day resurfaced. Where was Nova now? Had she found shelter for the night? Was she even still alive? No one knew exactly what horrors lurked in the forest.

Cody dried the last dish, draped the towel over the back of a kitchen chair, and stepped outside, where he lit the garden lanterns using a firefly spell from his wand. As the warm orange glow spread across the garden, he sank into a chair, pressing his wand into the soil so it could recharge with the magic stored in the earth.

Leaning back, he let his gaze wander across the starry sky. In his mind, he connected the glimmering dots, forming shapes—a wolf, a walking tree, a butterfly with four wings...

A loud gong echoed through the village like a gust of wind. Ethereal, dreamlike notes from a glass harmonica followed.

The hairs on Cody's neck and arms stood on end as the deep, breathy tones of a bass flute joined in.

An owl in a nearby tree hooted in response.

Cody blinked. A tingling sensation prickled across his skin, most intensely around his temples. Tiny clouds, glowing in shades of purple and blue, emerged, circling around him before detaching from his head.

Slowly, the memories drifted away, drawn to the mystical music—a nightly ritual, yet it never ceased to amaze him. Countless colorful wisps now floated through the darkness, heading toward the Memory Vault, where Fleur and the other Archivists would store them with all the others.

Cody watched the spectacle until the instruments fell silent, leaving behind a faint pressure at his temples. He remained seated for a while longer, knowing he would be dizzy if he stood up too soon.

Though his memories had left him, echoes remained, settling within his mind as part of him.

When the pressure faded and the tingling subsided, Cody rose from his chair. Inside, he would read for a while before heading to bed.