The Silver Rose (24 page)

Zelda frowned. “What do you mean?”

“She knows the Supreme Council were involved in the decision to send me here.”

The old woman cursed. Aden's could hardly believe his ears. He had no idea she knew such colorful language. It amused him so much he laughed. “I think you will need to explain your involvement to her as soon as you are able.”

“Damn it Aden. How did she find out?”

He was unrepentant. “I believe it was me.”

Zelda cursed again. “Damn it! I love that girl. I would do anything to protect her.”

“Sometimes protecting them from the truth isn't the best course of action.”

“Maybe so, but I'm warning you not to play with my girl's heart.”

“I do not play games.”

“Good. So we understand each other.”

Somehow, he didn't think he understood anything, let alone this baffling creature that had latched herself to his arm. To all intents, she was warning him off Rosa, and yet she tugged him closer and closer to the gallery. Anyone would think Zelda wanted to bump into Rosa.

Beth had shoved a coffee under his nose at dawn, when he'd stood outside on the deck to watch the sun rise, and had informed him of Rosa's timetable. Just so he knew where not to venture, or so he had thought. Now, looking down at Zelda as she once again attempted to steer him to another stall and ever closer to the gallery, he wondered what the old hag was up to.

Goran rescued him an uncomfortable thirty minutes later by calling out and signalling for them to cross the road. A thoroughly pissed off Zelda marched off down the road in an entirely different direction. Aden laughed for the first time in days.

“What's so funny?” Goran asked when they were alone.

“Do you have any idea who that old woman is?”

“No. Should I?”

“She's a wizardess. And not just any wizardess. She's Prime Wizardess and head of The Supreme Council of Magical Beings.”

Goran's eyebrows arched with interest. “Really? How curious.”

“There's nothing curious about it. She's been hiding here in Raven's Creek bringing up Rosa, Alanna, and Beth.”

Goran dipped a piece of bread into a sample of virgin olive oil at the stand next to him. “And that's bad because … ?”

“It's not bad. What she's done must be commended. She's given up a good portion of her life to look after them, but I'm sure there's an ulterior motive to her presence.” Aden sampled the olive oil, bought a bottle, and then walked on.

The two men meandered down the street. Goran, a camera hung over one shoulder, pulled out an electronic notebook and pretended to interview Aden. They visited art displays and investigated handmade ceramics painted with native birds such as the pukeko and the kiwi. Plant stalls featuring silver ferns took Aden's particular interest. He wondered if he could craft something as fine as the frond of a fern in silver.

Then, of course, there were the doyens of Raven's Creek who knitted teapot cozies, crocheted lace doilies, sewed patchwork quilts and, cooked up pot after pot of preserves. At one stall Aden bought tamarillo chutney, which he'd grown partial to. At another he purchased a set of pottery herb jars with cork stoppers. Not quite sure why he bought them, he lugged them around until eventually both men found themselves standing outside Greenwood Gallery.

They'd just missed Rosa. Aden thought that was probably a good thing. All his own pieces that he'd brought with him specifically for the festival were now out on display and the gallery was crowded. Beth left them to serve a customer and he and Goran strolled outside to visit Gregori.

“So tell me,” Aden said. “What do you and Gregori have in common?”

“Trying to trick information out of me is underhand.” Goran sat on the edge of the pond and trailed his fingers in the water.

“It can't be good whatever it is. You do know what he was accused of?”

Goran nodded. “I do.”

“Zelda is very protective. She doesn't want any of them to know who or what he is.”

Goran leaned over and inspected Gregori closely, deftly evading the wards surrounding him. “A small hairline crack has developed just below the left eye. It won't be long now before all hell breaks loose.” Goran looked up at him. “If you're going to make your move with Rosa, it's best you do it soon. Alanna's going to need all the help she can get.”

It had been an excruciating week despite the festival being a huge success for the gallery and town. All Aden's pieces had been snapped up, most by buyers from outside the community, a condition of their purchase being the pieces were to remain in the gallery for the duration of the festival for others to view.

No other man with potential visited the gallery. Not a single one. Rosa went out on a series of dates with local lads, people she had attended school with and knew well enough, but none had the potential required.

“Not a single man has whetted my appetite or has any zing to speak of. I don't want to settle,” she voiced aloud to Beth, Alanna, and Zelda.

“Would it work if you bound your potential with a man who was … you know … gay?” It was clear Alanna was desperate. “There's plenty of them about.”

Beth erupted into gales of laughter.

“That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard,” Zelda scolded. “Get a grip, girl. This is serious.”

“I
am
serious,” Alanna insisted. “I was thinking of Gordon Thomas in particular.”

Gordon had been at school two years ahead of Rosa, but she'd mixed in social circles with him throughout her life. His parents had been friends with hers. A good friend, he had known they were witches since childhood. In all the years she'd known him he'd kept his promise never to reveal who they were. She also held his secrets close to her heart. Just recently, he'd confided he was currently dating someone who
might be the one.

“Absolutely not.”

“I know he's bought a couple of tickets and is coming to the gala. He's single and ready to settle down.”

Two tickets. Rosa wondered if he would bring his new boyfriend. “Ready to settle down with someone male. Tying him to me would affect his chances of finding love. It could very well ruin his life. There's still the gala.” A frown drew her eyebrows together. “What if Aden wins?”

“You must try one more time with him,” Zelda instructed. “Your life is worth more than a thousand rejections. You don't want to look back knowing you hadn't made the best of your time trying to persuade him he's the one for you.”

Rosa stared at Zelda.
Are you ever going to tell me the truth?
“I thought you'd gone off him, delicious as he is?”

“I don't like how he hid his magic from you. Despite that, he's still, in my humble opinion, your best option. And, my darling — ” Zelda cupped a hand to Rosa's cheek, her tone gentle and warm, “ — I fear I need to remind you your time is nearly up. If he says no, then approach Goran. He's stuck in Raven's Creek for an indefinite period. He might as well make himself useful.”

“There's nothing humble about any of your opinions.” Rosa appreciated the fact Zelda gave no voice to her other options. None of them wanted to think about what they would entail. “I know you knew about Aden all along.” It appeared her mouth and her brain were not connected. “How could you not tell me.”

“What's this,” Alanna said. She turned to Zelda. “You knew and didn't tell us?”

“I won't pretend I don't know what you're talking about. Aden told me you knew.” Zelda looked Rosa squarely in the eyes. “I cannot discuss Council business. My position on the board means I often have to conceal things I'd rather not.”

“Couldn't you have warned us somehow?”

“I would not be able to remain on the council if I had.” Zelda's eyes moistened. Her voice shook. “I love you as if you were my own. You have no idea how much it pained me to not say anything.”

Rosa understood responsibility. Had she not spent the past few years feeling responsible for bringing up her sisters. “I can understand, but I'm not sure I can forgive you for keeping this from me.”

“It's no different than Aden instructing me to be silent when I discovered he was a Dragon,” Beth said, ever the peacemaker. “I hope you don't still hold that against me?”

Rosa acknowledged the truth in Beth's statement. “You're right.” She turned to Zelda. “Give me a few days. I'll get over it eventually.”

Alanna wasn't so easy to pacify. “It makes me wonder what else you've kept from us.”

Zelda blanched and for once she looked older than her years.

• • •

Dressed in tuxedos, Aden stood with Goran at the entrance to the marquee. The charity gala was about to start. A gaggle of women surrounded them, giggling and flirting outrageously with them. Aden stood back, a little more aloof than his apprentice, who set about charming every woman who walked by. From time to time, he greeted one with a kiss to the back of their hand and it was clear he had more than a passing interest in them.

“Goddess,” Rosa whispered softly as she rounded the corner of the marquee with Alanna and Beth. “Help me find my way. Lead me to my true mate.”

And there he was. Aden. Right in front of her. Her stomach flip-flopped, and she stumbled. In a flash, he pushed through the surrounding throng to her side, his hand gripping her elbow, steadying her.

“I'm fine.” She felt a flush bloom on her cheeks. She'd hoped to have beaten him to the event tonight, to be in control of the situation and her emotions. But one glance and she was a roiling mess of wanton witch on the inside. She'd been wrong to distance herself from him. She should have used the remaining days left to batter his resolve. The attraction between them was very real, and the zing … ! Well, the zing was enormous. And he felt it too. Now his magic was no longer hidden, she saw it immediately.

Her gaze sharpened. There was something different about him. His aura was less troubled, less guarded. She blinked, wondering if she'd imagined it.

“You look beautiful,” he whispered, and his gaze held hers for several long moments, his hand lingering on her arm longer than necessary before stepping back and returning to resembling a statue.

Then Goran stepped up to them, and the moment was broken. He gallantly raised Beth's hand and kissed the back of it. “I'm awestruck by your beauty.”

Beth, dressed in a Jane Austin replica dress, the top of it low and her breasts high, blushed and swatted him with the closed fan she'd brought with her as an accessory. “Behave yourself.”

“What about me?” Alanna pouted.

Goran arched an eyebrow and lost the appreciative glint in his eyes. “Your ego needs no inflating. You know how you look.”

“What use is being beautiful if no one tells you?” she huffed and barged past them into the marquee. “There's plenty here who will tell me what I want to hear.”

Goran's deep laughter followed her as she marched away. Rosa shook her head but said nothing. Beth was still blushing from Goran's compliment, and Rosa wondered whether Beth was more than a little taken with him. She hoped not. Much as she had grown to enjoy his humor and friendship, he was a man who appreciated women far too much. She didn't want Beth hurt. She shot him a warning glare, but his grin only grew bigger along with her alarm.

“Are you all right?” Aden asked Rosa when Goran engaged Beth in further conversation.

Rosa chose to ignore his question and ask one of her own. “Why are you here?”

“For you,” he said, his voice strangely warm.

A bubble of hope fizzed in her heart. “Me?” Was she reading more into his words because she wanted him so much?

“Tonight's your night,” he said, his deep, fathomless eyes giving nothing away. He gestured to the bevy of men dressed in their best suits and tuxedos as they filed past into the marquee. “There's several here with enough potential without you having to sacrifice anything.”

That little bubble of hope popped. She'd never wanted to hit anyone before, but she sure felt like it right now. She gripped her evening purse so tight it protested. “I'm not going to prostitute myself to get what I want. The right person was you.” Before he could deny her one more time, she turned and marched away, angry with herself more than with him, for allowing herself to hope when she knew all was lost.

• • •

Rosa stood with Beth and Alanna alongside their place setting at the table near the front of the makeshift stage. “No woman is going to be short of a dancing partner tonight.”

Alanna rubbed her palms together. “My aim is to dance with as many men as possible. If I discover anyone I deem suitable, I'll lead them in your direction. You can blink twice for yes and once for no.”

Despite still bristling with anger and disappointment, Rosa couldn't help but laugh. “I'm going to win a partner for the evening, remember? So no. Don't bring them over. If you find someone you like, keep him for yourself.”

Beth fanned herself and looked about like a young girl given a box of candy. “Tonight's the night.”

“Nothing else has worked so far. Why should tonight be any different? I'm resolved to enjoy the evening with whoever wins me. I'm here for the people who have bought tickets and to enjoy the culmination of a very successful festival. Tomorrow will be here soon enough.”

“Something important will happen tonight,” Beth insisted. “I feel it.”

Rosa wasn't sure if Beth was wishing for her own feelings to come true or whether she knew something none of the rest of them did. Rosa still had magic and then some, and she'd felt no change except for an imagined one in Aden. Surely if he'd changed her mind, he would have come to her already.

• • •