With Lane trailing behind us, his head bowed in thought, we rejoin the tour, finding everyone else standing around a large flower planted in a secluded area, separated from the nearest flowers by its own smaller hedges. Oh, I remember this one. One of the more fun varieties in this part of the garden.

“—more dangerous species. At first glance, it looks like its leaves are sprouting from its stem but…” Gajin holds up a hand, silently telling his audience not to follow him as he approaches the plant. As he draws closer, leafy vines unwind from the thick stem and begin to sway.

I purposely turn my gaze, watching the plant from the corner of my eyes. Beside me, Alana does the same, just as familiar with the oddities of the garden.

The watching crowd isn’t as prepared. They are completely enraptured as the vines of the plant sway and snap, gazes blank. I know from experience that if they are left alone, they will continue to stare at the plant indefinitely, oblivious to their surroundings.

It’s how the plant hunts. Something about the movement of the vines, when observed directly, confuses the brain. Leaves the prey vulnerable to the assault of the thicker vines near the base of the stem. As this is the front garden, the danger has been neutralized by the hedges around it that severely hamper the movement of those lower vines.

Gajin hisses, making a sound not unlike an angry housecat. The hypnotic vines stop their dance and obediently curl around the thick stem of the plant.

Kierra can train plants. Something that sounds ridiculous but is rather simple in theory. At least, it’s simple when you have a pure affinity. As her student and second pair of hands, Gajin has learned the signals she uses. The man has come a long way from the bandit I almost stabbed on the King’s Road.

My gardener wakes up each member of the audience by snapping his fingers in front of their faces until they come back to their senses. “And that is the danger of the Verdant Beauty. The plant nourishes itself by hypnotizing those that watch it and strangling them with the larger lower vines. Mistress is very fond of strangling plants. It’s best to be wary of anything with vines in the garden. And that brings us to the end of our tour. I have to tend to some of the night children. In the meantime, you can return to the house or take a seat at the tables we’ve set up. Thank you for accompanying me for this demonstration.”

William claps but the sound quickly dies when he realizes he’s the only one applauding, his hands dropping to his side as his face flushes with embarrassment. There’s no need for his self-consciousness as the group ignores him, falling in line behind Gajin as he motions for them to follow. I join the procession. Arthur spots me when he looks over his shoulder and leaves his group to walk beside me. “Do you think that viney thing can survive on a ship?”

“When it comes to my wife and her pure affinity, I just assume she can do whatever. Better question. Is what you have in mind interesting enough for her to bother?”

“On the sea, spells are used to disable enemy ships, but the bulk of the fighting happens after boarding actions. Not to mention all the creatures that like to jump on deck. Those vines would make a heck of a deterrent.”

“If they aren’t strangling your crew. And that’s just one of the problems I can think of.”

He shrugs. “It was just a thought. I…well, in my little dream, your creature taught me the valuable of using things in unusual ways. A boarding crew is always ready for martial fighters and casters. No one’s going to be prepared for dancing plants that shut their brains off and strangles them when they’re not paying attention.” He chuckles. “In fact, there’s a few things in this death trap disguised as a garden that I’d like on a ship.”

“I think death trap is going a bit too far. We’ve paid attention to safety.” I wave a hand at the hedges.

“Yeah? You’re telling me this place hasn’t killed anyone?”

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I open my mouth to say no, but a feeling makes me pause. “I don’t think so.”

My hesitance is obvious and the pirate doesn’t hesitate to point it out. “Would you know if it had?”

“I think a corpse would stand out.”

“Would it? If it was wrapped up in vines, would you even notice? Heh, I wouldn’t be surprised if that gardener of yours grinded up the corpses and used them as plant food. There is something wrong with him. There’s something wrong with all your servants.”

“I resent that. They all do a wonderful job.”

“Yeah. Too wonderful of a job. Your gardener just hissed at a plant to tell it not to eat us. And don’t get me started on that creepy brat you call a steward. That little fucker is all kinds of wrong.”

I want to point out that my servants are strong, motivated, and capable people who are well-fed and well-sheltered. They live better lives than most in Harvest and their futures are full of prospects. But whether that’s worth a succubus putting her fingers in their minds is questionable.

I ordered her to keep her fingers off their personalities and to help them improve themselves, but some might still think of it as an unforgivable invasion. I’m sure Arthur wouldn’t approve, given his only experience with Geneva’s “attentions” was horrific. Feeling charitable, I decide to leave the topic be.

Gajin leads the group to the sitting area, where tables have been set up beneath the glowing light of one of the arches, iridescent torches lining the surrounding hedges. I walk over to the table closest to the house and settle Cynthia in one of the chairs. Before I straighten up, a strong hand grabs my shoulder and I turn to meet Alyssa’s narrowed eyes. “It’s not what you think,” I say quickly, dreading the thought of her throwing around flames.

“Yeah?” The instructor moves me aside…or at least she tries. Her brows furrow but I graciously step back before she can dwell on my surprising strength and weight. Alyssa gives me a look before leaning over her friend…and breathing in deeply. She sighs as she straightens up and backpedals. “It’s exactly what I think.” She gives me a look that’s hard to decipher before walking away from the table.

“Wait for me, boss!” Lane shouts, running after her. I shake my head at the display. Poor bastard doesn’t have a chance. I feel bad for him but…

“Do you think she was impressed?” I whisper to Alana, leaning toward her.

“She was something,” my future-knight scoffs. She takes a seat beside the sweetly dreaming alchemist. I take a seat beside her and Arthur sits on Cynthia’s other side. To my surprise, a stranger drops beside me.

“I’m impressed,” a girl dressed in far too much leather and far too little overall says as she takes a seat beside me. She has the same bronze skin and dark hair as Arthur, coloring I’m beginning to think is common to the coast. Her hair is cut short, shorter than I’ve seen any woman wear, and her only jewelry is a long tooth of some kind of predator hanging from a loop of string. Her dark eyes practically glitter as she leans toward me, putting her chin in a palm. “Heard you were some kind of beast but fucking a woman unconscious in your backyard? That’s hardcore.”

The way she says it and the quirk of her lips makes me think hardcore is a compliment. “As a good hostess, I strive to give my guests what they want.”

“Yeah, she looks like she got what she wanted.”

Saints, I haven’t been this blatantly eye-fucked by a woman since…actually, I don’t think I’ve even been ogled to this extent before. Cynthia was coy with her advances. Cloud was probably the most direct of my dalliances, but her attitude was more blunt than rabidly sexual like my guest. She’s practically drooling over me.

I have to admit, I’m enjoying the attention.

“Lou, this is Walawala.”

“Family name,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “A clan thought that dealing with leatherbacks was a better deal than fighting for more trees in the jungle. Graywatch isn’t anyone’s better option but we’re kind of stuck with it. Friends call me Way.”

“Way, huh. So? Pirate? Smuggler?”

“Cook.”

How mundane.

Arthur scoffs. “She means drugs, captain. Way’s family mixes everything from stimulants, to aphrodisiacs, to poisons.”

“Look at you, speaking all proper.” The cook, in the broadest sense of the word, moves her leg. Presumably to kick him from Arthur’s wince. “And don’t go dropping the gold on me, Shrimp. We don’t want Lou to get the wrong impression.” She smiles at me and a gold tooth in her mouth gleams. “A few cousins might have been involved in some, ah, unsavory business—'

“More like your mother—" I chuckle as Arthur is cut off by another wince.

“But I’m here for respectable reasons. Going to be a proper alchemist. In fact, I was hoping to speak to her—" Way inclines her head toward Cynthia. “She gonna wake up soon?”

“Of course. There’s a lot more party to get through.”

With his usual unnerving timing, Earl appears at our table carrying a silver tray with several glasses, filled with the fruit wines from the smell. Except a shorter, squat glass filled with something that smells of spice. My steward takes it and waves it under the alchemist’s nose. Within seconds, Cynthia’s eyes flutter open. She lets out a sensual moan as she stretches, slowly focusing on her surroundings. Her eyes flick around the table before finding me, her lips turning up. “Well. Looks like I’ve embarrassed myself a little.”