Wings of Shadow (The Underground Trilogy) by Anna Kyss

hand-pressed sheet of paper. The thick, rough texture felt unfamiliar. Meghan focused on the words scrawled across the paper.
    While I would have loved to say goodbye
    I greatly feared that I would cry
    So this must be our parting lullaby
    Wish
    “Wish left without even saying goodbye?” She had so many things to thank him for.
    Avery looked apologetic. “That is what Wish does. He comes in and out, like a feather blowing on the wind. Sometimes, he blows toward the Underground and sometimes he blows toward the village.”
    Selena patted Megan on her shoulder. “He will blow back with time. He had a valid reason for leaving with haste. Killian musn’t learn that he was involved with your escape.”
    Selena opened a small wardrobe carved from an old tree trunk. Knots and whirls covered the polished surface. She removed bedding from the cabinet and handed it to Meghan.
    “Where should I sleep?” Meghan asked.
    Selena indicated a ladder leading up to the loft. “My old legs no longer enjoy that climb. The loft is yours for the length of your stay. My chamber is in the back.”
    Meghan looked toward the rear of the cottage. While the entire house only had one room, she noticed a little nook, just large enough for a single mattress. Selena had hung a hand-woven cloth panel that could be drawn for privacy.
    “I appreciate you letting me stay here.”
    “I know you do, my dear. And I will enjoy your company over the upcoming weeks.”
    Avery departed, and Meghan made her way up the ladder to the tiny loft. Her backpack had been left on the wooden floor. A bare stuffed mattress, appearing handmade, lay on the wide, gnarled floorboards. She put on the clean bedding and prepared for bed.
    Sinking into the pillowed softness of the mattress, she looked up at the thatched ceiling. The air was infused with the smells of fragrant flowers and herbs. She breathed in the perfume, and drifted to sleep.

 
The Queen’s Abode
    ~ 9 ~
    The weeks glided by. Meghan soon adapted to the routine. As the village was self-sustained, everyone had a job to do: growing food, gathering fallen wood from the nearby forest, spinning and weaving fabric, or tending the sheep. All did their jobs with untiring perseverance and unrelenting cheerfulness.
    She had been assigned to apprentice with Selena, helping her care for the flowers and vegetables, harvest the herbs, and extract healing remedies. Meghan loved her daily responsibilities. Being raised in a city, she had never gardened. Tending the plants, learning the names of each flower and herb, and spending her days in the outdoors underneath the autumn sun filled her with contentment.
    “You are going to trim that poor bush into nothingness,” Selena chided, her voice soft.
    “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to harm the poor elderberry.”
    “My dear, ‘tis a hawthorn bush. Do you see how the berries are larger and reddish in color? The elderberry produces tiny indigo-colored berries.”
    Focusing, Meghan recited, “The elderberries are used for treating influenza and other infection, but the hawthorn berries are used for circulation problems and heart health. Right?”
    A smile spread across Selena’s face. “You are learning, Meghan. You are an astute student and an excellent tender of the gardens… when you are not daydreaming.”
    “I love this. I wish herbology was an actual field of study at the university. I still don’t know what to major in.”
    “It will come to you in due time, my child.” Selena bent to pick up the trimmed hawthorn twigs. “Today, I want to show you another use for the hawthorn—one that infuses magic within the branch.”
    “Magic?” She gasped. Until that point, everything they had done in the gardens had been grounded in science: best growing conditions, genus classifications, the practical uses of differing species. But magic hadn’t been introduced.
    “Hawthorn is known for its protective qualities. It is the protector of the vulnerable and the