Chapter 9: Quest For the Phoenix Casuarina

Azandra POV

Little Dirge, in love with a wood elf?

Moon Goddess, she sounded just like her mother at times. When did THAT happen? Did having pups of her own turn her into Titania? Hopefully, that meant the Titania who always knew just what to do and not the one who gave you that disapproving stare of death. Azandra had her own brand of that, thank you very much.

But Dirge, in love with a wood elf?

Her Wise-Woman-to-be sense already screamed fated mate.

She watched Thessalia–Thessi–and Calyx wander around Tulaska’s cozy home with its fireplace, its sacred drum, its stacks of books, and all its interesting artifacts. Those included a scroll covered with all the Cresta/Sinsworth children’s footprints in paint–a Kyon project. Tulaska might be most partial to Cyran’s and Naomi’s pups–well, besides Kyon’s and Azandra’s–but all the pups felt loved by her and considered her another mother and aunt.

Thessalia hadn’t seemed too overwhelmed by their huge, boisterous, live-for-today family. Wood elves seemed a bit more expressive and open, but they still had that typical elf dignity. Thessalia might have just become an adult by wood elf standards, but she had that grace and poise. The spirited Calyx did, too.

Thessalia would fit in with their pack, but it might cause the wood elves to faint. Maybe not Thessalia’s open-minded brother Prince Narbeth, whom Azandra and Kyon liked. The man had the sense to help his sister escape rather than sentence her to a marriage that he’d been forced into accepting. He acted stupidly but honorably. He deserved the Evenhide Pack’s protection. But even with his support, Thessalia wouldn’t leave their grove for good.

Would Dirge move to the wood elf groves permanently?

He clung to his brothers. But he was young and had found his fated mate. Would he leave?

Thessalia couldn’t stay for long unless this potion worked.

“So, you seek the elusive phoenix casuarina,” Tulaska said. 

Calyx stopped in front of the fireplace, warming herself by the crackling logs. “Elusive?”

“Honestly, you’d have better luck finding a dragon’s egg around these parts,” Tulaska said. 

Thessalia’s face fell and she nearly sat on Tulaska’s drum but moved aside gracefully at the last second, and sat on an ottoman. 

Bustling around her home, Tulaska brewed bitterroot tea. Calyx sniffed. “Ah, bitterroot. Just the thing. But I prefer to boil mine and eat it for its medicinal properties.”

“Tea is stronger and purer,” Tulaska said.

“You get more nutrients if you eat it,” Calyx said.

Tulaska threw a glare over her shoulder. “SHIFTERS do not talk back to the Wise Woman.”

Azandra covered her face with her hands. Please, let Calyx and Thessalia see that for the bald-faced lie it was. Azandra and the Crestas challenged Tulaska on a regular basis.

“Are you sure about that?” Thessalia gave Tulaska her best princessly look.

Tulaska guffawed. “Spoken like a shifter. Dirge! Stop glowering at me and sheathe your claws. Just because you like this girl is no reason to lose your head.”

Of course, Tulaska would immediately embarrass Dirge. He turned the dark red of some of the paw prints on Tulaska’s scroll. 

“You were telling us about the phoenix casuarina?” Thessalia asked tactfully, not reacting to Tulaska’s outspokenness. 

Azandra liked Thessalia even more, even if she wished Thessalia would give poor Dirge some encouragement! Although, if Kyon was to be believed–and he usually was–the couple had kissed after escaping that fire. Dirge was as passionate as his brothers, apparently!

Calyx sipped the bitterroot tea. “Yes, please do tell us. And I’m sorry for criticizing the way you prepare bitterroot.”

“A teacher must be ready to be challenged, or she might as well become a bricklayer,” Tulaska said. “Or go back to being a student herself.”

Azandra’s heart swelled with love for Tulaska. The woman’s spirit was as strong as the smell and taste of the bitterroot, no small feat considering she’d been put in a coma by Hades and then had her soul healed in the shrine of the Mystics of Merkur. After that, Tulaska seemed even more vital and ageless.

“Now, the phoenix casuarina you’re seeking is a tricky plant indeed,” Tulaska said, sitting down with her cup of bitterroot tea. “Dies quickly, which is where the name comes from. Always scatters its seeds to the wind. It never grows in the same place twice.”

Calyx leaned forward. “Is there one in the territory now?”

Dirge balanced his cup on his knees. “Yes, and where is it?”

Tulaska pointed to a map of the territory hanging on her wall. “Rumors are swirling about one such tree on Mt. Alder. I haven’t been there to investigate.”

Dirge muttered under his breath, “Hard to do that when you’re always with Cyran.” He whined softly because Azandra kicked him as she walked by. 

She missed Tulaska, too, but her mentor’s absences gave her a chance to act as Wise Woman. Plus, it was a small sacrifice for Tulaska’s newfound happiness. Cyran’s children embraced her as a grandmother, and she’d found a son in Cyran. 

Ignoring Dirge’s drama, Tulaska continued, “But the phoenix casuarina on the mountain is only a rumor. And with all the storms this time of year, the mountain is treacherous.”

“I’m willing to go anywhere,” Calyx shouted. 

Thessalia lifted her head in a proud and confident manner. “And where she goes, I go.”

Azandra’s senses screamed that this loyal, headstrong, intelligent wood elf was Dirge’s fated mate, but the course of claiming her wouldn’t run smoothly.

* * * * *

Dirge POV

Tulaska knew all along about this phoenix casuarina? Why hadn’t she said anything?

He should know better. She kept so many secrets. She’d probably forgotten more plant lore and unusual magical and mystical facts than Patch and Dirge could get their hands on in a lifetime. But still, she could have dropped a hint, the way she was so fond of doing.

His shin smarted from Azandra kicking him for complaining about Tulaska’s visits to Cyran and Naomi and their pups. All his brothers yelled at him over his jealousy. Cyran had lost his parents, and Tulaska was like another mother. Besides, Tulaska hadn’t been around when Patch knew Anneliese was his fated mate … she’d been in a coma.

Dirge shuddered, just thinking about Tulaska lying silent and still. He remembered the Dark Goddess reaching out to devour her with evil dark tendrils. 

Thessi put an arm around him. “You’re shaking.”

“Am I? Tulaska is safe. We made sure of that. So is Cyran. We went through the Pure Heart Gate and had to see weird things about ourselves. Anneliese saw a life where she was married to Makhel and it was boring. Not that Makhel is boring, he’s an orc and a prince, but he’s not Patch. And I saw a life where I didn’t have my brothers. Because sometimes it’s hard to stand out on my own. But my life was boring without them.”

He was babbling. Why was he babbling?

Thessi clasped his hands. “Think of the roots of a tree. Feel yourself connected to the earth. Breathe in and out as trees breathe in and out.”

“Trees breathe?”

It was a stupid thing to say. He knew basic science.

“Oh, right. Breathe in carbon dioxide, breathe out oxygen. We’re the reverse.”

“Focus, Dirge.”

Breathe in, breathe out. He pictured himself as a tree. A huge oak tree. Or maybe a small but rapidly growing silverthorn tree. Or a dragon bamboo tree. He pictured the roots sinking into the earth, and the energy traveling the heart of the earth and back.

The anxiety over nearly losing Tulaska, who had been like a mother to him too, faded away. Thessi gripped his hands. “Better?”

“You’re incredible.”

“She’s the best,” Calyx said proudly. “Honestly, she’d make an excellent Druid on top of being a princess.”

“Calyx is a Druid,” Thessi announced proudly.

Dirge noticed Tulaska and Azandra staring at him with identical knowing looks on their faces. Yes! He hoped they saw something about Thessi being his fated mate.“Sorry,” he mumbled. “It’s been two and a half years and it turned out well. I don’t know why–”

Thessi squeezed his hands. “Right after that, you had that whole conflict with Hades and made peace with your enemy, Cyran. And he became part of you–part of this clan.”

“Another powerful brother,” Dirge commented. 

Thessi looked wistful. “Believe me, I know what it’s like to stand in a sibling’s shadow. But the good part of that is, he gives me shade and shields me sometimes.”

“This girl is wise enough to be a Druid,” Azandra commented. “Or a witch.”

Tulaska was more direct. “That High Lord would shrivel up within a week if he were married to her. He couldn’t stand being so close to something so full of life and spirit. You all did a good thing sheltering her. A very good thing.”

Dirge beamed at her. “So, let’s find that phoenix casuarina before they have to go back.”

“Do we go to the mountain?” Calyx asked. 

“At dawn?” Thessalia looked ready to go tearing off.

Tulaska snorted. “Cool your enthusiasm, girls. The storms are fierce this time of year and there may be one tomorrow, and the slopes are muddy afterwards. We can’t go until we know. Besides, you still have to perfect your howling and become so shifter-like that no one would ever know you have pointed ears underneath all that glamor.”

“The witches can teleport to the mountain and shield against the rain,” Thessalia pointed out.

Dirge also wanted to pack a bag and set off for the mountain slopes. “Tulaska, this is important. Time’s a-wasting.”

He wanted to keep Thessi in the territory for as long as possible, even if it meant he had to let her go back to her kingdom to flaunt her success with the potion in the High Lord’s face. The sooner the man was out of the picture, the better.

“We’ll talk about it in the morning, pup,” Tulaska said. “If you’ve been listening as opposed to running your mouth, the phoenix casuarina is a tricky specimen.”

“Why is that?” Calyx asked. “It’s supposed to be one of the ancestors of all the trees in the world, if not THE ancestor.”

Tulaska curled her hands around her teacup. “If you were the ancestor of every tree in the world, with all that responsibility, wouldn’t you get tired of people always seeking you?”

Thessi, Calyx, and Azandra looked at each other, completely lost. 

“She talks like an elf,” Thessi commented.

Tulaska set aside her cup, walked over, and ruffled Thessalia’s hair. “A finer compliment I couldn’t have! Thank you. And I know your friend is trying to peer at the spines of my books to see if I have anything in this cluttered room that can give you a bit of knowledge. But this is not where I keep the good stuff.” She pointed at a small door in the back of the room. “Through there, you’ll find even more ancient books, some printed on paper from trees that no longer grow in your grove.”

Thessi and Calyx leapt up and ran towards the door. Once they had disappeared into the room with all the rare books, Dirge blocked Tulaska’s and Azandra’s way–not hard to do when the pathways in the room were narrow and choked with Tulaska’s artifacts.

Suddenly nervous, he wet his lips. “You can help them in a minute, but first–”

“We know,” Tulaska said in a gentle voice. “It’s been in your eyes all evening. Ask what you’ve been meaning to ask.”

Dirge plucked up his courage, then inquired, “Is Thessalia, Princess of the Brighmere Grove Wood Elf Kingdom, my fated mate? My wolf says she is.”