Chapter 14
SummerElainya
Summer’s heat attacked the castle with a fiery vengeance. I tended my overflowing herbs with care, thankfully dipping water from the barrels Nian had placed in the corners of the garden to ease the task. If there was a way to make a job easier, Nian would find it.
As summer wore on, my skin burned and then tanned to an unladylike shade of brown. The sun seemed to shine on my garden with unusual ferocity, making the lighting harsh and grating to my eyes. My eyes refused to adjust and I was forced to carry a handkerchief just for wiping away the tears.
One exceptionally hot day, Terror lounged in the shade of an overgrown fennel plant, not deigning to bat the wispy tendrils. His tiny cat-voice was developing into an intelligible thought-speak, but the only word h
