The Magician's Witch

Cords, Rings, and Vows

"Alone at last," Laleh said sweetly, letting go of Eilis' arm. Bakhita released her as well.

"Alright. Now what," Eilis asked the two of them. "Is this where your plan ends?"

"Of course not," Bakhita said excitedly. She lifted a blanket off a jug, opening the cork and pouring three glasses. She handed one to Eilis.

"Lemonade," she asked, surprised. She sniffed the glass, confirming that it smelled like lemons.

"Technically, it's sherbet with lemons and mint, but yes," Laleh said brightly.

Eilis grinned and waited for Bakhita to rise from the floor, holding her own drink.

Bakhita held out her glass and Laleh and Eilis followed suit. "Eilis Craven, you are a rare, unique, stubborn, compassionate woman, and we-Laleh and I-are privileged to know you. And you are snaring one hell of a rare man."

Eilis grinned. They clinked glasses and sipped the cool sherbet. The lemon and mint danced happily on her tongue.

The ladies dined on nuts and dried fruit and cheese as they talked, gossiping about the guys-Laleh and Dara, and Bakhita and Malid had been getting serious, all of which Eilis had noticed, and knew this addition to the house was coming at the right time. She also felt a subtle pang as she considered that they all may end up leaving and settling down in their own homes; she hoped they would stay close by.

All three of them had gathered flowers around the yard and dried them. Now, they carefully wove the flowers into crowns they would wear tomorrow. Splashes of yellow, white and pink dappled their woodland crowns. Eilis finished hers, placing it on her head. "What do you think," she asked her companions.

Laleh grinned. "You look like a nymph."

Eilis nodded. "Exactly what I was going for."

"Don't you two have some running commentary about being similar to Hades and Persephone," Bakhita asked.

Eilis laughed. "Yes. And it literally started with pomegranate seeds."

Laleh and Bakhita were silent, waiting for her to continue.

Eilis sighed. "It was at the end of September, just after we had landed in Mazandaran. We were staying at Nadir's estate. Erik had been entertaining Reza, Nadir's son with different stories. I came out, and I told Reza about Peter Pan and Neverland. He loved the idea of fairies."

Eilis paused, slight melancholy entering her voice as she thought of Reza. She shook it off, continuing with her story.

"Anyway, Reza was brought inside, and Erik and I were left alone for a few minutes. We were still wary of each other. I told him that I felt like Persephone, brought against my will to a world that was not my own. Erik asked if that made him Hades, and I told him that he fit the description. He joked with me that he should feed me pomegranate seeds in order to determine how long I would remain here."

"Did he," Laleh asked curiously.

Eilis snickered. "Yup. Eighteen seeds."

"Do you think it's right? That you are only here for eighteen months," Bakhita asked, a little concerned.

Eilis turned her gaze on her. "They're just pomegranate seeds, Bakhita," she told her sardonically. "And neither Erik nor I are Greek gods. It was just a joke, a nice anecdote to how our relationship began."

"Was that your first kiss, too," Laleh asked.

Eilis shook her head. "No. That happened a few days later, after I raced him on my broomstick to the palace construction site. He told me his backstory. He asked me why I wasn't afraid of him. I told him that I was more comfortable in the dark than I should be, that I was never afraid of the dark. We were both surprised by how-magnetic-the feeling was when we kissed for the first time. There was no use resisting, even if I had wanted to."