Tree Singer by Jacci Turner (best novels for beginners TXT) 📕

ma came. She had no choice but to send you. Said you were the next best singer.”

Her mother had no choice?

Now that she knew their history, that statement made sense. She should have realized her mother would have come if she could have, especially if she knew how dangerous their quest would be.

“You should forgive her, too . . . And your own ma.” Mayten held her breath. Had she just violated their little truce?

Adven walked in silence, keeping his eyes straight ahead. Finally, he gave a curt nod. “You’re right. I think it’s time for a lunch break.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Nan caught up with her after lunch, her step lighter, her body looking more relaxed than when they started this quest. Nan took Adven’s place as they walked. “Tom says you might come back in a few years and train some singers.”

Mayten laughed. “That’s what your da wants, anyway.”

“A king usually gets . . .” Nan started in a singsong voice.

“. . . what a king wants.” Mayten finished. They both laughed.

Nan seemed different today, as though she’d been tucked inside a hard shell and had finally broken free.

“If you do come,” Nan continued, “do you think I’m too old to learn how to sing to the plants?”

“No one is too old,” Mayten said. “It just takes time.”

Nan’s eyes sparkled. “Can you imagine combining what I’ve learned about plants through science and what you know about plants through singing?”

Mayten couldn’t resist smiling back. She’d have to talk to her da about this. “I’ll make you a deal—I’ll come back with some apprentice singers from my clan and start teaching future singers and you can teach us botany!”

Nan looked so excited Mayten wouldn’t have been surprised to see the princess break into a jig. “That would be amazing! In fact, I could start teaching one of my sisters or maybe one of the servants’ or soldiers’ children about botany now, and then they could be apprentices with your family.”

Nan wandered up the path, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Probably daydreaming about teaching botany.

Mayten looked up to find the prince walking beside her, an embarrassed grin on his face, and her stomach fluttered as though filled with butterflies.

The prince fiddled with his pack’s shoulder straps, adjusting them, then adjusting them again.

“Guess you didn’t like me much when we first met.” He jerked the straps, scowled, and stopped fiddling.

She grimaced. Looked like the visions she’d received during the whole count thing had gone both ways. “No, not really.”

He nodded. “I . . . was a bit of a jerk. Bad day and all that.”

A squirrel scampered past, leaping on a tree ahead and scrambling up, Anatolian right on its tail. They both laughed.

“I’m going to ask my dad if I can come back with you, you know, to train with Adven as a quester.”

“That’s nice,” she said. Nice? What a lame thing to say. Where was Cather when she needed her? “I mean, that’s good. You’ll make a good quester.”

“I guess I’ll get to see you more if I’m there training, you know, in your clan.”

“Guess so,” she agreed. Why couldn’t she come up with something brilliant to say? She sounded like a ninny.

They rounded a corner and she was shocked to see the pond where they’d first met the prince. The afternoon sun made it sparkle like a gem. Mayten felt her face grow hot. She glanced at the prince whose face looked as red as hers felt.

“I’ll run ahead to tell them we’re home and to prepare dinner for us.” The prince took off running without another word.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Though the king had been a bit reluctant, the questing team set out again the next day, each of them anxious to get home for their own reasons. There were many hugs from the children and requests to return soon.

The return trip took six days.

Mayten’s feet hurt, and she was sick of eating meat again, but it had been a much better trip. The weather had been perfect, Adven wasn’t so surly, Cather and Tray were enjoying their time together.

To her surprise, the king had agreed to let the prince apprentice with Adven and had sent two woodsmen with them to cook and hunt.

Though their silences had grown less awkward, Mayten still had a difficult time talking to the prince. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, studied the way his dark hair shone as they walked through ribbons of sunlight. The scent of sugar pine whispered of home. Adven was somewhere up ahead. Cather and Tray were behind him. Judging by Tray’s waving arms, he was entertaining Cather with another wild adventure.

“There’s something I’ve wanted to ask you,” Mayten said without thinking. She glanced at the prince.

“What is it?”

“Where did your siblings get all those silly nicknames and why don’t you have one?”

The prince chuckled. “You probably noticed my dad’s sense of humor.”

She nodded.

“When we got old enough to complain about the Thomas and Thomasina thing, he decided to give us nicknames. And he named us after fruit!”

“Fruit? You mean like Cherry?”

“That’s right. He called her Cherry because of her red hair. Nan is Banana.”

Mayten laughed so hard she thought her sides would burst. Banana!

“He just kept on going. Lemmy is Lemon, Limey is Lime, Blue is Blueberry and Raz is Raspberry. My baby sister is Plum.”

“I guess I should have figured that out,” she admitted. “But you didn’t say what your nickname is.”

“Tom, of course.”

He pretended to study a tree close by.

“Do I have to ask Nan? When she hears about Banana—”

“Okay, okay. But you can’t tell anyone else. I fought long and hard to be called Tom.”

“I promise,” she said, raising her hand with a grin.

“It’s Ki.”

“Ki?”

He rolled his eyes. “Short for Kiwi.”

“Kiwi?” She swallowed hard, struggling to keep from laughing.

“Tom,” Adven called from somewhere ahead.

“Gotta go,” he said, his eyes sparkling. He started to jog away, then turned back. “Remember—you promised.” He pointed his finger at her and jogged off.

Cather turned and waited for Mayten, taking her hand when she caught up.