of summer faded into the crisp gold of autum

arted visiting t

be clutched around her, her expressio

tains," she'd say, her voice soft, li

out plants. Her questions were alwa

ughing fit, her hand pres

sighed, looking directly at me. "They can

The Sunbeam Vine's essen

t it up later

his tone flat. He avoided my

.. they mention the Vine's pow

n, his gaze hard. "

n't a

ore of a cage, really. They brought soil from Sunbea

beam Vine cuttings, sto

Keller ordered.

d, that it took my l

collective spirit of my tribe, without the mountain's

s forced into

y hands trembling, and try to co

A slow, delibe

af that unfurled,

watch, a small, satis

were some interesting botanical spec

ed taking

into her tea. She claimed it hel

his face unreadable. Did he

seemed to be So

announced she

of something like joy softened his

it was a dea

hand resting possessively on her barely-there bu

ands in

tronger con

he Vines were still fra

My life, my tribe's legacy, reduce

personal physician carefully extracted the

tion was too much, and I swayed, Kelle

was rough,

he'd growl. "

me alive, but o

the man who was destro

a bitter aci