“You’re so weird sometimes,” Maelis said, but there was a smile in her tone. “Alright, let’s see… there are a few. The Whisper Pines, the Singing Birch, the old Bloodwood in the north. And… oh there’s the Red Oak but it's very rare.”

Aurora let her voice rise just enough to sound interested, but not too much. “Red Oak? What’s that?”

“It’s not just a tree,” Maelis explained. “It’s… kind of a safe box. But not like a chest you can open. It’s alive, loyal to its owner, and nothing can break it. Not the sharpest axes, not fire, nothing. Only the one who planted it can truly speak to...