Chapter 176

**Lyra

Zelda and I sat in the garden with Aunt Nadine, carefully taking thorns off a few dozen roses we’d decided to clip to take into the castle proper to brighten up the place. Zelda had been practicing her magic, and since we were plucking some of the more sickly ones, she had encouraged them to perk back up before laying them in the large wicker basket we’d brought outside.

It had been another