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“Speaking of friends,” continued Lydia (from last week’s installment of this series) “what do you hear from Brother Frankincense about your next undertaking—has he found a likely scholar to assist you?”

“He’s made a list of good boys, smart and as they sometimes say, “neurospicy” in the right ways, who’s in an unhappy family situation, so we should be able to slip in there and get him a scholarship position in the monastery,” sighed Esme, adding “and Janina and her selkie mother are settled in with the Red King, but the mother will be called back to her family duties soon.”

“Which means that you have to marry the Red King and raise the daughter?”

“Yes, so that’s at least ten years away from my home here; long lives also mean many lives, as well you know, but we somehow make it work out,” Esme gazed at Lydia through the portal within the scrying pool and shrugged.

“But how is all this going to work for you?” Lydia spoke sharply, rattling her knitting needles, and peered across the liminal void at her fellow witch.

“You’re just going to have to wait to read the book!” laughed Esme, signing off for the evening.

© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2026)