give them those years. But then again, it would take Owen the same amount of time to supply his men with the resistant Curare.
“What about the other crossbreed plants?” he asked his father.
“One at a time, my boy. One at a time. Is that dinner?” Esau gestured to the tray Leif held.
“Supper, Father. You worked through dinner.” Leif set the tray on the ground. “When it gets dark, come inside the farmhouse. I’ll have a bath ready for you.”
Already chewing on an apple, Esau nodded, but his gaze had returned to the greenery surrounding him. Leif left, knowing he’d have to return and fetch his father or the man would work through the night. When his father immersed himself in a project, Leif’s role was simple—take care of Esau’s needs.
Esau decided he needed to catalog all the plants in the hothouse, along with the investigation of the crossbreeds. Over the course of a few days he determined that Owen’s gardener had crossed a few medicinal plants.
“Very clever,” Esau said. “This way one plant will take care of two symptoms. Less to pack!”
“Do you recognize the person who did the crossbreeding?” Leif asked. “Is it someone from our clan?”
“No to both questions. However, I suspect it is someone from the Greenblade Clan. They have forest experts who have been crossbreeding trees to grow a harder wood for buildings.”
“But how are they getting the jungle plants?”
“We can’t patrol the entire jungle, Leif. Curare and Theobroma grow all over and are just as accessible at the border of the Cowan Clan’s lands as well as deep in the interior.”
At least it wasn’t one of their clan members. Small comfort. He’d hoped his father would recognize the gardener helping Owen.
Esau spent a total of six days working in the hothouse. On the last day, he shouted for Leif, who’d been grooming Rusalka. Leif raced to join his father. Esau had leaves caught in his hair and dirt stained his forearms, forehead and knees.
“Come see what I found!” Esau grabbed his elbow and tugged him inside the hothouse. “Back here. I almost missed it.”
Leif crouched down to avoid being smacked in the face by a branch. Near the back right corner, Esau pulled him to his hands and knees, and they crawled the rest of the way.
Esau stabbed a finger at a Theobroma tree. “See that?”
“Yes. So?”
His father pointed to what appeared to be a large knot on the lower trunk “Look! This is where another Theobroma tree has been grafted onto this tree.”
“Okay. What’s so special about that?”
Esau huffed. “It means that this second tree doesn’t need as much time to mature as the first one because the roots and trunk are already established.” When Leif failed to produce an appropriate reaction, he continued, “It means that instead of waiting three to five years for the Theobroma tree to mature and produce pods, it will grow pods in just a year.”
Wow. That meant... “And will double the number of trees growing pods?” Leif asked.
“Exactly!”
“Increasing the production of Theobroma is what the Council has asked Bavol to accomplish.”
“Then message Bavol and tell him to come here. He needs to see this!”
And it also implied Owen’s stock of Theobroma may be twice the amount they’d estimated. Had he sent it to the Commander along with the Curare? What if Owen used the grafting to grow Theobroma-resistant Curare? Would they be able to use the Theobroma after they extracted the Curare? Leif asked his father.
“It’s possible, but I won’t know for sure until the trees mature.”
Leif hurried to the farmhouse to contact Irys and ask her to talk to Bavol. Before he reached the porch, a voice called his name. A young messenger stood outside the gate waving a sealed envelope. He thanked the girl and tipped her. The scent of lavender tickled his nose, and the part of him reserved for worrying about his sister relaxed a fraction. He waited until he was inside before ripping it open.
After reading the first sentence, his concern returned, along with fear. Owen was a guest of the Commander, staying at the castle in Ixia. With Yelena! She was supposed to be safe there with Valek. Instead she was in just as much danger as when Owen had captured her.
Leif raced up to his room. He pulled the super messenger from his pack and sat on the edge of his bed. Drawing on the magic inside, he reached for Irys. She allowed him through her defenses right away.
Good timing, Leif.