Page 4 of Bound By Honey

"Easy for you to say," Sage muttered.

She eyed the empty shelves and piles of books on the second floor that still needed to be cleaned up. With a goodbye wave, Sage made her way to the restricted section. Hopefully, her superiors would only write her up if they even heard about it.

With any luck, she wouldn't see the Charming Four ever again, and this would all become a distant memory.

***

Sage loved the smell of her mother's office. It smelled like the library but better.

Vanilla-and-clove-scented candles sat on the large oak desk. A copper dragon split in half at the corner of the desk created the illusion of flying through the real prize in the room. Her mother's books she had written and published herself.

Growing up, Sage had always been so proud of her. It took her years to understand why telling anyone that her mother was an author was forbidden. The local baker's look would forever be burned in her memory after telling him at the innocent age of five that her dear sweet mother, Emma, was, in fact, romance author Lily Lovemate. Afterward, they only ate bread they made themselves to avoid returning until the old man died four years later and his daughter took over the shop.

Tiptoeing across the squeaky floorboards, Sage wrapped her arms around the shoulders of the woman sitting at the desk and offered a quick peck on the cheek.

A warm ink-stained hand grasped hers with a gentle squeeze. "You're home late."

The chair spun, and Sage stared at a slightly older version of herself. While she may have gotten her father's mind for potions, there was no doubt which of her parents Sage looked the most like.

Sage straightened and scratched the back of her head while avoiding eye contact. "I had an incident at work that needed to be taken care of before I could come home."

As much as her mother's knowing look drove her crazy, Sage was thankful her parents weren't the type to pry. They knew if Sage wanted them to know, she would tell them, and in the twenty years of her life, she had worked hard to keep that trust.

"Have you eaten yet?" her mother asked.

Almost as if on cue, Sage's stomach growled, and the two of them laughed.

Placing a quill on the desk behind her, she rose and put an arm around Sage's shoulder. "Let's go find your father and eat. I have broccoli cheddar soup ready for us."

They made their way to the kitchen, where Sage eagerly inhaled the smell of fresh bread waiting to be warmed up.

As her mother opened the bread box, Sage moved to the stove to dish up a bowl of the creamy soup. Her father entered and filled three cider mugs before sitting at the table.

"Sage, honey, come here. We need to talk about something."

Sage walked over and sat in a chair at their dining table. She knew whatever this was about, she wasn't going to like it. Her father never called her by her first name.

A plate of bread dropped onto the table with a loud thunk. A mumbled sorry escaped her mother's lips as she slid into the seat beside Sage.

"What's wrong?" Sage asked. Her parents were usually calm and collected. The fact that they were anxious only made her own worse.

"Your father and I have been talking, and we need to know if you plan on moving out on your own."

Sage was shocked.

"I didn't realize there was a time frame I needed to move out in."

Her mother placed her hand over Sage's. "Oh, no, dear, that's now what this is about."

Both women gave her father an expectant look.

He cleared his throat. "I have been offered an opportunity ... for work. But it would require us to move. We would still be on the main island, but several days' journey away. Your mother can work from anywhere, and we thought since you are an adult now with a good-paying job, perhaps you would prefer to find your own place so you can stay here."

"What's the job?"

"Mr. Freeman is opening a new location in Hartshire and has asked me to manage it."

The smile on her father's face warmed her heart. He worked so hard and deserved an opportunity like this. He was one of the best apothecaries among the floating islands. When Sage was little, she often traveled with him when he needed to. As she grew older, her fear of heights manifested, and she struggled to bring herself to go anywhere near the bridges that connected the islands among the clouds.

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