Chapter Twenty-Two #2
“It’s true!” I said, trying to project confidence.
“It’s good news. At least, it could be. It means we don’t have to find the original grimoire, which for all we know is at the bottom of the ocean.
” No need to tell them I strongly suspected it was in the hands of a dangerous man just down the road as we spoke, or that the tree was extinct.
I’d work all that out later. “We only have to find this bloom.”
“A bloom we’ve never heard of,” Bri said. “That for all we know doesn’t exist.”
In hindsight, it’s painfully obvious to me that this is where everything went wrong.
I could have done the honest thing. I could have told Bri and Finlay what Mr. Wexley wanted, that he was blackmailing me to steal something that would most likely land me in the world’s most notorious prison.
I could have told them about Wexley’s grimoire collection, the blood-colored book that had practically sung when I touched it.
At the very least, I could have told them that we’d go to the library tomorrow and research the extinct bloom, because at this point, I hadn’t really done anything too terribly wrong.
Yes, I had made it sound as though I’d found the antidote to Bri’s curse—or, you know, said exactly that—but it was technically possible that I had.
For all any of us knew, there was a willywag blossom out there somewhere.
When we went to the library tomorrow and discovered that it was going to be impossible to find, I could have apologized for getting everyone’s hopes up, and we’d all go back to the shoppe and I’d figure out some other way to get my hands on Wexley’s book.
But if anyone else had seen the way Finlay was looking at me, not yet aware that I not only sold counterfeit items, but was myself a fraud, no better than the hucksters who sold watered-down goods to the poor and downtrodden …
I would like to think if anyone else saw that beautiful face watching them expectantly, they’d have done what I did next.
But I know better than that.
While these thoughts were flitting through my head, another discourse was happening simultaneously.
If Mr. Wexley’s threats were real, then I had no choice but to go and steal this treasure.
That, or die trying. If I didn’t, and something happened to Bri, her blood would be entirely on my hands.
I was the one who had convinced her to come work for me, catching the notice of Mr. Wexley in the first place.
But if I told Bri and Finlay why I was going, they would forbid me. They would call me foolish, reckless … feckless. They would tell me to go to the authorities or some such nonsense, and as the trader and the Sapphire Islander had said, the police in Ardmuir were a joke.
What I needed was an excuse to go to the Sapphire Isles that had nothing to do with treasure, something innocent enough that it wouldn’t cause Bri and Finlay to worry.
For better or worse, Mr. Wexley had given me the perfect out. “It does exist,” I said with a heavy sigh. “The willywag tree is in the Sapphire Isles, and I already have a plan to retrieve it.”
Finlay and Bri threw up their hands simultaneously. “Willow!”
I pushed myself up from the chair. Truly, my only option was to double down. “My travel is arranged. I leave next week.”
Bri rose, looking so determined I almost shrank back. “Then we’re coming with you.”
“What? No.” I shook my head. “Someone has to look after the shoppe. Finlay has his mother to think of.”
He squeezed his hands into fists. “Willow Stokes, if you think we’re going to let you do something this dangerous by yourself—”
“First of all, no one is letting me do anything.” I sniffed. “This is my decision.”
“And it’s my curse to break,” Bri said. “I should be the one to go!”
I rubbed my temples with my fingertips. Why did they have to be so bleeding impossible?
“The shoppe can’t run without you, considering your touch is what makes our items magical.
I need you to help me sell off the rest of our inventory, because once you have this flower, you won’t have your powers anymore. ”
“So you’re not planning to keep the store running?” Finlay asked, raising one dark brow.
Lies were multiplying like Achnarachian highland bunnies, and if I wasn’t careful, they were liable to bound off in all directions before I could rein them in. But I couldn’t stand another one of Finlay’s disappointed looks. I took a deep breath and released it slowly.
“I know I haven’t always behaved with … integrity.
You have every reason to doubt me. But if you let me attempt this one act of generosity, maybe I can finally redeem myself a little.
I owe it to you, Bri, after everything you’ve done for me.
And Finlay, I know you worry about me, and yes, I’ve made some poor decisions in the past, but I’m trying to change. ”
The way they were looking at me now, like I was a saint with a golden halo surrounding me, was almost worse than their skepticism.
A small, entreating voice in my head warned me it wasn’t too late to tell the truth, but I squashed it like a midge.
You will not start growing a conscience now, Willow Stokes.
“If you’re sure that’s what you want,” Bri said. “I’ll keep the store running while you’re gone.”
“I’ll help her,” Finlay added, though he looked less resigned than Bri. That would have to do for now. I had a week to convince him this was an excellent plan.
I only wondered if I’d be able to convince myself while I was at it.