Chapter 23 #2
“Y-you remember me, then?” I asked Gayelette, sliding into the last empty seat at the table, leaning away from Hook.
“Of course I do. How could I forget? Harmony Fallowell from Alabaster, blacksmith, tinker, and falconer.”
She offered me a smile, and I felt heat creep up my cheeks as it dawned on me where Hook had gotten my last name.
“You were here the day we boarded the ship at the pirate’s meeting, weren’t you?” I said to Hook. “That’s why you showed up late. That’s how you knew my last name.”
He tipped his head in a curt nod. “Gayelette told me that ‘Harmon Fallowell…’a falconer,” He turned to the old woman with a frown, “And his sister would be part of the crew needed to get the clock from Noru. When I saw you and your falcon, I understood why.” His gaze flicked back to Gayelette.
“But you could have told me she was female.”
“You both have to believe that I’m giving you all the information that’s required, at the time that it is required,” she replied, unruffled.
“If you were looking for two females, you wouldn’t have even noticed them.
Trust the process. And regarding trust, for the time being, you’re going to need to trust each other.
Both of you will fail in your mission to get the magical clock if you don’t—because you’re inexorably tied, whether you like it or not.
Deep down, you’ve always known this. Hence the dreams.”
At the mention of dreams, I dropped my gaze to the vibrant pattern on the tablecloth, desperate for a change of subject as my cheeks flamed. “I’ve met others from Alabaster here, but they don’t know me at all. Why do you?”
“Because I am not truly of this realm, or the one that you came from, any more than you are,” Gayelette explained softly. “I come when I can spare the magic to do so, and I stay as long as I’m able to help guide you. But then I must return to my home.”
“And where is that?” I asked, a strange flutter sparking in my chest.
“Ca’an Saas, child.” Her knowing eyes met mine. “The same as yours.”
Ca’an Saas.
A jolt of energy snaked through me, as if I’d been struck by lightning. Ca’an Saas was my home. I felt that truth in my bones the second she spoke the word.
“You knew me,” I whispered, balling my trembling hands into fists as I tried to keep my voice steady. “Before I was sent away to Alabaster as a small child. You knew me, didn’t you?”
She inclined her head, a sad smile tugging at her lips. “I did. And I knew your parents as well.”
My world spun on an axis that I couldn’t balance on. I pressed my hands to the table to keep from falling over. Knowledge of my past, of my parents was right here in front of me. I sucked in a ragged breath and tried to speak.
“Please,” I croaked, unable to hide the emotion cracking my voice. I reached for her hand, gripping it desperately. “Tell me their names. Tell me something—anything—about them. How did I get here? Why did they send me? Are they still?—”
“No, child,” she cut in gently, shaking her head.
“I’m so sorry, but they left the mortal world long ago.
Your mother and father were king and queen of Ca’an Saas.
They loved you more than anything in this world and the only reason they sent you away was because a powerful witch named Almira had waged a war to take the throne and won.
If you stayed, she’d have killed you. She’s still out there, and she wants nothing more than to keep you from returning to Ca’an Saas. ”
My stomach twisted with a mix of terror and determination. “How do I…?”
“Your success relies on using all the magic in you,” Gayelette continued. “Building it, growing it, strengthening it. But you must wield it carefully. Almira is watching from afar, waiting for any chance to strike—and she uses your growing power to find you.”
My thoughts spun like a top, flitting from moment to moment.
The gaping holes with the ragged edges that seemed to appear wherever I went.
The chewing sound as if something were eating away at pieces of paper…
“She’s the one who sent the worms.” Bile rose in my throat as it came together in perfect clarity. “They’re bookworms…”
Eating the pages.
“Bookworms?” Hook murmured, eyes narrowing as he shifted his gaze to Gayelette.
But the old woman ignored him and smiled, a touch of pride in her tone. “You’re connecting the dots now, child. That’s good. But with that knowledge comes more danger. The closer you get to fulfilling your destiny, the bolder and more desperate she will become.”
Things had suddenly become so real now, and just within reach…or closer at least. Home had a name. Ca’an Saas. And when I got there, I would learn who I was. Where I’d come from. Who I’d come from.
“Take care, girl. There is still a long, dangerous road ahead of you. Almira will stop at nothing to destroy you.”
I swallowed hard and straightened my shoulders, the strength of my Pawpaw, of my friends, of my belief in myself snapping my vision into sharp focus.
I was not alone in this, and it was in the bonds of those I loved and who loved me that would see me through this—that’s how I knew that one way or another, I would get home.
“Let her fucking try.”