Chapter 23 #3
“The Court of Hearts,” Levana then said, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. She was calmer now, though her eyes were still bloodshot from the crying. “We go home and find someone who will give us our memories back without the Red Queen.”
Master Talik opened his mouth to speak, to argue, but…no word came out.
I sat up straighter, tightened my grip around March’s hand, and he was no longer playing with my fingers, either.
“It’s doable,” Silas then said.
“Except where do you think we’ll find anyone willing to try, when our own families have refused to tell us what happened just because of a royal decree?” Russ asked, and we all flinched.
“My mother won’t do it,” Levana muttered. “I begged her every day.”
“Our mothers don’t have half the power or Sparetime required for even one of us,” March said. “But it would have to be a Heart.”
“So, we’re not going to get our memories back, after all,” Cook said, and he just sounded exhausted.
“No, no—there has to be a way,” I said because it wasn’t enough. The story wasn’t enough. It didn’t really make much of a difference to me, knowing what had happened. I needed to remember it. “There has to be a way, right? There’s a way.”
Silence in the room, and every new second that turned found me more and more desperate.
“Talik,” Kohen whispered, and the gears in my stomach moved faster. “You know memory magic. You can—”
“No,” Master Talik cut him off. “I couldn’t even begin to understand the complexity of uncovering memories. I might know how to extract one, barely, but this is beyond my capabilities.”
His every word rang true.
My eyes closed. Tears pricked the back of them, and I held my breath, and I held onto March’s hand, when—
“But there is someone who might be able to do something. Someone I know.”
Back again—until when? Because this hope coming and going felt like it might just be the death of me.
“Who?” we asked, all of us at the same time, eyes wide open, fists tight.
“Vesta,” the Timekeeper said, which made Kohen raise his brows.
“She’s…old,” he whispered, and he didn’t mean it in a good way, I didn’t think.
“Yes—and powerful. She used to work in Neverwhen years ago. Even in the Labyrinth for the twenty-eighth trials, I think.” He scratched his chin. “She’s…a friend. We’ve kept in touch. I believe she could be persuaded to try.”
Persuaded, he said. It was more than enough for me.
“Let’s do it.”
“Are you sure about this, Talik?” Kohen asked reluctantly.
And the Timekeeper turned to his friend, almost surprised at the question. “No, actually. I am not.” Then he looked at us, one by one, and his eyes stopped on Silas. “But it is entirely their decision if they want to risk it.”
“Yes,” most of us said at the same time, and those who didn’t say it, nodded it. It wasn’t even a decision.
Master Talik arched a gray brow. “You don’t know what you’re really saying yes to.”
“And you don’t know what it’s like to have your memories taken from you,” March said, as if he’d plucked the words from my mind like flowers.
“There are risks. Big risks,” said Master Talik.
“You could be caught. Going to any court right now if you don’t want to be found is ludicrous.
And even if we do manage it, there’s no guarantee that Vesta will agree to it, and-and-and even if she does—there’s no guarantee that she’ll be able to do anything. ”
“There’s one more even if, isn’t there,” Silas said with a half roll of his eyes, and the old Timekeeper lost it.
“There is!” he shouted. “Even if she can do it, there’s no guarantee of what that will do to you! To…to your minds…” He closed his eyes and sighed, and I actually felt sorry for him for a moment. “The mind is such a fragile thing. Memories are so complicated.”
“We know,” said March. “We’re the ones who lost them. We’re all living complicated as we speak. And we’re all willing to take the risk.”
“So, what’s it going to be, Master Talik?” Silas said without missing a beat. “Will you take us to see Vesta so we can try? Or will you cower at the idea of getting caught by your queens?”
“Silas, that’s enough,” Kohen said, while Damon turned his head the other way to hide his smile.
“No, that’s all right. He’s a boy—he thinks he knows courage and cowardice.
He’ll grow up,” Master Talik said with a wave of his hand.
“Yes, Silas, I will take you to Vesta if you’re certain that that’s what you want.
But I will insist that you take this day to rest, to think, to make sure you’re all twelve-hours certain of this before we make any preparations. That is my condition.”
Mouths opened but nobody said a single word.
Master Talik was right. Even though I knew that I wasn’t going to change my mind about this, I still wanted to sleep on it. It was always better to sleep on any decision, Father said, and he was usually right.
That—and I still needed some time alone with March before I could think clearly.
So, I stood up. “I could use some rest right now. Let’s talk again at dawn.”
Suddenly, everyone stood up at the same time, including the Timekeepers.
Damon looked amused. Master Talik looked on the brink of tears. And Kohen looked…just calm.
“Very well. You have cots. Go make good use of them,” he said.
So, we did.