My heart clattered about beneath my ribs. I’d seen Emily’s necklace but thought it was merely a cross. “Oh, no, Emily! Perhaps it is a sign of your unique abilities. A dagger appeared when I was born. It is the mark of the Timeborne. Perhaps it is the same for you? Let’s keep reading and see if there is an explanation.”
She nodded, still fingering the charm.
“Sept. 8, 1784. Last night, Francesca confessed her fright at seeing the dagger. And then, today, I find she has left me. My heart has shattered into a million pieces. The only thing I have left of her is the note she wrote. She said she had to go. Both her and the baby’s lives are in danger. A man named Balthazar is after her. She asked me to look after Emily, and she signed the note with her true name—Alina.”
The floor fell from underneath me, and the room began to spin. Could this Alina bemy mother,Alina? Might Emily be my sibling, my blood?
“Olivia, are you all right? You look quite pale,” Emily said, placing her hand on my shoulder and shaking me.
I looked at her, blinking wildly. “I…I…Emily…Mymother was named Alina. This is unreal. Could it be that our mothers are the same?”
Emily’s face brightened like a sunrise. “Oh, Olivia! It has to be! You and I are truly sisters!”
She threw her arms around me, and we both embraced.
A sheet of paper fell out of the journal. I stooped to retrieve it and read it aloud.
“Dear Philip,
Forgive me for not saying goodbye to you and leaving in such a hurry. Philip, the truth about me is that I am a time traveler, and I’m in danger from a man named Balthazar. This man has been hunting me, and I have no choice but to leave you in Emily’s care. If I had stayed, Emily’s life would have been endangered. Balthazar will stop at nothing to find her and me and kill us both. I love my daughter, and I want her to stay safe. Only you can care for her. Philip, you are a good man, and I want to thank you for everything you have done for me, for saving and healing me, teaching me English, and helping me look for John James.
“Now I have to search for John James on my own. Don’t look for me, for you will never find me. Take care of yourself and Emily. I kiss you both. You both will always have a special place in my heart.
-Alina”
“There it is! There’s the proof! I have a sister!” I said into Emily’s shoulder.
“AndIhave another sister! This is wonderful news!” Emily said.
Joy filled my heart. Was I reading too much into Philip’s words, though? I’d felt an instant connection to Emily when I’d met her. And we shared a similar facial structure. It just had to be!
After a lengthy embrace, I pulled away. “Let’s keep reading, shall we?”
“Yes, do go on….” She bit her lip and looked at me through her lashes. “Sister…”
I laughed and turned my attention to the scorched pages.
“Oct. 11, 1784. I am utterly devastated without Alina. How can I ever move on?”
“Oh, poor, Papa,” Emily said, pressing her hand to her lips.
I nodded, empathetic to her pain, and squeezed her hand before continuing.
“I have searched for her everywhere. But she has disappeared, like a ghost. I am questioning my sanity. Did I make her up? No, because my beautiful Emily is in my care.”
I flipped the page. “Wow, your father did not write for an entire year.”
“He must have been grieving,” Emily said. “This is so sad.”
“Aug. 20, 1785. I am pulling myself out of my depression and taking Emily to a fair. I bought her a pretty new dress, and she looks like a princess.
“Aug. 23, 1785. We went to the fair yesterday, and a remarkable thing happened. There was a blacksmith there, shaping a fireplace poker in an exhibition. Children were crowded around him. Emily kept pointing at the man and whimpering, ‘See! See! Daddy, go see!” I carried Emily in my arms, and we pushed to the front so she could watch.
“The blacksmith wiped his brow with his sleeve and glanced at Emily, noticing her necklace. He asked me where I found a charm as unique as that. I didn’t know what to say, so I said it had been a gift from my wife before she died. He said a fellow named John James crafted necklaces like that. You can’t imagine how excited I was to hear that! John James! I inquired about John James’ whereabouts, but the smithy only knew he had lived east of here, in the next town over—a place called Weststable. He said he hadn’t seen him for many years, but James’ family still lived there as far as he knew. ‘You don’t think James still lives there?’ I said. And the smithy said he’d heard tell that James went crazy. I thanked him for his time and made plans to head to Weststable to look for him.”
I flipped the page excitedly.
“Sep. 19, 1785. Today we traveled by wagon to Weststable. Baby Emily was very fussy on the ride, and I had to stop several times to care for her. It was a hot day, so I covered her with a cotton dish towel to keep her tender skin from burning. We arrived in Weststable, and I inquired at the general store as to the location of the James family. The shopkeeper looked at me like I had marbles for brains. ‘Why do you want to find them folks?’ he asked. ‘John, the husband, went crazy, and the family keeps to themselves now.’ I said I needed to find them because they might have information on my missing wife.
