“It’ll take some time to digest, but I’m afraid that’s all I can tell you.” Of course it is. Just a bunch of enigmas that apparently hold the key to this fucking hellscape. But there’s something that’s been bugging me that showed on the orb.
“Why did the orb focus on my necklace?” Aslan’s face slackens, and I begin to wonder if I said something wrong.
“Your necklace?”
“Yeah, my dad gave it to me on my eighth birthday.” Her eyebrows hike up to her hairline, and I clarify, “Harrison. From what I’m told, my mother trusted him, and that’s who I was with before I came here.”
“And you have it?”
“Well, no. I hadn’t thought about it until the image popped up. I can’t remember the last time I saw it, which is weird because it never leaves my neck. I’ve always felt some sort of attachment to it. I know it sounds weird, but it’s hard to explain.”
“No, it actually makes perfect sense,” she mumbles under her breath. Her eyes bounce back and forth, like she’s seeing something play out, or she’s trying to piece it together. “It wascrafted by the gods and goddesses,” she explains. “During the last war, they used it as a safeguard, trapping slivers of their magic inside. After such a weapon was created, they entrusted someone to hold onto it.” Aslan gives me a pointed look, confirming what I’d been thinking…my mother. “She worked closely with them for centuries—because of her gift—but when she died, we thought it to be lost.”
“Her gift?”
“Your mother was also an oracle. The best the gods have seen in…well, forever.”
This is too much. Too fast. Every word slams into me like a crashing tide, dragging me under before I can even catch my breath.
My fingertips rub circles over my temples. “I’m getting a headache.”
“It’s a lot to take in, I understand. But we’re running out of time.” She sayswelike this is also her issue. It seems that there has been a lifetime of issues piling up, and now all of a sudden, it’s up to me to fix everything? Someone who didn’t even know this placeexisteda few months ago? None of this is my problem, and yet, it seems I’m the only one that can clean up the mess.
“Why me? Out of all the fae and powerful beings in this realm, why me?”
“There’s something inside of you, Kallie. Something ancient and powerful. Harness that, hone into that power, and all the other pieces will fall into place.” Great. More fucking ominous bullshit. “But this is the path, and you’ll know what to do when the time is right.”Goddess, what does that even mean?!
“Then what’s the next step?” At the end of the day, I don’t have a choice. Not really. How selfish of a person would I have to be in order to tell the entire realm that they need to fend for themselves? Especially when I’ve seen bits and pieces of the severity of the situation.
“You need to retrieve the necklace,” she states.
“And what if the people who took me already have it? I’m sure I was wearing it when I was captured.”
“No. No, if they had it, we would know.” I’m not sure if she means thatshewould know or everyone would know because doomsday would be upon us.
“It could still be at Callum’s house. Honestly, with the chaos that morning, I might’ve forgotten to put it on.” That seems unlikely, though, considering I never took it off. “Who else knew of the necklace?” I ask.
“It was on a need-to-know basis. Even if someone was searching for it, there’s no way anyone could’ve known what the vessel was.” She stands suddenly, pacing back and forth, looking deep in thought. “Elizabeth was a genius, keeping the magic inside an amulet. It was right under their noses, and they were none the wiser.” A pang hits deep in my chest, hearing others talk of the mother I never knew and now won’t ever get the chance to. From the sounds of it, she was a light in this sea of darkness that keeps cloaking the realm.
I wish I would’ve had the chance to be a part of that light. My breath gets lodged in my throat, and I struggle to choke down the sob threatening to break free.
“Of course,” she whispers, her face lighting up with a new revelation. Aslan turns to me, eyes wide. “The Forest. The Forest of the Forgotten! It has to be there!” She’s practically vibrating with excitement, all bright eyes and eager energy. But the moment Odeyssa mentioned it before, dread started pooling in my gut—and it hasn’t left since. “You must go. It won’t be easy, but that’s where it has to be! Oh Iza, clever to the end. You always had one more move we didn’t see coming.”
I’ve come to the conclusion I’m never actually certain whether she’s talking to me or not.
“That can’t be—”
“It is! She had itspelledof course. If it was lost, it would go to the one place no fae would ever go willingly.” Oh, well, that’s reassuring. “You must—” Both our heads whip to the entry and find Odeyssa running toward us.
“Uh, Kallie. We gotta go.”
“What’s wrong?”
“We have company.”
Ice slices through me, brutally freezing me from the inside out until I’m nothing but a brittle statue carved from fear. How did he find me? How did he know? How did—
Atticus.
