I just nod.
When the cruiser comes to a stop, two individuals step out. From the driver’s side is a blonde white woman, dressed in a police uniform. From the passenger side is a tan man with black hair and the most intense stare I’ve encountered. He’s not in a uniform, but his neat business attire is intimidating in its own way.
“Bo, this is Chief Samantha Reedsy. She’s currently the head of the Folk Haven police, and she is a mermaid.” Mor gestures at the new arrival, and the woman offers me a nod.
I try not to show my surprise. The police chief I knew was Bryant, a griffin who pulled me over more than once when I ventured into town after dark. I tried to stay off his radar as best I could.
“And this is Levi Abadi. He is the monster representative on the town’s Mythic Council. I figured you might want to talk with him.”
“There’s …” I shake my head, as if that’ll make the words make sense. “A monster representative?”
“Hello, Bo.” The monster—Levi—steps closer with his hands loose at his sides. “Yes. We do have representation now. We have for a few years.”
“That’s …” I drag my fingers through my hair, tugging on the strands, as if the pain will calm the turmoil in my mind.
Years. I was stuck in that statue garden foryears.
“This is a lot to take in, I’m sure.” Levi’s voice is gentle but firm, reclaiming my attention. “Is there anyone we can call for you?”
“I-I lived here.” I jerk a thumb over my shoulder at the decaying trailer home.
If my dad isn’t here, I don’t know where he’d be.
Did he even care that I had gone missing?
Did he even notice?
“What’s your last name, Bo?” Mor asks.
“Folan.” I glance up in time to watch Mor and Levi look at Chief Reedsy.
Her brows dip in thought. “I swear I’ve heard that before. But I can’t place it.”
Gods. Gone a few years, and it’s as if I never existed in this town.
As if I never existed at all.
“You asked about Georgiana earlier,” Mor says. “Do you want us to get in touch with her?”
Hope burns in my cold chest at the name of the one mythic who would remember me.
I shouldn’t contact her. I should leave her out of this. We’ve always been a secret.
But she’d want me to call her, wouldn’t she? If I’ve been missing this long, she has to wonder where I’ve been.
Does she think I abandoned her? Left her to her own fate?
Calling Georgiana might be the best move. She can explain—to me at least—what happened after the last night that I can recall, and I can reassure her that even though this has shaken me up, I’m alive.
“Yes, ma’am. Please.”
5
Mor
When I first approached theMythic Council about releasing an unknown mythic from a curse, I talked to Selena, the witch representative. She visited the statue garden, studied the figure, then told me the being was most likely a monster and therefore Levi’s responsibility when no longer trapped.
So, I called him, and Levi and Selena told the rest of the Mythic Council about my plan—I assume at their monthly meeting or maybe even in a coded email of some kind.
