Same single paragraph.Same familiar ink.
Disappointment pressed at her chest.She almost closed it, but a quiet whisper inside urged her to turn one more page.
She froze.
Words.Whole paragraphs, written in a hand she didn’t recognize.
Heart racing, she could hardly believe what she was reading.
I landed in the middle of a sea battle, guns thundering, ship quivering beneath the blows.The air smelled of gun smoke, tar, salt and fear.Sailors dashed across the deck, sails snapped, commands bellowed.
And there he was, strong, commanding, fearless.He surrounded me like a shield.
A gasp tore at her throat.Her thoughts tangled in a knot.This was exactly what happened when she’d returned to theSentinel.
She turned the pages, her hands shaking.Scene after scene unfolded before her eyes like a living memory—the island ofÎle Du Crâne…the dance at the Montverre estate…Caleb’s tragic story… the kiss on the beach… the rescue, the fever, Alden’s prayer.
Every moment she’d lived, captured here in perfect, impossible detail.
Finally, she came to one last entry.
There are days I fear for my sanity.I have seen things which would defy all logic.A Ring with power beyond comprehension, an army of rats, swarms of vicious birds, a town under a curse, and a cat with one eye.
And through it all, a man…a hero out of time…with the honor of a knight, the strength of a warrior, and the virtue of a saint.
Where we go from here, only destiny can say.
She sat motionless, pulse roaring in her ears.
Who wrote this?Who could possibly know such things, unless they’d been there?
But no one had been there.No one but her.
And she hadn’t written a word.
A chill brushed her arms.
“Pops,” she whispered, “what is this book?”Her voice trembled.“Some kind of trick?Magic?A curse?”
His words echoed through memory.It holds secrets, my little urchin.Cling to them.Search for them.Never give up.
Her throat tightened.Slowly, she placed the journal back in the chest and slammed the lid.
But she had to give up.She had to.The past was gone.Caleb was gone.And she couldn’t risk changing any more lives.Or losing what little remained of her own.
Ethan never existed.Silvia was dead.Her business was failing.
Nothing was right with the world.
The throbbing ache in her heart for Caleb was more than she could bear.How could she go on living when she felt like an empty shell without him?She had known real love.And now it was gone.Or was it?Was the Ring still at the wreck?Was it possible she could return to him?So many unknowns.
Collapsing onto her bed, Desi buried her face in the pillow as sobs broke loose, fierce and unrestrained.They came from a place deeper than sorrow—years of pain, loneliness, and loss clawing their way out until there was nothing left but exhaustion.
Finally, she fell still.
Only the whisper of the sea kept vigil as she drifted into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter 27: On the Edge of Despair
