“You’re a mage,” I observed quietly.
Something dimmed in her eyes, like disappointment had been waiting there. “Yes. And so are you.”
“You sound like you know me.” It was the wrong thing to say. Mother had warned me that if I ever met someone who seemed to know me, I wasn’t supposed to reveal that I didn’t recognize them. But with this mage, it felt… safe. Or maybe I was just desperate. And desperation had made me careless.
She nodded. “I do. I know you quite well, Elariya. And I always knew this part would be hard when your memory reset.” She swallowed, her composure faltering. “But I still hoped you’d remember me.”
Blessed Mother. She didn’t just know me. She knew about the curse, too.
Cold flooded my veins, igniting every nerve inside me. “You know?”
“Yes, I know about your memory curse.” Her voice gentled. “Please don’t be alarmed. I mean you no harm. My name is Arielle Bloodrose. I’m a mage from the Aethermist Realm. We’re very good friends.”
“Weare?” The spark of excitement that pulsed in my heart surprised me.
“Yes. We are.” She smiled wide, then her gaze flicked nervously to the trees and back to me. “I’d love to stay and talk to you, but I can’t be here for long without my magic being detected. I’m barely suppressing it. I’m here as a matter of urgency, with something we hoped not to involve you in.”
“We? Who’s we?” I looked around.
“I’ll tell you another time.” She inhaled, as if steadying herself. “Or maybe this will help.”
From the thin air, she drew out a beautiful notebook, its pink satin cover embroidered with lilies.
I blinked at it. “What’s that?”
“Your journal. From last month.”
My stomach hollowed out. “What did you just say?”
“This is the real journal from last month.” She tapped the edge of the book, then opened it and withdrew two folded letters. “And these are the letters you entrusted to me. To deliver toyourselfand your family.”
“Gods. I…what?”
“You wrote the letters and the journal. You weren’t in a coma, Elariya.” Her eyes held mine, her gaze unwavering. “You spent last month in Galaythia. You were in the magical realm.”
I brought a hand to my chest, as if I could keep my heart from pounding out of me. “Me? In the magical realm?”
“Yes.” Arielle’s expression softened, but there was something steely beneath it. “I won’t get into the details of how you got there. It’s all inthisjournal.”
My thoughts snagged as I took in the smooth satin cover. “My other journals at home…” My voice trailed off.
“Your grandmother put a spell on them.”
“Oh, my…” My stomach twisted.
“The journals you’ve been reading have been filtered. She wove a concealment over them with low level magic so that anyone reading them would see only what they needed to see.”
“Including me?”
“Yes,” she said quietly. “But please don’t be angry with her. Your grandmother did what she thought was necessary to protect you and your family from what Thayden might discover.”
My breath caught.
Gods, I’d been right. I was fucking right, and it was hard not to be angry. My family weren’t just keeping secrets from me. They were lying.
“The spell doesn’t erase the truth,” Arielle went on. “It hides it. Masks it. Anyone reading your journals would understand enough to keep suspicion at bay. Butthisone holds the truth.” She pushed the satin journal closer for me to take.
I took it and held it close.
