“Then I have something which might assist. I’ll be but a moment.” Harold stood and walked through the wall behind his desk, disappearing in a blue shimmer. He reappeared, carrying a bound leather book as long as my forearm and as thick as my middle finger. My hands itched to hold the grimoire.
“The path to the sky has been found before. To return without assistance from the temple will be more of a challenge, but you will find your way.”
I reached for the book, but Harold drew it back. “It is for Ranth of the Ahknim,” he said.
Ranth held out his hands, and Harold gave the tome to him. The book called to me, and I growled inside, angry not to have it in my possession.
“I will see you soon.” Harold turned and disappeared through the wall in a blue-tinged sizzle of sparks.
Ranth bowed to the now empty desk, and I did a double take before following him out into the hall.
“Wait. How about you explain all that?” I waved in the general direction of Harold’s office.
“I’m not sure what to say. You know the most important parts. But I don’t know why I didn’t see Harold’s real place in history before. That is disconcerting. There is something out of place here, though I can’t quite decipher it.” His attention drifted to the hall.
“Sure is.” My focus was entirely on the Sisters and the book that wasn’t for me. Ranth clutched it like it was sacred candy. I had to figure out how to attract the Sisters without dying. I still felt as if Harold might have an answer, but I had nothing to offer him as a trade, and he had no reason to help me. Except that if I’d understood what he’d asked Ranth for, I had what Harold wanted in front of me. The same man it was going to be impossible for me to let go of. What price was I willing to pay?
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
On the drive south from Harold’s to meet up with Vivian and Juke, I munched on chocolate and dumped the whole conundrum on the group. We hashed out what was going to happen for the ritual, and who was going to do what. Ranth walked us through as much as he could.
When we got there, I walked a couple of steps behind Ranth as we crossed the warehouse parking lot. My house was ruined, I’d turned to earth magic to trap Fabra and the spirits, and the Marahk had a target on me. I was also about to send away the only chance I had at connecting with my mother and possibly saving her. I also was risking everything sending Ranth back because we didn’t know how the curse worked. My life was in shreds. But to keep Ranth here longer, I would continue to putmy friends and family in danger. It was possible I would end the world or at least prevent the only way to heal the future. I would have to be okay with letting go of the one chance to save my mother’s spirit if it would save everyone else.
Vivian had taken a rideshare from the airport and was talking to Juke, who had a table set up with the stuff Ranth had asked for. I slowed, as if not getting there would delay whatever was going to happen next. I wasn’t nearly close enough to where I needed to be to send Ranth back.
“Hey, you, I got what you texted,” Juke said, bouncing toward me. “Super, super sorry about the house. But you’re what matters. You okay?” She opened her arms for a hug.
“Yeah. I’m a survivor.” I hugged her back hard, inhaling her vanilla perfume and today’s raspberry gum.
She was right. In the end, the stuff I lost didn’t matter. It was the people who were important. My friends always had my back. They’d also care if something happened to me. I knew how I’d felt when Mom had left me. How could I be the cause of that same void in my friends?
Vivian handed me the package from Disneyland, and Ori enfolded me into one of her amazing hugs. Hugging was keeping me going. Ori went back over to Vivian. I hadn’t realized they’d linked up until they brushed lips. A flood of joy swashed through me. Ori deserved all the happiness in the world. Somehow, I’d missed the announcement, and Ori had stuff to catch me up on.
Ranth had been keeping a perimeter, but his eyes tracked me. It was as if he too sensed that our touch would ignite something we couldn’t stop. There was no more time for us. My breath froze in that impossible nightmare. But this wasn’t about me, or even him, or us. It was bigger than us, and I was making this choice.
The scroll case was heavier than I expected. The weirdness of knowing it belonged to my father was only made more bizarre by the fact that it was going to send Ranth away forever.
Ranth gave Ori and Rose instructions to lay out a triangle of gray sea salt and leave the ritual elements inside. He held the tome against his chest. My fingers itched.
“We’re going to need some privacy to open the book,” I said to Juke.
She handed me a keycard and nodded to the warehouse. “First door is my workshop. The card will work on that too.”
“We’ll be right back.” I picked up one of the pouches of salt, but I wasn’t sure we would be back. I scanned the faces of my friends, as if it would etch them in a memory I might not need—I hoped I didn’t need.
Ranth attempted to snatch the salt from my hand. “You will not be assisting me.”
I didn’t let go. “Ha, no. Not a chance.”
He frowned. “It’s too risky for you to be around when I open the book. We don’t know what Harold truly intended.”
“Exactly, we can’t risk—you. Let’s get this straight.” I pulled him over to the door and unlocked it.
Ranth tugged my braid playfully as we entered the cool metal building, and I grinned. As the door clanged shut, I backed him against the wall. “Look, I like you. A lot. You know that. I didn’t when you got here, but you’ve grown on me.” I trailed a hand down his cheek, and he turned his lips into it. The kiss rocketed through me like it was on my lips.
“We…” Ranth began.
“Are not done yet.” I spewed out the rest before I thought too much about it. “I have standards, and you are bossy as all foxgloves. I’m used to being the one who makes the decisions, and I’m not happy with you trying to protect me. I appreciate thesentiment, but I’m good at taking care of myself. I want you, but I don’t need you.”
