Be strong.
From the first moment I laid eyes upon you.
Unending tears rolled down my cheeks as memory after memory flooded me until my eyes flew open and I voiced my truth.
“I want to live.”
A small sound of approval escaped him. “That pleases me greatly, little one.” He paused, and a more serious timbre seemed to fall upon us. “The fates have chosen for you to complete a task before you shall return to prove to them that you will not forsake your path again. Know that I shall not be able to claim you from where you will be sent. Should you fail to understand the lesson, you will be trapped in limbo.”
“For how long?” I said, panic rising.
“Eternity.”
I went to protest, but he raised a hand, stopping me. “It sounds scary, I know. But they’ve shared with me your task, and I have little doubt you’ll return home soon. I wish you well, little one.”
“Father?” I asked, sensing Lady Time clawing at me.
“Yes?”
“How is she? Mrs. E?” I clarified.
A smile bloomed on his face, and happiness filled his voice as he said, “She is well. You did good by her getting her to safety when you did. I’m grateful to you for that. I long for the day when we’ll be together again but pray it’s not a moment sooner than she chooses. That day will be both joyous and sad.”
I swallowed the emotion stuck in my throat. “Can you tell her I miss her? That I love her?”
“There’s no need. She knows both already and feels you in her heart, always.”
“Thank you,” I said, voice thick.
“Be well, little one. And may we not meet again.”
Before I could respond, everything around me began to shift, and a dome closed in around me.
Chapter 62
Mirror. Mirror.
Disoriented, I looked around, trying to gain my bearings.
The dome.
The shield.
Her.
Relief flickered—until it twisted.
The angle was wrong.
The air was wrong.
The scent?—
Salt. Terror. Human.
It filled my lungs with a clarity that wasn’t mine.
My body was larger. Heavier.
