Noah exhaled. “Not in the mood for idle chatter.”
Taran was silent for a moment before stepping up beside him.
“I understand, I do,” he said eventually, gripping Noah’s shoulder. “But ye dinnae have tae carry this alone. Ye’re no’ that lost boy that arrived here shaken and scared wi’ a sister in tow tae protect and provide for. No’ anymore, son. Ye’ve got us tae share yer burdens now.”
Noah felt as terrified as that young, inexperienced boy had been five years ago. No. More so. How could he make Taran understand? Taran, who he was sure had never beenhelplessthe way Noah was now. Taranfixedthings. Even though Noah had spent the last five years pretending he could do the same, this wasn’t something he could hunt. Or physically fight.
“I don’t know what to do. Or how to help her,” Noah admitted, his voice breaking over the words.
Taran nodded slowly. “Then perhaps we should find someone who does.”
Noah huffed a humorless laugh. “You really think this Keeper exists?”
“I dinnae ken if he does or no’,” Taran admitted. “But I agree wi’ Paige. We have tae try.”
Noah hesitated, then turned to face him, unable to hide his helplessness, or his pain.
Taran studied him for a long moment. “Old Man mentioned somethin’ else.”
Noah raised a brow, wishing he could put more faith in Old Man’s stories.
“’Tis rumored The Keeper has a daughter. Skye.”
Noah shrugged. Rumors meant nothing to him. Nor did The Keeper’s family tree. He needed solutions.
“If we can find this Keeper, ’twillnae be easy tae convince him tae help us. We’ve naught tae trade or use tae buy favor. And’tis said he doesnae grant an audience, or favors, for free. So, ’tis possible this daughter could be our best way in.”
“How so? Is her influence that powerful?”
“I dinnae ken. ’Tis only a whispered tale.”
Noah scoffed. “So, we’re to go looking for a rumored daughter of a rumored…what is he again? An all powerful Grantor of Wishes? Ogre? Wizard? Portal Guard? The whole thing sounds more like a fantasy the longer we speak. We find the daughter and convince her to convince her father to not only see us but open up the, yet again,rumoredportal to us? That’s your great plan?”
Taran shrugged. “If The Keeper really exists, ’tis possible she’s the one person who might convince her father to give us the help Emily needs. ’Tis a slim chance, but a chance Emily doesnae have here.”
Noah exhaled sharply, dragging his hand down his face. “Skye, is it?”
He’d be putting Emily’s life in the hands of a stranger. A gamble at best. But if she could help convince The Keeper to open a portal and help save Emily, then the quest was worth any risk.
Any cost.
Noah looked back at the river, the night sky stretching wide above them. For the first time in years, hope of moving beyond this strange world curled inside his chest.
For Emily, he had to try.
The alternative was unacceptable.
CHAPTER TWO
“I’m going with you!” Noah stood nose to nose with Taran just outside the cottage as the coming sun painted a pink tinge along the east ridge. He couldn’t remember another time he’d contradicted a direct order from Taran. As they stared at one another, narrowed gaze to narrowed gaze, Noah felt a slight quiver in his belly. But he wasn’t about to stay behind to wait, worry and wonder.
Finding The Keeper was too important not to fight for the right to go along.
Emilywas too important!
“If you won’t allow me to accompany you, I’ll simply follow,” Noah stated. “Or strike out on my own if I must.But I am going!Emily is my responsibility. I will see this quest through to the end with or without your support.”
His hands curled into fists as he waited for Taran’s reply. His stomach climbed to his throat and huddled there. Waiting. Hoping.
