Authors: Cyndi Goodgame
“Yes. The Tanners know too.”
Recognition of all kinds hit me. “
Brooks Tanner is—
“The same. They married after she left our realm at the brink of war.”
“All this time. Ames knew. Brooks probably even knew. Does Katelyn know?”
“No. His daughter does not. Cahn and Tanner only though I forgot about him. Except...” he looked at where he made circles on my knee, “...Jo
shlin is now aware of your full nature since your little throw down with your productive hands. Or rather he confirmed why you were so different.”
“My nature? As in I
’m a witch.”
I barely saw his nod.
“Did you ever find out if the seer part is true? Is that a fortune teller? How did she know I’d meet Ames?”
Caydon shook his head side to side still leaning on my knee. “She still lives, but no, I don
’t know if it’s all true. My realm treated it as so only in the way we know how. The elders talk of a treaty that tells of you, but no one has ever seen it except those who are dead.”
“Are you going to tell me more or can I read now?” I wanted to have all my mother
’s facts before I asked the million other questions popping like corn in my head.
He quirked a grin and left my chair for his.
“Everything I told you is in there.”
“But not why I have to marry you.”
He swallowed uneasily, “No, that’s there too.”
It wasn’t hard to say because I believed it would never happen.
The next entry was a week later. She told my father. According to her journal, she ONLY told him. He must have died with the secret...and so did she. Caydon gave me the journal only because of what reason? I didn’t believe it was just out of friendliness. It had to all be true. In his eyes. My mother’s eyes.
I read on. The journals say she (me) is forbidden to have relations with any Cahn. I reread the entry again gluing my eyes to the page and giving no sign to Caydon of what I
’d read.
It
stemmed many years ago when one seer predicted the fall of the realm in the southwestern regions. First, there was a peace treaty. The one like Ames’ mentioned. Then, they began to dispute and separation caused the different realms to become enemies even before the supposed war that caused my father’s death.
Another entry said my mother wasn
’t the first witch to bewitch a goblin king, but it didn’t name who. It was part of a course in destiny that was predicted long before her mother fell in love and all led to some curse befallen on the witch’s side to marrying a Cahn. There was a reference of some kind that said it was probably the magic both witches and goblins possessed that drew them together. My mom’s entry had a note sketched in the corner with the angriest penmanship I’d seen thus far.
Tainted witches lose their souls
.
It was a threat. She’d been told it, not thought it. Her words tangled together with new facts and some of which she’d mentioned in earlier entries, but it helped to hear it again since it meant that maybe she was confirming facts from other sources. It didn’t say it came from different sources, but my mind worked that way in the research department of looking before I leap. I wanted to be sure of something before I jumped in. Life or death situation or not, I wouldn’t make rash decisions…ever!
Ha! I laughed on the inside at this prior motto in life. It no longer applied to me. Rash was fast becoming my middle name.
I was so busy trying to accept the being the witch part I didn’t foresee the probability that my falling in love with Ames, the goblin king, was an ancestral hand-me-down.
It says that others claimed she
’d (the witch who came before me who fell in love with a goblin king) put a spell on the goblin king just as my mother did and that it had to be broken. She feared for her life in the last pages of the book. She was worried I’d fall in love with one too.
I did.
Could all of our lives really be that easily planned out and seers were real and could tell your whole life in one single setting? Apparently.
Her journal said something that scared me more than my revealing true nature. One of the last entries showed she
’d visited with the seer and had decided to make sure I couldn’t be harmed. That a treaty drawn and marked as law would make me safe from the curse she believed in. The last entry said the Cahn family found out. And the last words were near the corner again and very easy to read.
It was all a lie.
Found out what?
That their son had to stay away from me
. They killed her.
The people killed my mother. She knew what would happen. She figured it out.
I threw the book crossways over to the wall and watched it fall to the ground. Caydon parted the chair, snatched the book, and returned to me.
“They killed my mother.” They killed her just to stop Ames and I meeting. It just didn’t add up. They should have investigated more. It could be a lie.
“They were killed too. Your father had them destroyed. You
’re not at fault and neither is your mother.”
“But you
’re one of them.”
“I was young. I don
’t even remember any of it. My mother told me when I was old enough to know you were mine.”
Popping my eyes open, I lowered my hands off my face. “I am not
yours
.”
He backed away. “Look in the back of the book. Read the letter.”
Rejecting the idea of opening that book again, I slammed my face on the bed to hide my tears. I wanted to just scream out and cry. They killed my mother was all I could think about.
The bed moved. “
Here.”
The smell of old paper filled my nose. I pinched it to hide the scent and unfolded the paper. It wasn
’t part of the book.
Dear Alyssa,
First, I am sorry that I waited till now to tell you this.
I am writing you to tell you what my mother told me about our family’s long history. Hidden from every girl (oddly, never a boy born) in your family is the sole fact that you are an enchantress. You will develop, as you already know, powers that will guide you through the life you’ve been given. Much of this you know, but there is more.
Unfortunately, with power comes sacrifice. Your grandmother and all those before you had some type of draw to universal power. And within that draw, many of the females in our line found their way to the goblin realm. As you will learn, there are two realms that have been divided for a long while. You are a part of one of them. Being drawn each time to this race doesn’t fair well in our line. After careful compiling, I have found the pattern of the curse that ties us to an untimely death. I will not go into detail in this letter, but will get straight to the point of writing this to you.
Your daughter.
She must not marry into the Cahn realm, previously the Torrer realm, without a severed craft. And that must not be an option. Our line should not end. If the pattern continues even with the skipped generations like your own mother, Jem will die at a very young age, as will you. I fear your time is near, as from what you wrote in your note I received yesterday. If I could convince you to leave there and come home, I’d come get you myself. I know with every part of my being that you would never leave. Urgency isn’t even fair to use here, but I can’t tell you how important it is that you take care of this matter before it’s too late.
Yours in love,
Your mother, whom hates with everything to be alive.
Carla Ryman
I couldn
’t hide it anymore. I cried. Loud and obnoxiously.
I was dying inside. The time elapsed like a waterfall in reverse. I felt her hands burn and then subside telling me she knew the inevitable truth now.
“She’s not going anywhere.”
I knew the voice from listening in the dark at Emma
’s house. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I turned knowing where the words came from. The foyer was small enough we both took up all its space. I didn’t know the face before, or connected it to this realm, but I knew where he’d been.
“Why are you following her?”
I didn’t know weeks ago that Caydon’s own brother was wedged deep in her day-to-day life, but here he was again. It all fit together. I had some pretty good guesses now.
“Commands of the current oh powerful one.”
“Why?” I demanded fisting up for a fight.
“To keep you away.”
I didn’t think. I just reacted.
Knuckle to knuckle, he matched my moves. Randor, the neighbor, was one of Caydon
’s own. How did I not see it before when he’d be stalking her front door? Halfway because I’d not seen Randor since he was ten.
I felt his jaw click when I connected to his face. My shoulder was feeling it from his booted side round kick that missed my head. He was as skilled in Tae Kwon Do as I was. We all were.
I flipped him onto his back and pinned him down. Immobilized, Trigger graced me with his presence.
“Great timing,” I looked up.
“Just wanted to watch your sexy skills, bro.” Trigger pulled Randor up and held him.
“If I had any humor in me I
’d laugh it off with your face rearranged into a chess pie.”
“
Chill. I’ll take him. You get back to guarding or whatever you call it.”
Randor spit blood on the ground. “
You can’t win this, Cahn. She is mine to watch over. Caydon will do everything in his power to keep her from getting dead.”
“So will I.” Did Caydon send him out all this time? And how did I not know he was a part of this more than I knew? I knew one thing for sure I
’d missed. Randor was the brother of Caydon I’d forgotten about.
And it was the crown Caydon wanted.
And I would do anything in
my
power to keep her even if my own list of fallibilities made their way across my mind. At one point, I kept count of how many I’d killed. Now, with this angel on the frontline of my mind, I could only see a sea of faces in pain and agony. I had always felt remorse, but knowing I’d have to face her forever doing it again was worse than anything. Killing the warriors outside of the coffee shop haunted me daily simply because of her face afterwards.
Tear stained, mascara covered bedspreads weren’t the nicest way to be motivated to sit up and face your enemy. Caydon was somewhat patient for a man even if I hated him at the moment.
I couldn
’t blame him for being young and following his people’s tradition. I couldn’t blame him because he apparently somewhat cared if he did all this research and careful looking into my life history. Yeah, I was King Warren’s daughter that alone carried merit with him, but it doesn’t make him like Joshlin who could care less about me.
“Why are you telling me all this? If it
’s true, and I can’t be with Ames, then what’s your motive?”
As soon as I said it, the answer waved over me.
“You!”
I backed up to the headboard.
Another letter floated before me. “Read this.”
Tossing my eyes to the majorly creased folds of a well read letter and back to his face several times, I warred with what to do. Running wasn
’t an option. I had to hear the end. It was
already
the end of everything. I was just told I couldn’t love Ames Cahn.
“Where did that letter come from?” I pointed my
stinging eyes at the one I’d just read.
“You know where. But it was found in the book, just like the one you have in front of you now.”
“Are there more?”
“A few.”
I opened it. At the bottom was the same signature line. From my grandmother.
“Is she still alive?”
“Yes.”
My voice hitched. “Where?”
“Safe.”
“I want to know.”
“I would take you to meet her, but you already have.”
I wouldn
’t touch the other letter till he told me and he knew it.
“She has been at your human school every day for the last four years.”
I knew the name in the letter was familiar. “Mrs. Ryman.”
Caydon elevated his body upright and waited.
Staring at the letter, I willed it to burst into flames. Guess my powers didn’t extend in that direction.
Dear Alyssa,
I received your other note. I’m glad you talked to Warren and I’m glad you told a friend. Particularly, a friend that could help you solve this. An arranged marriage is her only out unless you leave it to fate to end her life sooner than her time should be. I will hopefully survive long enough to see all this play out, but it doesn’t mean I can influence her to fall in love with whom I deem. What a farce.
The child you mentioned is indeed the next in succession to be king if a suitable heir is not alive or old enough. Being a male relative of the western realms, he is the best choice for her. I have studied this cursed line long enough to know it is the only way. Have a treaty formed as you so said had to be done. Make sure it is safe.
The painting you’ve treasured me with will forever be the light of my life since I cannot hold you close by hand. It will keep its secrets
safe
.
With all my love for you and my granddaughter,
Your mother.
“This doesn’t say who the heir is.”
His mouth folded in.
“Where does it say who the boy is?” I asked again.
“It doesn’t,” he said stretching his hand out in my direction.
Uh, no way. “You
’re the boy.”
He didn
’t answer.
“Are you the next in line if I
’m dead?”
“Yes,” he whispered. “Not by blood though. Just chance.”
I wasn’t sure what to say.
Hell no!
I didn’t know this boy. He didn’t know me. I’m not marrying someone I don’t know. Why would he want to marry someone he didn’t know?
“You think I don’t know you, but I do. I know you don’t prefer coffee over tea. I know you don’t like to dress up and would rather wear your old jeans. I know what kind of music you like. I know—
“You don
’t know me at all,” I said through gritted teeth.
“But we can g
et to know each other. You are—I—we are alike. We were both dealt cards we didn’t choose.”
“I am nothing like you. I need to go.” I flew off the bed and took off in a run all the way through the halls. Blinded by tears, I didn
’t expect to see someone I knew from my past.
His arms folded around me and I was momentarily encased in his hold until I realized who had me. I
’d just seen Randor, my old neighbor, and now he was hugging me to him.
“Are you okay?”
I tried to clear my head. Those words only registered in my brain coming from Ames.
“What do you want?” I stepped back. “You lied
too. You weren’t my father’s friend.”
He frowned, but hid it fast. His busted jaw hinted at who also probably found him. “I was just coming to check on you.”
Yeah right. He who lied all this time and knew every single time I was in agony for not knowing who and what I was all those years. I wanted to hit him myself. Seeing the homicidal look I seem to have made him squirm nervously but gave me pleasure.
“Here. I want to give you something.”
I looked at his open hand. In it was a gold coin just like he used to always have a pocket full of growing up. Was he trying to be humorous?
“Why do I want
that
?”
“Because it was the means that helped me get to you. Keep you safe. I have only ever wanted you safe.”
Story of my life lately. He seemed genuine, but I wasn’t very trusting of him. In fact, I felt sorry for him. Instead of protesting or creating a scene like he deserved, I took the coin and thanked him. I just wanted to get back to Ames.
I took off again out into the orchard. I pounded my way around the first tree that altered my path and slammed into something hard making me scream my head off.
“I’m here.”
I screamed into his chest, cried louder than I ever had. I felt like some kind of soap opera had me caught in the television. It was a nightmare.