Page 52 of The Book of Legends
“She’s not,” the goblin replies, her voice rough with age. “She’s human... but not from here.”
“You think she’s telling the truth?”
Yes, I want to scream. I am. But I can’t move. I can’t speak. I’m trapped.
Clinking sounds. Movement. A damp cloth grazes my cheeks—cool, soothing.
“I don’t think he would have let her go if she were one of his,” she says. “Nother.Not this long. Nieve believes her. You know Nymphs can see through lies.”
Silence.
“You let her get close because of that,” she adds, knowingly.
“You know me well, Newt.”
“She’s lost.”
Asshole.He was using her. Using me. That shouldn’t surprise me... but it stings.
“If sheislost, she’s still a risk. I don’t know her.”
“Then stop wasting time accusing her.Get to know her.”
“You have hope for me,” he murmurs.
“I never stopped. Maybe she’s not from here—or maybe she doesn’t remember. Maybe... she was meant to find you.”
“You think the gods had something to do with it? That shemagicallyappeared here for a reason?”
“This land was born in magic,” she replies. “It lives in you, like it lived in your mother. No one knows what can awaken it... but time.”
A breath. Then?—
“All right,” he says quietly. “I’ll try.”
“You like her,” Newt says with a smirk I can practicallyhear.
“I never said that.”
Asshole.
“Tell that to the guards. The beasts. The Fae you nearly killed. And let’s not forget?—”
“I have to go,” he interrupts, voice sharp—cutting the moment short.
I slip back into darkness... but this time, there’s something else with me.
Hope.
My eyes flutter open,and this time I’m back in the tower.
The air feels... different.
There’s a vase of flowers near the window—their soft petals in shades of spring, impossibly bright in this world of ash and bone. I breathe in their fragrance, wondering how something so beautiful could grow here.
Magic. Maybe. It doesn’t matter. They’re still beautiful.
The door creaks open.
