“Scaredy-cat.” Tongue poked out, she shoved her thumbs in her ears and twiddled her fingers.
“I’m not scared, and you better hurry before your mum comes.”
“I’m already here.” Kate rushed in. “What do you think you’re doing, Faith? We came for the swings.”
“Okay, I’m coming down.” Faith laughed as she pushed off. Her coat snagged on something and she squealed. She toppled forward and rolled down. “Mum-mie.”
Kate dashed forward, but Faith plowed off the end and landed in the middle of the puddle. Mucky water sprayed everywhere.
“Help.” Faith half-laughed, half-cried as she slapped at the water.
Kate juggled her camera, accidentally taking a shot as she tossed it by the strap over her shoulder.
“I’m closer. I’ll help her.” I edged around the grassiest side of the puddle and leaned a hand in. “Don’t pull. I’ll pull you”
“I promise I won’t.” She slapped her hand into mine and muck oozed between our fingers. “You’re like the best friend ever.”
“You’re like the worst.” I heaved her out.
“We stick together.” She hugged me, coating me in the sloppy mud.
Ah, what a moment. I couldn’t help smiling at the long ago memory. From that day on, we’d always said those words to each other. We stick together. That’s when it had all begun.
“Silvie?”
Guy shook my shoulders.
“Wake up.”
I stretched and opened my eyes, finding myself cradled in his lap. “That was a blast from the past.”
Faith and Hope knelt on the snowy white carpet next to us. Faith took my hand and rubbed the back against her cheek. “Are you all right? You’ve been out for ages.”
“Yeah, but best of all I know what I need to do.”
“Really?”
“Yep, we’ve been best friends since forever. We’ve always been there for each other. When we were six, we made the promise to stick together. We even shook on it.”
She gasped. “The slide. The puddle.”
“That’s the one. From then on, we’ve always had each other’s back.”
“But how does that memory fix the problem? You and me sticking together isn’t anything new.”
“Think about it. We’ve always stuck together, and where it counts.” This was why she needed my help, and I couldn’t let her down. “Dralion is where the problem exists, and Dralion is where it counts. We haven’t stuck together there.”
“Are you saying—” She jerked back. “No. There isn’t a chance— I won’t expose you to Donaldo. You’re not stepping one foot on Dralion soil.”
“I don’t like the idea either, but—”
“No. I said, no!”
“We had a deal.”
“One we brokered as children.”
“You want to cancel it?”
“No, but you can’t ask this of me.”
“I think I already did.” I held out my hand. “Let’s shake on it again. Deal?”
7
“I can’t believe this.” Hope staggered to her feet. “No Peacian is allowed in Dralion. It just can’t happen with the dome blocking them.”
Guy shifted underneath me. “I never thought this would be your answer. If I had, I wouldn’t have spelled you.”
“It’s the only answer.” Why would no one listen to me?
“You can’t go to Dralion. Like Faith, I won’t allow it.”
“You don’t have a choice. I’m the key, and no one else.”
“It’s too dangerous for you. In fact, I’ll fix this now.” His enchanter eyes swirled to life.
“Don’t you dare.” He was going to turn back time, or something else to make me forget. I clamped a hand over his face. “You are not allowed to enchant me in order to get your own way.”
He plucked my fingers free and glared. “It’s my right to protect you, and if I believe you’re about to do something to bring harm to yourself, I’ll change the course of events.”
“You have no right to, not when you gave your rights away.”
“Then I’ll take them back.”
“Whoa. No, you won’t.” I had to get out of here before he acted on those irrational thoughts. I shuffled off his lap and onto my feet.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.” I grabbed Faith’s hand. “Please, take me out of here before he does something idiotic. We stick together, even if you don’t like it.”
“Argh. I might just cancel that deal after all.” She struck a look at Hope. “Sorry, I’ve gotta get her home. We’ll chat later, okay?”
“Later.”
Guy stepped up to me. “You’ll stay out of trouble, or I will follow.”
“Faith, now.” I needed distance from him.
She edged between us. “Guy, let’s all take a breather. I’ll talk to her, I promise. I’m not brokering a new deal.” She flashed us away.
We arrived in my bedroom, and thankfully Guy didn’t follow. “Phew. He’s too persistent for his own good.”
“I know you said he’s driven by the bond to see to your welfare, and I don’t argue against that, but there’s more. While you were out of it, I saw how much he cared and that emotion goes deeper than what you realize.”