Page 74 of Unraveling Fate
Taran chuckled. “You say you saw my father turn into a wolf? I’ll be the first to admit he can be a bit gruff sometimes, but?—”
“He turned into a wolf,” Reyna said, firmer. “Don’t try to tell me I didn’t see what I saw. He turned into a wolf and back. Cadenza set the grass on fire. You were joking about eye of newt and lizard tongue.” She planted her hands on her hips, eyebrow raised as if daring him to deny it.
His eyes narrowed. “I would have known if someone else were in the field, I would have heard you, seen you.”
She spread her hands. “You did see me. But I looked different. That goes back to my question.” She gave Cadenza a small smile. “Don’t freak, ok?” Reyna ran two steps and leapt into the air. Cadenza ducked, but then straightened, mouth agape.
A great horned owl flew a circle over their heads, landed on the stairs, and blurred back into Reyna.
“I really want to know why I can do that.”
Cadenza slumpedagainst the kitchen sink in the cottage, waiting for the tea kettle to boil. Drostan and Taran were in the living room explaining to Reyna, who said she’d been able to shift since she was a child, what a Guardian was, how the “production line” worked, and Taran’s situation. Cadenza had volunteered to make tea for everyone as an excuse for a quiet moment.
She didn’t know how many more revelations she could handle. In one day, her career plan had been ripped away and two people that she’d thoughtshehad made the choice to interact with, whether that was professionally or as a friend or both—she winced; Reyna was both, she had thought Thomas was both—were also a part of this world of Fate. Coincidence? Was there such a thing?
Or were the Fates tightening their weave around her? How much of what was happening in her life stemmed from her own choices and how much from what the Fates supposedly decreed?
Lips pursed, she dug a box of herbal tea out of the cupboard.But then if me meeting Thomas was the Fates’ doing, did that mean they wanted Taran to fight him—tokillhim?
Taran had said if the Fates cared at all, they would have broken the curse themselves. But if they sent Cadenza to find Thomas, was that their way of doing that? But then why wait so long? If they wanted the curse broken, why not do it hundreds of years ago?
Her head started to pound.
It doesn’t matter what they want.The serving tray rattled on the counter as she slammed mugs down on it.Because I’m choosing my own path.She’d figure out how to break the curse, learn how to control the earthsong so she didn’t hurt anyone, and then she and Taran would decide their own path. Together.
Right,she scoffed at herself.Learn to control the music, just like that. Because it’s been so easy so far.The image of Thomas’s face tangled in her thoughts—Thomas with his quirky glasses and thoughtful insights. Thomas, who had been trying to help her before she knew what it was that she needed help with.
How couldthatThomas have done something so vile to Taran?
Taran with his grace and humor and anchoring ocean of music. Taran that she loved.
How could Taran have done something so heartbreaking to Thomas?
All of it happened so long ago; there had to be a way to heal this, to healthem.
“I’m one to talk,” she told the steaming kettle. She had yet to forgive her mother. Who was she to tell anyone else to forgive?
The kitchen door swung open and bodhran song flowed around her. “Alright?” Taran’s arms followed his song, and she nestled into his chest.
“I just needed a minute. Che giornata.”
“It has been a day at that.” The kettle whistled and Taran poured boiling water into each mug while keeping one arm around her waist. “Come on. I think Reyna’s just about up to speed.”
The blacksmith was on her feet with her hands on her hips as they entered the living room. “So, you’re saying I’m a glorified bodyguard to some random guy who is basically a human charging cable for when the planet needs to juice up?” she asked incredulously.
“No,” Drostan said from the couch. “Not ‘some random guy.’ The Crown. Who is not some inanimate object like a charging cable but actively works to connect the entire planet to the source it needs in order to create the energies that fuel said planet and guide the life of every person on it. And,” he added, “who, often as not, isn’t a ‘guy.’ The Crown when Taran’s mother—” he cut off, jaw clenched. Cadenza handed him a mug and squeezed his shoulder. “The Crown when Taran got into this trouble with Ercildoun,” Drostan started again, “was a man, from our own country. And, incidentally, Taran’s first Crown.”
Cadenza glanced at Taran. “The first one you had to protect?”
He half smiled. “Told you I was ‘young’ when it happened.”
“But there’ve been Crowns from Kenya to Korea and Argentina to Australia,” Drostan continued, “and the Crown is just as often a woman.”
Taran gave Reyna her tea and sat next to Cadenza on the loveseat. “And we’re not ‘glorified bodyguards.’ There’s a bond between the Guardians and the Crown. It’s a wee bit tricky to explain, but it’s never been any kind of servant dynamic, or formal relationship with distance. We’re friends, equals. Anyway, don’t worry about it overmuch, since we don’t have a Crown just the now.”
Reyna sat across from Drostan. “Why isn’t there a Crown now?”
“Because Ercildoun hasn’t found a new one,” Drostan said. “That’s his job in the whole thing. He’s the Seer, he finds the new Crown once the old one passes on, but he stopped bothering with his duty after his wife died.” Drostan’s eyes flicked to Taran. Taran gripped his mug harder, and Cadenza laid her hand over his.
