A tear trails down my cheek, but I don’t bother to wipe it away. I’ve been numb since we returned.
I need to say goodbye. As much as I don’t want to, I ask Galinor to return to the manor. He hesitates, not wanting to leave me alone, but finally turns away.
I stand here, staring at the mound of dark earth longafter the service is over. My father and I are the only ones who remain.
A hand touches my shoulder. I turn and find Ergmin.
“I’m sorry, Anwen,” he says, his voice quiet.
“It’s my fault,” I answer.
He shakes his head. “I lied to you about the curse.”
What does it matter now?
“It does matter,” he says as if hearing my silent thoughts. “I didn’t lift it. It ended when your mother died.”
I shake my head, unable to grasp what he’s saying. “I don’t understand.”
“The curse was cast by your mother.”
My stomach lurches, and I turn away. “Leave me, old man.”
“It’s true.” Ergmin ignores me. “Long before you were born, like many desperate people before her, your mother was enchanted by the allure of magic.”
I close my eyes, trying to block out his words.
“She wanted children, and yet several years after your parents were wed, they still had none.”
I wrap my arms around myself, unable to block out his words but not wanting to listen to them.
“Not aware of the repercussions, she paid a witch for a fertility potion and gave it to your father. That is what truly caused the curse.”
“No!” I whip back around. “You’re lying!”
“Nine months later you were born.”
“I don’t want to hear this!”
Ergmin continues anyway, “Mortified—filled with guilt—your mother told your father it was the gremlin hehad recently acquired that cursed him. He, of course, believed her. She came to me. She was desperate, but there was nothing I could do. Instead, I instructed your father to speak with the fairies.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I gasp. Ugly tears fall freely from my face.
“Gimlies are limited on the magic we possess, but we can see glimpses of possible futures. I saw only one outcome that didn’t end in your eventual death. Your mother begged me to keep you safe—even if it meant she had to die instead of you.”
“No,” I whisper.
He nods.
“So, you’ve known everything? You knew I would take the stone?”
“Yes.”
“You found me on the road. You knew exactly where I’d be, yet you pretended to be nothing but a simple farmer to deceive me!”
Ergmin nods. “Your father’s men would have reached you before you arrived in Estlebrook.”
“What else have you done?”
