humming along with the clicking and sizzling sounds of food being prepared.
The sounds of home comforted me.
Once the table was ready, Gram handed me plates of French toast, crispy
bacon, cut fruit, and an egg scramble full of vegetables. We laid the meal on the
table just in time for Cole and Elliott to join us.
I struggled to call Elliot my father, even with the knowledge he’d been
telling the truth. It was strange to consider calling someone Daddy after believing he was dead for such a long time, and I had already mourned his loss.
Now, faced with this new reality, I bounced between wanting to bring back my
father and realizing I had to accept Elliott, the man, as a new part of my life.
“Mar, take your seat.” Cole patted my chair. “I'm starving, and I want to hear
about your slumber.”
Cole's handsome face was clean-shaven. His eyes were bright and full of joy.
The darkness I’d seen earlier had faded.
Rest heals everything, I thought.
"Go on, Mara. Tell us about your sleep," Gram encouraged.
In between bites, I described my experiences in the elemental world.
Cole's laughter became uncontrollable at my depiction of my drop to meet
the Earth elementals. “I would’ve loved to see you covered with mud."
“Can I continue?” I raised my eyebrows with mock annoyance.
When Cole composed himself, my family listened quietly as I told them
everything from the rainbow slide to seeing Sarah. Cole's eyes glistened with tears at the mention of his mother. When I told them about seeing Meg in the mirror, Gram's eyes narrowed at the mention of Blanche Drygen.
When my story was over, I felt it was time for me to ask some questions.
“Gram, did you know about Miles?”
With a sour look, she answered, “I suspected Eliza was with child not long
before she left, but no, I didn't know for sure."
“When we get Meg, we must take Miles. Meg promised him he’d be able to
come live with us.”
“We will.” Elliott reached over and took my arm. “Cedric Drygen won't take
anything else from my family. No matter what it takes, we'll bring both children
home.”
Tears welled up in my eyes from the intensity in his words.
The rest of our meal was finished with small talk. The avoidance of the
bigger issues we faced was disturbing me. Finding out how the bacon was made
to be so crunchy or talking about the flavor in the syrup was not going to help us
get my sister home. Trying to control my irritation, I focused on breathing.
“I got it!” Cole jumped up. “I know how we can get them both back, safely.”
Cole outlined a plan to get to the Drygen estate by going off the main roads. He
described our secret path. We, then, spent the better half of the evening working
out details. The four of us would be making the trip to bring Meg and Miles home before the next sunrise. Today would be a test in putting all the pieces together.
