Oh, she could say that she could take care of him, but really, could she do that any better than the magical servants that Jolene surely already possessed could do? Down here in the depths of the caverns, life was very comfortable; it was neither blistering hot in the summer, nor freezing cold in the winter, and Jolene could surely give him a life of luxury surpassing Anna’s wildest imaginings. She finally lifted her head again, tears trickling from her eyes.

Jolene nodded, as if reading her mind. “So, you agree that he would be better off with me than with you?”

She wanted to wail out her denial, but there was no arguing with facts. She could give him so little compared to what Jolene could.

If I was Ma and he was Pa . . . Ma would’a scratched an’ bit an’ fought an’ lied through her teeth. But I cain’t do thet. It’d be a lie, Jolene’d know ’twas a lie, an’ I know it’s a lie.

Jolene turned her back on Anna and paced gracefully toward the circle of light cast by her magic above Josh’s workbench. Her footsteps rang crisp and clear on the stone, and he looked up and smiled to see her. That smile felt like a dagger in Anna’s heart.

“And what are you thinking, running your hands over that lovely piece of stone?” Jolene asked. There was nothing arch in her tone; it was just an honest question.

“Thet I reckon I know what I’d like ter carve,” Josh said. “I’d like t’carve y’all, with your hair a-swirlin’ round y’all.” Those words were more daggers in her heart. He would never want to carve her. “But I dunno as I got th’ skill. I ain’t niver worked from life. An’ I really oughter git back home, an’ I dunno what my Pa’d hev t’say ’bout y’all hangin’ about when I’m s’pposed t’be courtin’ Anna.” His smile made a joke out of that, but Jolene treated it as serious.

“And what if you didn’t go back?” she asked.

“What now?” he replied, bewildered.

“What if you didn’t go back home?” she repeated. “What if you stayed with me? I can teach you every skill in carving you need. I can give you skills you cannot imagine. I can supply you with tools you don’t even know exist, and every material you could ever want. And if you want to become famous, I can arrange for that too.” With every word Jolene spoke, Anna dropped deeper into despair, until it was no longer the spell keeping her from moving, it was the sheer weight of black despondence.

Because surely he would accept that offer. He’d be a fool not to. It was more than everything he had ever wanted, was everything he had ever dared dream of, and more.

He blinked at her, perplexed. “But I hev ter stay down here? Away from my fambly? Away from Anna May?”

“Yes to both,” Jolene told him. “My craftsmen and artists are required to live here, with me, in my realm.” She curved her lips in a sweet smile. “Think of what you could make! And you would never lack for tools or material, never need concern yourself for your daily needs, never be pulled away from creating in order to milk a cow again!”