“You have no idea, Little Michael.” She winked and slowly backed away from him. “And I know just what to do to provoke your grandfather into joining the fight if you need him.”

“You’re not playing by the same rules this time,” Saber spoke softly. When Valathame turned to her, Saber bowed her head.

Valathame spoke to Saber, but her words were not English. Saber understood her though because her eyes glistened and her cheeks flushed. Valathame winked to her and then turned and looked right at me.

My stomach fell right out of my ass.

To my shock, she crouched down and mirrored my pose. “Hello, Francelina.”

I swallowed to try and find my voice. “Hello, Valathame,” I whispered.

“So, I hear my brother-in-law sent you a letter. I believe he warned you that I had a hefty task for you?” When I nodded, she continued, “And you know you have a quest to find that missing page.”

I nodded. “It wasn’t in Sweyn’s throne. Remember where thy forsaken, a ruse we must now awaken. To play with rules that can’t be broken, for only one can claim the spoken. But drop thy sword, flee the scene, this quest becomes evergreen. For upon the dawn my word shall come, the Angel of Tides must ring his drum.”

“Very good, Francelina.” She grinned and those creepy eyes sparkled, then she took my hands in hers. “The Angel of Tides is coming. But you, Francelina, have a task that only you can complete, and you must do it alone . . . and that time is upon you now.”

My pulse quickened. All I could do was nod.

“But for now, rules cannot yet be broken.” She twirled her fingers and a rolled-up scroll appeared in her hand. With eyes that saw far too much, she held the scroll out to me. “Good luck, Francelina. I cannot wait to see you on the other side.”

The second my fingertips touched the scroll, Valathame vanished.

I knew I needed to open the scroll. I needed to see what was written. It was probably a prophecy for a quest—-my quest. The one I had to take alone. My stomach was already in knots. My breaths were rough and ragged like I’d been running for miles.

Something moved in my peripheral vision. When I looked I found Savannah had moved to sit beside me on the ground. She reached up and took the scroll from my shaking hand. “Miss ma’am, take a deep breath. You got this.”

“Do I?”

She scoffed. “You went full balls to the wall with Tegan’s plans without even asking what it was she was gonna do to you. This ain’t any different.”

“She said I had to do this alone⁠—”

“Yeah, but you ain’t alone yet.” Savannah’s voice raised an octave and speed. She waved the rolled scroll in front of me. “This quest hasn’t started.”