Gently but firmly pressing the wand to the rock, he chanted an ancient spell. The wand flared with light as it fused to the rock. He sat, still as stone, in meditation, summoning every ounce of concentration he could muster. Precious minutes passed. He pushed himself harder. His head began to pound from the strain. He had just reached the limits of his mental endurance when, suddenly, he connected.

But it wasn’t with Coralis.

Chapter Thirty-Two

As much as Henry wanted to vault over the table and smother his mother with hugs and kisses, a slow-burning spark of anger held him in check.

“Henry?” Her head tilted quizzically.

“You left us” was all he could say without choking on words. Water welled in his eyes. He angrily wiped the tears away before they could fall. All the suppressed emotions of being abandoned and forgotten suddenly surfaced, and he lashed out at her. “How could you leave us? Do you have any idea what we’ve been through?”

He wanted to yell and shout and scream at her. To make her feel bad. To make her feel guilty. To make her beg for forgiveness.

Slowly she stood. “I had to, Henry. For so many reasons—I had to leave right at that moment.” She circled around the table to approach him. “There were things I had to do that couldn’t wait a second longer. But more important, there were things you had to do, too. You had to be ready for this moment, son. And there was nothing I could have done to better prepare you for it than to leave you on your own.”

“That’s not true!” he shouted. “You could have told me … something! Anything!”

She stopped a few feet away. “I am truly sorry. I thought the more you knew, the more danger you would be in. Your father had become erratic … frightening. And he was fixated on you and on the Books of Elements that his family had been charged to protect. I took the books and brought them here, the only place I knew he couldn’t get them. By the time I felt it was safe enough to return to you, you’d already begun your own voyage. And now look at you.” She straightened with pride. “You’ve grown in so many ways in such a short time. Do you think you would be the strong, confident young man who stands before me had I held your hand the entire way? Never! And not a day has passed that I haven’t worried myself sick thinking about you and Brianna … ” Panic creased her face. “Henry! Where is your sister?”

“Relax, Mom.” Brianna poked her head up from Henry’s jacket. “Still think leaving me alone with Henry was a good idea?”

Their mother tried several times to speak.

“Check it out, Henry. She looks like a fish out of water.”