The Seelie Curse

Chapter 14

Star is laughing wildly, tears of it streaming down her face. Rowan frowns. "Ummm, Star? Are you okay?"

Star nods, but her body is still shaking with laughter. Rowan leans against Wave again, watching until Star is done. The laughter slows after a time, but it takes longer than Rowan thought it would. Wave speaks almost the very moment Star is no longer laughing.

"Care to share?"

Star blinks at her, eyes wide in confusion. In that moment, Rowan can see the seal looking out through the girl's eyes. Star stays silent for only a moment. "What does that mean?" Ro frowns for a moment, confused about why Star wouldn't know that term. It isn't the most common, but most people have heard of it and know what it means. Star glances at her. "Inuit, remember?"

Rowan's mouth opens slightly, understanding hitting her. "Oh."

Wave smiles at her cousin. "It means will you share what you were laughing at?" Her eyebrow is raised, Rowan is getting the sense that she already has an idea.

Star's expression is a half-wince, half-smile. If her skin wasn't so dark, Rowan would probably see a flush to her cheeks. "I was laughing because you got your information from books."

Wave flushes, but it's in anger, not embarrassment. "Books are useful! Not everything in them might be accurate, but plenty of things are, even in stories."

Star raises her hands. "Okay, okay. I mean no harm to your books."

Wave scowls at her but deflates. She shakes her head, trying to distract herself. "So, if we have an idea of what bound means, what's the goal. What do the prophecies want us to do?"

Rowan frowns. "Do you have them written down?"

Wave smiles slightly. "I should. Yours is probably written down too, now."

She grabs her book from the low-lying table and flips to the back. Well, not the back of the book, it looks like she's finding where the writing stops. The last page looks like it has three segments of writing, with spaces in between. Rowan peers over Wave's shoulder at them. The writing in the book is spidery, not like what Rowan would expect from Wave. She thought Wave's handwriting would be bolder, perhaps loopier. Certainly tighter together. Wave glances at Rowan.

"Are you wondering how your prophecy is in there when I couldn't possibly have the time to have written it?"

Rowan's mouth drops open. "How-" She had been wondering that, but she hadn't even realized she was.

"How did I know that? I would have been wondering the same thing. The book writes itself."

"Huh."

Rowan definitely didn't expect that, or for that to be the book's handwriting. Or . . . what would you call it? Not handwriting, bookwriting? That sounds weird, but it's pretty accurate. She shakes her head. It doesn't really matter. She looks down at the writing, reading carefully. The first section of writing seems to be what Wave was talking about, the order from her ancestor. She skims it to see if there could be any important information there, but it looks to be pretty much what Wave had said.

Her breath catches reading the second prophecy, and it isn't just at the mention of herself. There's the line that talks about the three of them being bound, but it's the last line that bothers her most. Right the wrong of ancestors long unknown. That, along with the lines from the finfolk prophecy seems to nudge something in her brain. The first line of the finfolk prophecy was a curse of old must be broken. Ancestors and curses, her being part of it. There's something she's missing. But what is it? Wave looks at her, frowning slightly.

"What is it?"

Rowan points at the two lines, her fingers landing right on top of them. "There's something about these words. I feel like I should know what they mean, but I can't remember."

Wave's frown deepens. "What part of it caught your attention?"

Rowan shrugs. "I think the mentions to curses and ancestors." She freezes. "Oh, I think I know what it was. How did I miss it in the first place?"

She stands and moves away from the couch. Either towards the door or the hallway, she doesn't know. Wave grabs her arm.

"Ro, stop. Tell me, please."

"You know how the kelpies are cursed?" Wave nods hesitantly. "My great-grandfather, he's the one who cursed them."

"Why?" The question came from Star.

Rowan shrugs. "Because they helped my great-grandmother escape him."

Wave scowls. "Seriously?" Rowan nods. "Even without the prophecy, we would help you. Or . . . I would at least. I can't speak for my cousin. It isn't right, what your grandfather has done."

Rowan smiles weakly. "Thank you."

Wave leans forward again and flips her book closed, moving to put it back in her bag. Andrian pokes his head into the room from the hallway and Rowan beams. She motions him over. He smiles at her.

"What were you three talking about?"

"The prophecies, mainly."

Andrian raises an eyebrow. "Oh? There are multiple?"

"There is the one I told you about, the one from the finfolk. Apparently, Star has one from her people as well. Both of them refer to the three of us."
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What do you think? Are they right about what the prophecy wants them to do? What's going to happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.