I flipped to the next page.
My darling Philip, I will find you again, I promise. My deepest desire is to be with you and raise our child together. But first, I must kill Balthazar.
I looked up from her flowing writing, torn. In this letter, it seemed my mother had a kind and caring heart, and all she wanted to do was protect those she loved.
Could she have truly loved me? Were Balthazar’s words all lies?
I carefully folded the letter and re-tied it with the leather strand. This letter had only accomplished one thing: to awaken the grief I felt, wondering if Mom loved me. Indeed, she wascapableof love.
Maybe just not with me….
I thought about Emily’s necklace, the tiny dagger that matched my real one. I needed to ask Grey Feather if he knew what it meant, but I was hesitant to face him again. He’d clearly been angry when I left him.
Perhaps his wife had eased his sour disposition?
I made my way back to the teepee.
Earth Bear continued to stand guard as if that were his job.
“Do you think he will speak to me again?” I asked him.
“Of course,” he said, smiling. “It is like my mother said. He barks in anger, but he’s soft inside. Here…”
He lifted the door flap and gestured for me to enter.
Aiyana was gone, and the chief’s eyes were closed.
He blinked when I sat before him.
“I’m sorry to interrupt you, but I have one more question.”
“What is it?” he said gruffly.
“When Emily was born, a necklace appeared around her neck with a charm shaped like a dagger. It is similar to the one I carry.”
The chief frowned.
“Do you, perhaps, know what it is?”
“No,” he said with a shake of his head. “I have never seen this charm. Alina did tell us she had a child, though, and she mentioned being unable to defeat Balthazar.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
“It wasn’t relevant.”
“It would have been to me.”
“The most important thing you can do now is to find the sun and the moon daggers. Do you understand me? Forget the journal. It is perhaps long gone.” Grey Feather picked up the stick he used to stir the fire and shook it.
“I don’t know how much time I have,” I said. “Swift Hawk might already be dead.”
Grey Feather waved away my concerns and focused his gaze on me. “You must believe in yourself. You will find your way. Now I must rest.”
“Of course,” I said, rising. “Thank you for seeing me again.”
The chief had already closed his eyes.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, I headed for Leaping Deer’s teepee.
