She should tell him it wasn’t about the portal, that it meant something to her—obviously it did or the portal wouldn’t have opened.An epiphany.She’d felt a change within her, which wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t fallen out of love with Ethan…and into love with Jack. And in love with this place. And its magic.
A very nice change.
She wondered if she’d scare him off if she used the wordlovethis quickly. She wondered if he thought it was just about the portal. She wondered if it had been just about the inn for him, or if the kiss had felt as magical to him as it did to her.
Jack released her hand and sloshed into the sitting room. Puddles were everywhere, soaking the rugs and covering the floor in a watery sheen. All the towels he’d left were soggy lumps. “Kendra?”
She hadn’t stayed outside, where she could drip harmlessly on gravel and grass. Instead, Kendra was curled, morose, in achair. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, and seawater was sloughing off her.
Calisa wanted to say,You can stop your temper tantrum now,except that wasn’t fair, since she had no way to know how seriously the sea witch needed to return home. She cut straight to the point: “Your portal is open.”
Gasping, Kendra shot to her feet—seawater sprayed everywhere in a fine mist—and then she bolted toward the stairs, hitching her skirts up so she could run faster.
Calisa heard a cry of relief—and then silence.
Jack grinned, and then his smile faded as he surveyed the sitting room. “Guess I need to figure out how to get saltwater stains out of upholstery. Fresh water? Carpet soap? Probably should start with sopping up the new puddles…” Carrying the wet towels, he trotted out of the room as he talked and returned with his arms full of fresh, dry towels.
Sure, yes, of course, they should clean the sitting room—the rugs were soggy with seawater—but…“Orwe can try to open more broken doors. See if Auntie Zee is behind any of them.” She thought of his father and wondered which door he was behind—but Auntie Zee herself hadn’t been able to reopen that portal. First find Auntie Zee. That felt achievable. And necessary.
“Oh, whoa, yes! Auntie Zee!”
She almost smiled. He’d been as flustered as she was.
“Think of how happy she’s going to be when she learns that you inherited her ability,” Jack said. “She might even forgive us for blatantly violating every single rule she’s hammered intome since my dad and I came here.” Using a towel, he began excitedly and haphazardly dabbing at the seawater. “But if she’s behind a closed portal, she could be anywhere. Where do we even start?”
Calisa saw a flicker out of the corner of her eye, and she glanced out the window. The stone statue had drawn closer to the porch. She must have been eavesdropping—the window was open, and Jack and Calisa hadn’t kept their voices down. She could have heard every word. Could she be trying to enter? Did she want to help?
Trusting her instincts, Calisa crossed to the front door and opened it. “Do you know where Auntie Zee is?” She deliberately turned away, watching through the sitting room entryway as Jack spread towels over the damp rug to soak up the excess water. On the lobby wall, the smoky mirror was dark.
When she turned around, the statue’s head was dipped down.Yes.
Oh wow. Why didn’t I think of this sooner?She knew why she hadn’t: living statues weren’t supposed to exist. Asking one for help just wasn’t something she’d normally think to do. “Jack?” Calisa called.
Dropping a towel onto a chair, Jack trotted over to her.
“She knows where Auntie Zee is.” To the statue, she said, “Where? Can you point?” To Jack, she said, “Turn around. She’ll answer if we aren’t looking.”
He turned around with Calisa.
A second later, Calisa peeked back at the statue. “She’s pointing!” Straight behind them, toward the kitchen. “One ofthe cabinets? The pantry? The supply closets? Washer-dryer closet? Do you want to come inside and show us?”
“She can’t do the stairs,” Jack said. “It’s the pedestal.”
Her ankles flowed into the slab of granite at her base. Of course she couldn’t do stairs. She’d need to be carried. “Would it be okay if we helped you inside?” Calisa asked.
Both of them turned away, then looked back.
The statue had inclined her headyes.
Together, huffing, Calisa and Jack hoisted the statue inside the foyer and set her down. She was far heavier than she looked, and Calisa wondered where she’d come from—had she been made this way? Who’d made her? How and why had she come here? All more questions than they had time for now.
She turned away, and when she looked back, the statue was pointing again, more clearly, toward the kitchen. They hauled her into the kitchen and positioned her facing the stove. From there, she pointed into the corridor of supply closets. Again, they dragged her forward.
Finally, she pointed at a single door: the third closet on theleft.
Calisa grinned. This was it! They were going to find AuntieZee!
She swung in front of Jack and kissed him again. He kissed her back, sweetly and deeply, his arms cradling around her.
