“Temporarily,” Laki corrected. “He’ll protect her until she’s of age, then he’ll reverse the bond. I’ll show him how.”
I frowned. “Bond?” I knew what they meant, but I was having trouble accepting this version of events.
“Yes, sweetheart. Zakkai is going to bond with you to keep you safe,” my dad said, his voice soft. “It’s just a security measure in case anything happens to me and your mom, okay?”
“Why would something happen to you?” The words fell from my lips before I could hold them back, my mind falling into my seven-year-old form and repeating the question I recalled asking that day.
“Because life is full of unexpected events,” my dad replied, then pressed his lips to my temple. “This is just our way of adding some protection.”
“But you already protect me,” I pointed out in my childlike voice. “And so does Kai.”
Kai? I thought, repeating the nickname. Why did I call him that? Because that was what my memory required.
Or was this all just a lie? Another twisted test?
“I’ll always protect you,” Zakkai agreed, sounding proud. “But this will, like, bond us more. So that way I can sense if you’re in danger.”
Laki nodded. “Yes. And he’ll be able to help you even if he’s in another kingdom.”
Yes, I knew all this. Mom and Dad had explained it last week.
I frowned. Last week? I shook my head. This experience was starting to feel a little too real, like I was seven again.
Everything slowed around me, my parents freezing in place as my father began to speak. Laki stilled as well, his face void of expression, but Zakkai merely smiled at me, his dimples flashing proudly.
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” I said.
“It’s a memory spell, Flora.” His eyes sparkled as he used my nickname again. “It’s so you can remember.”
“Remember what?”
“Me,” he replied as everything dissolved around us into a new image of real stars and the two of us lying on our backs outside, his hand in mine. “I don’t want to go,” he said, his gaze on the sky above. “But Dad says I have to.”
“I don’t want you to go either,” I replied, the childlike voice one I remembered but the phrase foreign. I hadn’t even thought to speak those words; they just left my mouth without permission.
“He says you have to forget me, too,” he added, frowning. “I don’t want to do it.”
“Then don’t.”
“But I have to protect you, Flora.” He squeezed my hand. “You’re my best friend, and that’s what best friends do.”
“Mom and Dad will protect me.” My mouth just kept moving without my permission, saying things before I could process the reaction. “I don’t want to forget you, Kai.”
He sighed. “I know. But I’ll make you remember one day.”
“When?”
“I don’t know. Dad says it might be a while. We have to go hide in a new kingdom.” The way his lips twisted to the side told me how he felt about that.
“A new kingdom?” I repeated.
“Yeah.”
“So you’re leaving me?”
“I have to, Flora. The bad fae are getting too close.” He finally looked at me, his eyes misted with tears. “I don’t want to go, but Dad says it’s the only way to be safe.”
“What about me?” I asked, my voice small.