Page 134 of A Forgery of Fate

“It’s me.” The words scraped out of my throat. “It’s me.”

I’d never seen Baba cry before. His eyes filled as he steadied himself with my arm, his gaze sweeping over my face. “My little girl, you’ve grown up.” He inhaled. “How long…how long was I away?”

“Five years.”

I could hear the breath go out of him.

“Five years,” he murmured. “The last thing I remember was a storm, my ship sinking. The realization that I’d never get to see my girls grow up.”

My throat closed, a lump swelling painfully inside. “We can talk later. We need to get you inside, get you some warm food and tea. Mama should be awake by now.”

At the mention of Mama, a thousand questions burned in his eyes. He didn’t recognize the mansion in front of us, and I could see his astonishment when he realized we were floating on the back of a giant turtle.

“Is this your home?” he asked in disbelief. “Your mother, she didn’t remarry. Did she?”

I had to laugh. “She didn’t.” A blush rose high on my cheeks as I realized I’d have to tell BabaIwas the one who’d married. That could wait.

“Let’s see who’s awake.” I cupped my hands around my mouth. “Mama!” I shouted. “Fal, Nomi! We’re home!”

A door slid open, and Nomi came rushing out. “Tru!” she yelled. Then her eyes bulged.

There was a book in her hand, and my ever-sensible sister tossed it into a bush before she not-so-sensibly rushed into the pond. It was freezing, thin ice crackling from where I stood.

“Don’t rush in!” I warned.

I dove forward, catching her before she skidded across the ice. I held her close. “I’ve got you.”

Nomi threw her arms around me, hugging me so fiercely I could hardly breathe. “You’re back. You’re finally back.” Her loose hair was crimped from yesterday’s braids, the collar on her tunic adorably misbuttoned as always. I rested my chin on top of her head, finding she was taller than I remembered.

Five months, I’d been away. For Baba, it’d been five years.

“Don’t I get an embrace too?” he said gently.

Nomi turned to him, eyes shining with tears she didn’t dare let fall. “Are you real?” she whispered. “Or are you a dream? I warn you that no matter what you are, I won’t let you go.”

“I’m real.” Baba opened his arms, hugging us both. “I promise I’m real.”

That was when Falina came running out the door, her jacket unbuttoned and her slippers falling off. Her teeth chattered as she shouted, “Nomi, get out of the pond! You’ll catch sick—”

She stopped short, her words freezing into a gasp.“Baba?”

Her mouth still hanging, she leapt into the pond right behind Nomi, chattering teeth and all. “Baba!”

Baba grabbed her by the arm. I took her other hand. “My pine, my plum, my bamboo,” he murmured, words I’dforgotten how much I missed. Tears glistened under his eyes, freezing before they could fall, and his voice grew hoarse. “You’ve grown so strong, so beautiful.”

That was all he could manage before my sisters and I hugged him. We were like fools, laughing and crying and clinging to each other as we splashed toward the bank. In the end, it was Caisan who ferried us out into the garden. Aiding him were two merfolk, who threw blankets over our backs and ushered us toward the house, shaking their heads at us while they enchanted our clothes dry again.

The gods could’ve thrown a blizzard at me and I wouldn’t have noticed. With my sisters at my side, I held him by the arm and brought him inside.

Mama was in the kitchen, cooking. She hadn’t heard the commotion in the garden, so when our footsteps came pattering in, she said, “Falina and Nomi Saigas, didn’t I tell you two to wash the rice….”

The words died on her lips.

“Devils of Tamra,” she whispered, stunned. She spun to my sisters, raising a rice paddle at them. “What manner of illusion is this?” she demanded. “Are the merfolk at their jokes again? This isn’t funny, Falina—”

“It’s really them,” Nomi spoke over her. “Baba and Tru—they’re home.”

Mama lowered the paddle, her face paling. She stared at Baba. “Arban?”

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