“I’d like that.” The fountain trickled behind us, the sound soothing. “You know… I had a dream of opening my own book café.”
“Book café?”
“A place people could go to enjoy a nice cup of coffee and read. I’d serve baked goods too, like muffins, cakes, cookies, and pies. Maybe even sandwiches. Hearty soup during the winter.”
“Kuya wishes to go to this place.” He scooted closer to me, tail flicking.
A sad pang went through my chest. “It’s just a silly dream.”
He stared at me for a moment. When he finally spoke, it lacked his usual lightheartedness. “Don’t call your dreams silly, Evan. Words hold power.”
“You’re right. It’s just hard to imagine it becoming a reality.” Here in Bremloc or in my own world.
“When Kuya was a young boy, his parents were killed by humans.” His gaze became distant. “They tried to kill Kuya too, but he ran and ran until he couldn’t run anymore. Kuya had no money. No place to call home. People threw things when Kuya passed through villages, calling him a beast. Kuya remembers being hungry and cold a lot. Sometimes, when the pain in his belly became too great, Kuya’s ashamed to say he stole food.”
My sternum tightened.
“Don’t be sad for Kuya,” he then said, resting his hand over one of mine. “You said the book café is your dream. Well, Kuya had a dream, too, back then. He wished to find a home. Wished to find someone who’d chase away the bad memories and make Kuya feel safe.”
“Then you met Prince Sawyer?”
Warmth swept through his rainbow eyes. “He saved Kuya. But before he came along, Kuya met someone else.”
“Who?”
“A sorcerer,” he answered. “Kuya had just stolen meat from the butcher and was running from the men pursuing him when a shop appeared. Kuya dashed inside to hide.”
Wait. A shop that just appeared?
“Shiny objects were inside the shop,” he continued. “Pretty rocks and crystals. Glowing orbs. And yes, Kuya touched them all.” I tried to smile at that, but I could barely even breathe through the pressure building in my chest. “A man with brown hair offered to cook the meat Kuya stole and offered tea and cookies until it was ready. As Kuya ate, another man approached. Kuya was scared of him at first, but he said not to be afraid. That the shop had chosen Kuya.”
The Emporium.
“What happened next?” I couldn’t stop the shakes from passing through my body. Until that moment, I had refrained from telling anyone about Lupin and his shop, mainly because I feared they’d call me crazy or, even worse, believe me and then think I was a threat once learning I came from a different world.
But Kuya had met him too.
“Lupin, that was his name, he gave Kuya a paper lantern and said to light it once the sun went to sleep. He said it would lead Kuya to where he belonged. So Kuya did this. The lantern floated into the air, and Kuya followed it but became tired after a while and found a bed of flowers beside a lake and curled up to sleep. That’s when Prince Sawyer found Kuya. He was out hunting with Prince Cedric and their royal attendant. Kuya was wanted for thieving, you see. Bad Kuya. But Prince Sawyer wouldn’t let anyone hurt Kuya. He wrapped his cloak around Kuya and let Kuya ride his horse back to the castle.” His expression softened even further. “Kuya fell in love with him as days turned to weeks. He’s Kuya’s most treasured person.”
“What about Lupin?” I asked. “Did you ever see him again?”
“No. But the lantern? As Prince Sawyer helped Kuya onto his horse, Kuya saw it on the grassy bank of the lake, no longer lit. It had guided Kuya just as Lupin said.” He turned around on the ledge and glided his hand over the surface of the fountain pool. “The lantern helped Kuya find his prince.”
It was the perfect opening to tell him about my own meeting with Lupin and the shop that seemed to have a mind of its own, but the words stuck in my throat.
“There’s something Evan wants to say?” He returned his attention to the water, gently tapping at it with the tip of his fingers.
I exhaled a shaky laugh. “You’re observant.” I grabbed a roasted almond from the bag and nibbled on it. And then, before I could talk myself out of it, I said, “I’ve met him too. Lupin.”
Kuya whipped his head back around, eyes wide.
“The shop appeared to me like it did with you. I went inside, browsed a little. Other people came in too, each of them sad or run-down in some way, but when they left the shop with the items Lupin helped them find, they seemed lighter.” I was rambling, but now that the words were coming out, I couldn’t stop them. “It was my birthday. I was depressed because I was once again spending it alone. Lupin then showed me a wishing stone.”
“Did Evan make a wish on the stone?”
I slowly nodded. My heart constricted. “It’s how I ended up in Bremloc.”
“Evan wished to come to the kingdom?”
