Page 60 of Dragon Cursed
"No.I don’t know these people.Youdon’t know these people anymore.You said it yourself.They haven’t come to you in two hundred years.We don’t know what they arenow."
"And we can’t know without going to them."
"Yes, we can."
His jaw locked.
"How?"
"My mother's aunt."
"Yourwhat?"
"My mother's aunt, Alsander.My great-aunt.She is —" Poppy was speaking faster now — "she is the oldest woman in our line who is still alive.She lives in Dublin.She is my mother's aunt, my grandmother's sister, the last of that generation.She is older than I should say and sharper than anyone I have ever met.She has known about the line all her life."
"Does she read oldElvish?"
"I think so.I think she might.The younger siblings passed down other gifts — the way ours passed down the pendant and knowledge about healing herbs.My grandmother told me once, when I was small, that her sister had beenstrangeabout languages.That she could read things no one else in the family could read.I didn’t understand at the time.
"Thinkandmight." He scowled.“You want to trust this with someone whomightknow something.Youthink.”
"Alsander."She put a hand on her hip.No way was she going to trust a bunch of murdering elves with her book.No way.Not happening.“It’s a nice drive.You’ll love it."
"You are asking me todrivetwo hundred miles in a country I have not seen in three centuries on athinkand amight."
"I am asking you to drive two hundred miles to the only living person in my line who can possibly translate this book without taking it from us."
He stared at her."And if she cannot?"
"Then we go to the elves."
"Poppy —"
"Then we go." Her voice was a shake away from breaking but it held."I am not stupid, Alsander.I am not refusing to do the hard thing.I am refusing to do theworstthing first.We go to her.If she can read it, we save ourselves a bargain we cannot afford.If she can’t, she still knows things.I bet she knows which elves to go to.She knows the price.She has beenwaiting, Alsander — the way Saoirse waited, the way my grandmother waited.She has been keeping herself ready for the day.She’s been distant since my grandmother died.I haven’t seen her in five years.I think she’s been making herself ready."
"Five years."
"Yes."
"She is one woman."
"She isfamily." Poppy's voice cracked."She is mine.She is the last person in my line who remembers what the lineis.She’s in Dublin.Two hundred miles.She won’t hunt me down and execute me forexistingor turn me into a bargaining chip.She’s myaunt."
He pressed his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose.
"Two hundred miles."
"Yes."
"Days of travel."
"Hours, by car."
"Then we fly.”
Poppy thought about it.Flying would be easiest.It would be exciting.Yet something deep inside her whispered that such travel would be unwise.She’d always listened to that voice.“I think we should drive.Please trust me on this, Alsander.”
His eyes narrowed.“With Laoch behind us and a curse in my body and your body —" he caught himself.He didn’t finish."We don’t have long, Poppy."
