Page 454 of Once Upon a Fable

“Books?” His tone went high as if what I’d just said was stupid.

My hackles rose. “Yes, books. I read every single one of them in the library.”

“Library?”

“You going to repeat every word I say?”

He blinked. “So...you weren’t in a cave or something?”

I couldn’t stop the sarcastic laugh falling from my lips. “Would men and women who have the money to traffic kids for their kink want to play in a cave?”

“Well...” He shrugged and took another drink. “I don’t know how that stuff works.”

I narrowed my eyes, tasting my highlighter pink water for the first time. The sugar went straight to my head, adding another level of pain to my constant headache. I put the bottle on the table and stretched out in my chair. “There’s money in flesh. The place I was kept was...nice.” I rubbed at the odd pang in my chest at the thought that Fables—for all its imprisonment and pain—was now nothing more than ash on a valley floor. “It had many rooms, lots of expensive decorations, and hundreds upon hundreds of books. All on different topics. Topics that saved my life.”

“How so?”

“I didn’t know a thing about how to grow my own food until I startedreading about cultivation. I didn’t know how to fix generators or other household stuff before I found the section on engineering. If it wasn’t for those books, I wouldn’t have stayed alive on my own.”

“That’s a big statement.” Josh wrinkled his nose.

“It’s the truth. I know what marriage is because I read every single romance book in that place. Fantasy, reality, fiction, and nonfiction. I know what falling in love is. I know what sacrifice is. I know what’s expected of me. And I also know what a fucking gift I’ve been given by Gemma saying yes.”

“Yeah, well, it’s too soon for all of that.”

“Not for me.” I shook my head. “I told you...it’s inevitable.”

“We’ll see.”

“No,” I growled. “It’s happening. When I’m able to earn a living and control my past, I’m marrying her.”

“Whatever, buddy.”

I opened my mouth to argue back, my temper rising, but Gem and her mom came toward us. They both wore matching smiles, and I noticed the similarities between the two women. Just like in the home movie, Gem’s mother had an aura of perpetual sadness in her stare. Sadness that I was well acquainted with—loss and grief and tragedy.

I scooted higher in my chair as Gem smiled at me and took the seat on the opposite side of the table. Her mother sat next to her. When they’d settled, she looked at me. “Apart from the hug this morning and a hasty introduction, we haven’t met properly.” Gem’s mom waved at me from across the table. “I was just so happy to have my girl back that I forgot to go over the niceties, I’m afraid. I’m Margaret, but everyone calls me Maggie.”

I bowed my head, doing my best to come across as someone worthy of her daughter. “I’m Kassen.”

“Interesting name.”

I shared a look with Gem. “It’s from a book, actually.”

“Oh? Which one?”

“A book of fables.” Tension gathered in my muscles, and a flicker of whiteness covered my stare. I waited it out, breathing shallowly for a few seconds until the garden returned. Gem gave me an encouraging smile, and my memory stayed exactly where it should be.

I sighed and allowed myself to relax a bit more.

I’d taken another pill when no one was looking.

Every hour that passed, I felt less under the shadow of my pain and more in the sun of my possibility.

The doctor was right.

The micro blackouts would pass eventually, along with all the other mess inside my head. As long as I could stay with this family and continue loving Gem...I’d be fine. No matter who I was or what became of me.

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