The Last Fallen Star, Graci Kim [books to read in your 20s .TXT] 📗

I shake him off and turn away. But not before I hear him whisper in my ear, “Don’t do anything foolish, cursed child. We will be watching you.”

I RUN ALL THE WAY HOME. I run until my lungs feel like they’re going to explode, but it still doesn’t hurt as much as what just happened at Hattie’s ceremony. I was outed as a Horangi in front of the entire congregation, and now my parents have seven days to choose between me and their gifts. I can’t let them make the worst decision of their lives.

“Thank you for keeping the bugs out, door-sin,” I whisper, and it unlocks itself for me.

I go straight to my room, and it’s like the house knows the decision I’ve made. The floors creak and the walls stretch and whine, as if they’re trying to stop me.

“You’ve been an amazing home,” I say as I trace my fingers along the squirming wall. “But I can’t stay. I can’t let my parents sacrifice their divine calling for me. I just can’t.”

The house groans as if it’s in pain, but I start putting clothes into my suitcase anyway. If I leave, my parents won’t need to make an impossible choice. I go to pack my onyx stone but realize it’s a reminder of my cursed heritage. I shove it into my bedside drawer instead.

Mong runs into my room and jumps into the open suitcase, still in his Haetae outfit. His eyes are round and watery as if he knows exactly what I’m planning, too.

“I’m gonna miss you, boy.” I sigh. “Even your stinky breath.”

“You don’t have to miss him. Because you aren’t going anywhere.”

I swivel around to see Hattie standing at the door, with Emmett at her side. He’s carrying a Tupperware container of freshly baked cookies. I can smell their warm yumminess from across the room.

“What are you guys doing here?” I demand, wiping my damp eyes. “I’d like to be alone.”

“I ran after you and stopped to get Emmett. I told Eomma and Appa that I’d try talking to you. This is not the time for you to be by yourself.”

Emmett walks over and upends my suitcase, dumping all my clothes on the floor. “This is what we think of your plan, by the way.”

“Yeah, it stinks, Rye,” Hattie agrees.

“Since when have you been one to run away from your problems?” Emmett asks. “You know that’s more my jam.”

I put my hands on my hips, feeling my face get hot. “Do you think I want to run away? But what choice do I have? I can’t stay and let Eomma and Appa lose everything they’ve ever worked for. What kind of daughter would I be?”

Emmett closes the empty suitcase and sits on top of it. “On the way over here, Hattie filled me in on what happened.”

I immediately shoot Hattie a look. Surely she didn’t tell him I’m a Horangi. She wouldn’t have!

“I told him,” Hattie quickly says, “about how, after our spell failed, Eomma and Appa created a huge scene, demanding you be allowed to initiate into the clan. And when they wouldn’t let up, the elders charged them with contempt of the code of conduct. As punishment, they have been given seven days to choose between disowning you or losing their gifts.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. Emmett doesn’t know. He still thinks I’m a saram.

Emmett shakes his head. “What did I tell you? Magic is bad news. If you hadn’t tried to do that spell today, none of this would have happened. That goes for you, too, Hattie—you’re an enabler.”

He gives Hattie the side eye, and she looks sheepish. I lower my own eyes, mostly because I’m scared he’ll be able to read in them what really occurred. But also because he’s right. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t agreed to do the spell. I mumble some random sounds just to fill the silence.

“But you didn’t listen to me, and now look at you.” He scowls. “It’s pathetic seeing you like this, packing your bags and running away from parents who love you. You do realize some people don’t have moms to run away from?”

That hits me like a punch in the chest. “You’re right, Em.”

“I know I am.”

“I’m sorry…” I murmur.

“I know you are.” He sighs and passes me a salted-caramel cookie. My favorite. “But it’s happened now, so the only thing we can do is stay focused on the future and find a solution. And luckily for you, your best friend is a genius.”

Hattie nods. “I have to agree with Emmett. His idea is genius.”

I finally look up at him. “What do you mean?”

“Well, Hattie says the only reason the council can charge your parents for being in contempt is because you’re a saram. So what if there was a way we could turn you into something else? What if we could literally turn you into a Gom—not with some temporary spell, but permanently, from the inside out? Then the basis for your parents’ crime would disappear.”

My heart drops. “No offense, Em, but if that were possible, wouldn’t Eomma and Appa have done it to me years ago?”

Emmett takes a seat next to me on the bed. “I was thinking about it the other day. Remember that story you told me about how the Cave Bear Goddess came to be?”

I nod. Before becoming divine, our patron goddess was a mortal bear who wanted more than anything to be reborn in Mago Halmi’s image. She prayed to Mago Halmi for her wish to be heard, and the mother of all creation entrusted her with a challenge. If the bear could survive a hundred days in a dark cave with only a bundle of mugwort and garlic to eat, her wish would be granted. The story goes that our bear ancestor was so devoted that, on the twenty-first day, Mago Halmi turned her into a beautiful goddess. That’s how she became the patron