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

“There’s only a tiny bit in there, though, and I’m not sure how much you’d need….”

“You’d only need a pinch,” Noah confirms, “so that could work, if you’re willing.”

“No!” I shake my head furiously. “Absolutely not. Not your ring, Em. It’s your most prized possession.”

“But I’d get the ring back, wouldn’t I?” Emmett asks Noah.

Noah nods. “We only need the ashes.”

“In that case, I’ll offer it up. The sooner we get this done, the quicker we can go back to our normal lives. All this magic stuff gives me indigestion.”

I frown and study Emmett’s face. “Are you sure? Like, swear-on-your-salted-caramel-cookie-recipe sure?”

He shrugs. “It’s fine. The rest of the urn is at home. And besides, the ashes aren’t what’s important.”

The ring used to be his mom’s wedding band before it was refashioned for Emmett. He once told me, in a rare moment of candor, that the ring was special to him because it represented his parents’ love—and their love created him.

I pull Emmett in for a hug. “Thank you.”

He scowls and pushes me away. “You’ve heard me before—emotions give you wrinkles. Simple cause and effect.”

Noah passes the handwritten incantations to Hattie. “So, that just leaves the elixir of life.”

“That’s here somewhere, right?” I ask, remembering what Hattie had said. The Miru had one of the things needed for the spell.

He frowns. “Well, not exactly. The Joseon Chalice is kept here at the dojang, yes. It’s the sacred chalice of King Sejong the Great from the Joseon dynasty. Did you guys know he was gifted? Anyway, the artifact itself is not the elixir of life. The witch has to collect the elixir in the chalice along with the ashes for the spell to work.”

“So what is the elixir, then?” I ask, my stomach dropping. “Do we have to find an infuser or something? David Kim is the only Tokki I sort of know, and he lives on the other side of the city.”

Noah pauses cautiously before answering. “The elixir of life is blood. Blood must be drawn from the witch and collected in the chalice.”

I freeze. Did he just say blood?

I turn to Hattie. “You knew, didn’t you?” I feel bubbles of anger rising in my throat. “And you purposely didn’t tell me.”

She looks sheepish. “I knew you’d try to stop me if I did.”

“Of course I’d stop you!” I shout. “I can’t make you bleed for me!” It’s enough that Emmett is giving up his mom’s ashes without my sister having to hurt herself, too.

Hattie comes over and grips me by the shoulders. “Riley, I know you’re just looking out for me, but I’m doing this for me, too, okay? They’re also my parents, and the last thing I want is for them to lose their gifts. And you know what else I don’t want? I don’t want to lose my only sister. A few drops of blood to prevent that from happening is a price I will happily pay. Besides, Eomma or Appa can heal me later.”

I take a big breath. I still feel nauseated at the thought of Hattie having to bleed for this spell to work. But she’s not wrong. We’re in deep now, and this is our only way out.

“Fine.” I squeeze her so tight, her eyes start to bulge out of her head. “I owe you. Big-time.”

Noah walks across the room and bends over to pick up a dusty trophy hiding behind a photo of some people in Taegwondo whites. It’s a small, unassuming cup that’s been sitting there so long the metal has dulled to a tawny brown.

“The chalice has been enchanted to automatically return to this position within four hours, so you’ll need to be quick.” He polishes the trophy’s face with the bottom of his T-shirt, and a golden sheen emerges.

“Wait, that’s the Joseon Chalice?” I ask. The six-hundred-year-old sacred artifact is a tacky-looking trophy gathering dust in his dad’s messy office?

Emmett gawks. “It wasn’t even inside a glass cabinet.”

Noah runs his hand through his hair in that carefree way of his. “Sometimes putting a thing in plain sight is the best hiding place of all.”

“Genius!” Hattie beams, and Noah grins back at her so hard his two dimples look like sinkholes on his face.

“Holy shirtballs, get a room, lovebirds,” Emmett says with a snicker.

Hattie throws us a death glare before turning back to Noah. “Thank you so much for helping us. And for lending us the chalice. But we better go. It’s already dark outside, and we need to find a quiet place to do the spell.”

He hands her the chalice, and when their fingers touch, they jolt away from each other as if they’ve been electrocuted.

Noah rubs the back of his neck shyly. “You’re gonna need all the power you can get for the spell. How about I take you through the Saturday School portal to Santa Monica Pier? My brother is on guard duty there tonight, so I can sneak you in. The spell will work best if you go into the ocean at high tide and get the full strength of the moon’s pull behind you.”

“We share the same sky as the Godrealm,” I explain to Emmett, who is looking confused at the mention of the ocean, “so our moon is part of the divine. It gives spells more oomph, if you know what I mean.”

Emmett shrugs. “Whatever you say.”

Hattie nods gratefully. “You’re a gem, Noah. Thank you so much!”

Emmett makes kissy noises and whispers in my ear, “Oh yes, you’re such a gem, Mr. Oh-Noh. You can bling me up anytime.”

Noah’s eyes widen behind his glasses, while Hattie throws up her hands in exasperation. “Dude, what does that even mean?”

I laugh heartily. I know that we’re about to summon the mother of all creation and that Hattie will have to sacrifice her own blood to make it work. But the truth is, I can’t think of any two people I’d rather be with right now. One thing is for sure—I would be utterly and overwhelmingly lost without my