The Last Fallen Star by Graci Kim (the mitten read aloud .TXT) 📗

apologetic. “Sorry, Rye,” she mutters. “It must be spelled to activate when a blood Gom touches it.”

I shrug and pretend I don’t care. But of course I do. A lot. This is exactly why we need to do this spell—so I can stop being the odd one out.

Hattie skims through the book, and at first, all we see are healing spells. Spells for curing migraines to spells for clotting blood. They’re all spells we’re familiar with and, not to be a show-off or anything, I already know most of the incantations by heart.

But then we come across a chapter entitled “Miscellaneous.”

“This must be where it is,” Hattie breathes. We flip through the spell titles as my heart beats all the way up to my temples. And that’s when we see it: the words Temporary Gift-Sharing Spell in big, scratchy handwritten letters.

“Oh my Mago, we did it!” I whisper-shout at Hattie. “I can’t believe we found it!”

Eomma’s door suddenly squeaks open and we almost jump out of our skins.

“Eomma?!” I squeal.

“Nope, just me.” Emmett looks a little sheepish. “What’s taking you guys so long? I’ve already eaten all the Choco Pies in the desk drawer. Can we go now?”

I wave him over to us. “Come look at this, Em!”

Even Mong comes to huddle over the spellbook with us, as Hattie, Emmett, and I silently read the preamble:

Casting this spell will allow a witch’s gift to be shared temporarily with a saram subject for seven days. The witch’s strength will be reduced by half for the duration of this period.

Two notes of warning:

(1) This spell must not be cast between the gifted. Previous attempts have resulted in severe and unintended consequences, including death.

(2) Post-spell, all the saram subjects’ memories must be wiped with a strong dose of Memoryhaze potion to preserve the privacy and sanctity of the clans.

“Pfft, I am not having my memory wiped,” I quip. “Not now, not ever.”

“Defo not,” Hattie answers. “That won’t apply to you. You’re a special case.”

Emmett frowns and clutches Mong. “Guys, this sounds risky. I really don’t think you should be messing with this stuff.”

I ignore his warning and focus my attention back on the page. It’s too late now to turn back—I’m too invested.

Instead, I follow my finger over the hand-drawn pictures of bellflower root, perilla leaf, and hongsam root, and read through the instructions. “So it looks like we make two potions with these ingredients—one for you and one for me. The clinic should have everything we need.”

Hattie nods. “We drink half the potion before the incantations, in the presence of a council elder, then we do the incantations and pour the other half into the Gi cauldron.” She pauses. “That’s totally doable!”

I frown. “Uh, except we need to find a council elder who’s willing to be there. Not to mention we need to get inside the temple to use the Gi cauldron. You know I can’t get in unless I’m with Eomma and Appa.”

“Riley’s right,” Emmett says, pursing his lips. “Doesn’t sound that doable to me.”

I exhale the disappointment from my system, now wishing I’d listened to him. “I knew it couldn’t be that easy. This is never gonna work.”

Hattie, with her eternal optimism, grins widely. “You guys give up too easily. Don’t you see this is perfect? In fact, we couldn’t make it more perfect if we tried.”

Emmett and I cock our heads. Did she just read the same words we did?

“My ceremony’s tomorrow,” Hattie reminds us. “I’ll have just gotten my Gi, we’ll have easy access to the cauldron, and all the elders will be there. That’s when we’ll do the spell.”

I suddenly feel a little sick to my stomach. “Hat, we can’t do it at your initiation! It’s your big day. What will people say? You could get in so much trouble. You can’t do that for me!”

Hattie shakes her head. “Don’t you see? It is the ideal opportunity to make a statement in front of all the elders and the congregation. Once we transfer half my magic to you, you can prove you know the incantations to pretty much any healing spell, which I know you do. And then the council will have no choice but to let you do your own initiation ceremony when you’re ready.” Her eyes light up. “It’s going to go down in history as the day the gifted clans joined the twenty-first century.”

The idea of being the center of attention as I recite the incantations makes me want to puke. But Hattie’s right—I know the words to the spells as well as she does. I’ve just never had the Gi or divine support to power them. If this could help me gain the acceptance and recognition of the council, what else could I want?

That thought alone makes me feel warm and fuzzy, and I squeeze Hattie’s arm. I can’t find the words to express my emotions in this instant, but I know she knows. This means everything to me.

“I don’t mean to be the resident party pooper, again…” Emmett starts. “But why do you think your parents kept this from you, Rye? Even I’ll admit the spell doesn’t seem impossible once you have the cauldron and the elder. So why hide it? It says it’s only dangerous when cast between the gifted.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. I’ve been wondering the same thing. “Do you think maybe…that perhaps…they don’t want me to have magic? That they think I’m not good enough to be a healer and I don’t deserve to be a Gom?” A lump forms in my throat, and suddenly tomorrow seems like a very, very bad idea once again.

“Don’t be silly!” Hattie says, taking a photo of the spell and putting the book back in the safe. “You know Eomma and Appa are super supportive of you. They’re just old school and never thought this was a valid option. We have to show them that some risks are worth taking. Easy as that.”

I remain silent as she shuts the safe door and