The familiar hiking trail made me think of the childhood I might have had without the curse. How different would I be? If I had grown up with more friends and peers and magic?

The path from the parking lot was paved slightly. It was made of large flat stones with clay between the gaps. The forest on either side and Dad keeping pace behind me. Letting me take the lead and set our rhythm. Another clue to the intent with this?

It would have been different. If I'd been raised more in tandem with the Hearth coven. Would I have ever come here? Among the rocks and the sleeping trees and snow?

I let out a sigh I didn't have the energy to hold in.

There was nothing for it now. The past was done. I couldn't change anything about it. I only held power over the future. My own future at least. I couldn't change Red's fate, and I hadn't found my own yet. All I knew was that I was getting rid of this curse.

I would not be shackled by the mistakes made by other people. Not forever.

I could be slowed, but I refused to be stopped. I chose this path and I was going to see where it ended.

After several minutes of hiking in silence, we reached the main fork.

It branched off in two directions, one lead deeper into the woods the other towards the lake.

I looked back at Dad who was looking at me. He wanted me to pick, I could see it in his face. I shifted the strap of my bag over my right shoulder.

"So," I turned back and looked at the two paths, "is this the part where you tell me what all of this is about? Not that I don't appreciate you bringing me out here."

"This is why Lucinda complains you're too hard to surprise."

"And who's fault is that?"

"Yours. I think you're old enough to be your own person."

I scoffed and stared at my father. It was too hard to tell if he was joking without looking at his face. I narrowed my eyes at him. "I'm glad someone thinks that." I took a deep breath, "But seriously, what's this about?"

"You've seemed…tense since coming home."

Probably all the worrying and stress. And weird dreams. "You're not wrong."

"I won't force you to talk about it."

I didn't want to. But I did. And I didn't know how. I looked back down the paths. On the left was towards the lake, on the right deeper into the woods. I knew both paths well and where they led.

I reached over to hold onto my left elbow. My left hand hiding away in the pocket of my jacket.

"Let's go to the lake. I think it'll be a good day for it."

Dad didn't respond. Keeping to his word and not pressing the issue. Mom was probably in on this whole thing. But trusting Dad to handle it his way.

I guess that's what it meant to be married to someone for so long. To trust them so implicitly. I would never look at someone the way Dad looks at Mom, but I wondered if that kind of trust was something I could have with someone someday.

We continued through the path, passing signs reminding people that wild animals were not pets and were not to be fed. And also to help keep the trails safe and pretty by not littering.

There wasn't much to see this deep into winter. Everything was covered in snow. The trees were a different species, but it almost looked like I was back at the school. Almost.

We stopped halfway. It was about an hour from the fork to where we were. There was a little rest area. No bathrooms, but it had large boulders that were a good size for sitting on. Ice cold ones, but benches probably wouldn't be warmer. And rocks were more fun to climb.

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Dad sat down on his while I started climbing the largest boulder. Probably wasn't meant for climbing and sitting on, but there was no sign saying I couldn't. I crossed my legs as I settled. I doubted either of us were tired, but it was good to stay hydrated.

I unscrewed the lid of my water bottle, taking a sip as I looked down at Dad.

"I don't wish I had different parents," I told him.

His expression didn't change. Probably waiting to see if I was going to elaborate or just letting me talk.

"I mean…I would rather not be cursed, but I think if that meant I would have different parents I wouldn't make the change."

Still nothing. Just letting me talk.

"It doesn't scare me," I explained. "I'm worried, but the curse isn't the problem. So in a way, changing my parents wouldn't solve the issue."

"But there is an issue," Dad spoke at last.

I took a deep breath and looked up to the clear blue sky above us. "I'm not like other kids."

No verbal response from Dad. Just patience while I tried to figure out the point.

"I'm behind all of them. They all have years of experience in magic. I don't. How can I ever close a gap like that?"

"Do you have to? To do what you want?"

"I don't know. But I can't hide anymore. And I don't want to. But if I'm not hiding or running, I have to stand. And I don't know if I'm strong enough to do that."

"Magically strong?"

"I don't know. Maybe? Stuff's weird, Dad."

"Good weird?"

"Sometimes. Did Mom tell you I live with holograms of the past?"

"She mentioned something about echoes and ghosts."

"Yeah those things. Holograms were not on my bingo card, but they're cool."

He hummed low. An acknowledgement that he was listening but didn't have anything to add.

"I've learned a bit from them, I think. Though I wonder if I would learn more if the thing in control of them wasn't…" How did I even begin to explain? "I guess prankster is the right word."

"Thing in charge?"

"Yeah, there's like…a personality. He's nice. I think. Calls us 'hatchlings'. And answers questions when I ask them."

"Like an artificial intelligence?"

"Something like that." I took a moment to think about it. "I…hope it's artificial. The guy who did the enchantments worked with ghosts and zombies though. I hope it's not a two-thousand-year-old ghost in there."

Did he have a name? A history? A coven? Did he consent to being put in a Tower? Was that the reason the statue moved?

Red talked to someone she called 'M'. Was that his name? Or part of it? I would have to ask when I got back.

Dad, for his part, didn't look as alarmed or confused as I feared. Then again, he's probably resigned himself to not fully knowing what is going on with the magic stuff.

Hells, I lived it and I barely understood what was happening sometimes.

I took a deep breath to refocus myself, "I don't know. It's probably not that important though?"

Big emphasis on probably. Not that worrying about it would change anything right now.

I shifted my position so I could dangle my legs off the edge. My hands flat on the ice cold light grey stone. My fingers traced over the tiny veins of minerals. Specks of dark brown and white mingled together. Probably a quartz.

Dad was quiet. Which was good because my thoughts were a mess.

"Did you ever figure out what was going on with that temporal weirdness you asked me about?"

"I…I don't know. Maybe? That's definitely in the 'very strange but not a problem' category."

"Is that a full category?"

"Kinda? But that's okay. I figure 'strange' is part of the magic school deal. It's different, but different is what I signed up for."

I still hadn't fully decided if it was a good different or bad. It still felt too much like both. On the one hand, friends. On the other, missing magic knife. Maybe even an active plot to do something terrible.

Something about the moment of silence made me nervous. I looked down to try and read Dad's expression. He looked pensive, thinking somehow even more than usual. Did he notice?

He was leaning forward on his rock, hands clasped together casually in front of him.

He saw right through me. He didn't want to force it, but he noticed.

I took a deep breath. "There is stuff on my mind," I admitted. No point in hiding it. If anything that would risk him telling Mom and making it a whole lot worse. "It's…" I struggled to find the words. Lying outright to Dad was just as bad an idea as lying to Mom. "There's stuff outside of my control that I don't like. But it's going to be okay."

"Going to be. Not right now."

Word games with Dad were too hard. "Things are things. And I can't control or predict them. But I'm not dealing with it alone."

"You trust your friends."

"I do."

I wasn't sure if he understood. But as long as I didn't tip him off, he wouldn't tell Mom.

"Did you trust Ethan?"

And there's the worst and best thing about Dad. I needed to think about that one. I wanted to say yes, but I tried to imagine Ethan in Dragon Tower and could only see the long list of reasons why that would never have worked. There were things I could never tell him. Never explain to him. Questions he never knew to ask. It was all too late now, but what if? Would I feel confident in him in an emergency?

Not really. And even then, on a problem on a much smaller scale…He'd already failed, hadn't he?

Ethan was nothing like Fethris, Russel, Celica or Jarec. He'd have run scared from the first Echo. He was far from brave and easy to intimidate. Too easy. Couldn't really rely on someone who was scared of his own shadow.

"I did," I decided on saying. "But I think I trust my new friends more."

"Okay."

And that was it. He didn't seem to be waiting for me to say anything else for the moment. Which was good because anymore and I would probably be too tired to continue.

I took another sip of water and after securing the lid as tight as possible I hopped down off the rock. The drop wasn't that intimidating, only a few feet really.

He stood up. He understood that I was done for now. I doubted I'd given him all the information he wanted to know, but as long as he didn't call me out on that I would be okay.

I leaned back on the rock as he settled his bag on his back. I took another deep breath while I looked past the trees and snow.

"Come on, the lake may not be going anywhere but Lucinda might start getting impatient."

I snickered, yeah that was always a risk. Mom was particularly insufferable when she got impatient.

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