The Sentinels Too much sauce

She dreamed vividly—of Lost Creek Hollow, of her family, of wide, vast deserts on faraway planets—but she wouldn't remember any of it upon waking. That was all right, though, because she would remember everything else. When her hunger and thirst became fiercer than her body's need for rest, forcing her eyelids to slowly peel apart and flutter, she came awake. She sat up slowly, groaning, but not because her head hurt (miraculously, it didn't) or because she felt out of it (a blessing after the past few weeks) but only because the memories rushed back to her in an instant and she was Larkspur Ostrega again.

Birds trilled nearby as she slowly sat up and blinked two days' worth of sleep from her eyes. She was weak with hunger and thirst, yet there was no disorientation here. She recollected with scarily perfect clarity running into Deirdre during the storm and witnessing the spell. The spell! Her lips parted on a gasp. The young witch's spell had worked yet again. Spur wished she was here so she could hug and kiss her for hours, for days, forever. Give her companion thanks for all she had done to help Larkspur and her family.

That word ("family") triggered Spur into a sudden, breathless stillness. She remembered that day on the beach, when she and Mordecai had mistakenly trespassed while on their search for Pippin. She recalled Skellige chasing her down, grabbing her by the neck and tossing her out into the sea. With slightly less clarity, she even remembered the immediately subsequent events: fighting the waves, dragging herself onto the beach, meeting Amayo... but she wasn't Spur's den mother, just like Skellige wasn't her father, just like she wasn't Sharkbait. Her heart stopped a moment as she wondered about her true daddy's fate, then began racing when she realized the utter farce of her stay in Stavanger Bay.

Wave after wave of anxiety washed over her, pulsing in her core, and Larkspur sipped in shallow breaths as she leaned against the cool wall nearest to her, her eyes slipping shut. Where was @Deirdre? She had already done so much for Larkspur but she needed her best friend more than ever now, to help her figure out what to do and where to go from here. Dizziness threatened to drag her back under but Spur fought to stay awake, to regain control of herself, lest she slip away and forget everything all over again.