Page 182 of Ash and Feather

It took several moments before a reply came to me, and several more before I could bring myself to say it out loud. “You have. But she would want you to forgive yourself.”

“Forgiveness.” She scoffed. More to herself than me she added, “You don’t know the half of what I’ve done.”

“No. I don’t.” I pulled my hand from my pocket. Clenched it into a fist in order to keep myself from immediately reaching for the ring again. “But I do know your sister.”

The words Karys had spoken days ago rang through my mind for what might have been the dozenth time:You are worthy of forgiveness.

Savna stared at me, clearly at a loss for words, as I got to my feet.

“The remedy I gave you is from the God of Healing himself,” I told her. “It should continue to help you mend. Keep those cloths pressed over your skin, let your body continue to absorb the magic.”

“…Thank you.”

I inclined my head, then turned toward the door.

“Hey. Mister, um, Lord God of Fire...Sir?”

My hand stilled against the tarnished handle. “Just Dravyn will do,” I reminded her.

“Right. Dravyn.” She hesitated. “I just…I wanted to thank you for taking care of her when I couldn’t.”

I stiffened, unsure of how to reply.

“For giving her power, and for saving her. For…everything.”

“She was powerful enough before I came along,” I replied, glancing back one last time before pushing the door open, “And she did most of the saving.”

“Still. Thank you.”

I acknowledged the words with another dip of my head before leaving.

I encountered Mairu on my way out of the house. Moth had burrowed himself snugly into her arms; it never took him long to find someone to take pity on him and offer him attention.

“I’ve been patrolling the area,” she informed me. “It’s oddly quiet.”

“Let’s hope it stays that way for a while.”

Between the terrifying display Karys had put on in Altis, and the fact that we had one of their leaders in our control…something told me the elven forces were likely scrambling to find order amongst themselves, if nothing else. It wouldn’t last, but it was allowing us to catch our breath in the meantime.

“How is Savna?” Mairu asked.

“Better.”

“Are you all right?” She cocked her head, a concerned little smile on her face. “You look as if you went to war in that room with her.”

“She’s awake. We were just…talking.”

“About…?”

“I don’t know. Feelings.”

“Oh, the horror,” she said, eyes dancing with amusement.

“Spare me the teasing and just go watch over her for me,” I said. “I’ll take over patrolling duties.”

She agreed, transferring Moth to my arms before heading inside.

The griffin watched the sky while I scanned the fields and forests.

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