Page 118 of Ruby Mercy

I’m more than happy to remain here, offering her comfort from whatever sent her running back into my arms. But I hear a sharp cry from the other room.

Yuliana.

Her name is a prickle at the base of my spine. There is a bone-deep awareness that she is my responsibility. I have to go to her.

Gently, I slide away from Rayne and pad to the door. The moment I step into the hallway, the crying grows louder.

The door to Yuliana’s room is still closed, but I can see light shining out from under the crack in the door.

I rap my knuckles on the wood before I push it open. “Yuliana?”

She skitters away from the door, jumping backward so quickly she knocks into the dresser. The furniture rattles and a decorative alarm clock topples sideways and clatters to the floor.

She gets the clumsiness from Rayne, I think with a wry smile playing at my lips.

“Where’s Mama?” she asks, swiping her shirt sleeve across her dripping nose. “I want Mama!”

Her eyes are red and watery, her nose is running, and her little chest is hiccupping from the force of her crying. There are still pillow creases across her cheek where I laid her down to sleep.

“You fell asleep in the car, so I carried you inside. You needed some rest.”

She looks past me to the door. “I want my mama.”

In another world, I would be comfort enough. I’d bePapaand Yuliana would be relieved to see me. Maybe she’d even prefer me.

I’ll never know now.

“Your mom is taking a nap in the other room,” I tell her. “She needed rest, too. I think we should let her keep sleeping. What do you think about that?”

Yuliana’s mouth turns downward at the corners. It’s clear she disagrees, but she’s too afraid to argue with me. She won’t even look me in the eyes.

I’m the stranger here. The outsider.

“Did you have a bad dream?”

She stares down at the floor. Her socked toes dig into the plush carpet.

“Or maybe you’re scared of waking up in a new place?”

For a moment, Yuliana freezes. Her chin tips up slightly and she looks up at me from beneath her long lashes. It’s a brief moment of connection before she stares down at the floor again.

“I understand that. New places can be scary sometimes.”

“You get scared?” Her voice is barely audible, but she sounds disbelieving.

“Not very often. I had a brother who was scared of new places, though. He was kind of like you in that way.”

She’s still suspicious, but I can see the unease shedding off of her bit by bit. Her hands twist behind her back, her limbs too full of energy to hold still another second. “Who is your brother?”

“His name was Ilya.”

Yuliana’s head jerks up. “I know him.”

I just told Yuliana I don’t get scared often, but the way my heart squeezes at her words is scary. It feels like I’m having a heart attack.

“What do you mean?” I say a bit too gruffly. “You know him?”

“Mama said his name. We saw a boat. A big boat.”

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