Page 107 of Oracle of Ruin

“My son has lost his mind,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper. She stares at me with red-rimmed eyes, clear yet distant. “I must help him.”

“No, Emilie, he hasn’t. Lyraisalive. She was taken, but she is alive and Rowan found her. He’s going to bring her home when it is safe for both of you.” She and Finneas exchange a look both sorrowful and guilty. They know the loss Emilie is going through. They lost their daughter and were told after twenty years that she had been found, so they must have had similar reactions. They must have been lost and confused and shocked.

But they had each other.

My mother has no one. No one but me, someone she has always felt the need to protect above all others.

And this is the final straw. That light I have been terrified of going out, that I fight daily to keep burning, I have been the one to snuff it out.

I sit frozen on the stool as Aiko leads my mother away, that hollow smile still cemented on her face. She doesn’t protest as Aiko brings her to a room and lets her lie down. She hardly even glances my way.

And I just freeze.

The same way I froze when Vera used dark magic and almost killed herself. My muscles constricting and refusing to follow the instincts I’ve instilled in them since taking up the mantle of Noiteron. Of the king of mercenaries. Every time it mattered most, I couldn’t move. I was too paralyzed by fear of love lost.

The same way I froze when Mavis drove that knife into my thigh.

Aiko rests a hand on my shoulder and I jump. I hadn’t even realized she had returned.

“She’s sleeping.”

“I broke her. You were right. I never should have told her anything.”

“No,” Aiko says sternly, her hands gripping my arms. She rests on her knees in an attempt to be eye level with me, but the action forces her to crane her neck upwards, her height betraying her. “She would have had a worse reaction if we just brought Lyra home without telling her. She would have shut down just like this and then when she came to, she would be angry. No, she would be furious that we did not tell her that her sister was alive. You did the right thing.”

“Okay.”

“Rowan.”

“Hm?”

“You did the right thing,” The older woman speaks each word slowly, rolling the syllables off her tongue as if tasting their weight. She says it again, more weighty now.

Finneas claps my arms and helps his wife up when I sigh in relent. Just in time for the front door to open.

“No spies today?” Amír’s voice calls from the door. Her shoulders sag as she dumps four filled packs of what sounds like iron ore to the ground. Kya follows behind her, carrying four more bags that she drops with equal gladness.

“None since you left and I threatened to send Kya after them.” I force a grin onto my face as I embrace them both.

Finneas peeks into the sacks and whistles lowly. “Solid iron ore. I need to start training with you both again.”

“You’re always welcome to join, Finneas.” Kya beams broadly. “So long as you aren’t afraid of getting your ass kicked.”

The man laughs, the hearty sound filling the chilled void of the room with warmth again.

Aiko moves to embrace both the women before seating them both at the table in the kitchen. “Have either of you eaten yet today?”

Amír hesitates and it is all the other woman needs to notice. She pops her hands on her hips and whacks the gunslinger’s arm, eliciting a yelp. “Girls! It is nearly sunset and you’ve been gone since yesterday morning. Food is in order. Now.”

Kya giggles under her breath and Finneas helps rub out Amír’s weary shoulders. Her left has always bothered her more than her right, something to do with her father. That’s all she has ever told me. I suspected once that Kya knew the reason, but when I confronted her about it, she revealed she didn’t know, not that she would ever tell me if she did.

Aiko begins making something in the oven when Kya falls silent, despite being mid-conversation with Finneas. The older man glances at her curiously, but she only holds up a finger. “Someone’s coming,” Kya states without rising. She twists her neck to face the window and squeals. “They’re back!” She sprints out the door without waiting for anyone else.

We know if the distance weighed heaviest on any of us, it was the assassin. Derrín rarely goes on missions on his own, let alone missions to places no one has ever returned from.

Amír chuckles, but we can all see the relief written across her face. The anxiety and consistent wonder of whether or not they would return has worn on us all.

Aiko pales and her eyes well up. “Vera?” She drops her spoon, forgoing the meal she was cooking for my two mercenaries.

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