Uh-oh.
I wiggled myself deeper into Papa’s arms.
“Who? Where?” Papa said, and I grinned. “No one is here but a little flower.”
“Both of you are silly,” Momma said. I lifted my head and peeked over Papa’s arm. The cloak Momma wore fluttered around her as she approached us. Reaching down, she ran a hand over the top of my head. “Shouldn’t he be here?”
“He will be,” Papa assured her, straightening.
I didn’t know who they spoke of. Only that they were meeting a friend. That was why we’d stopped at the inn.
She leaned in and spoke in that way where I knew she didn’t want me to hear. “You trust him?”
“I do,” he said. “He’ll lead you to safety.”
Safety? You? Not us? My eyes widened as I glanced between them.
Momma nodded, falling quiet for several moments. She’d been really quiet since we left the castle and the city. “I don’t know—”
“He will do as he promised.” Papa brushed his fingers across her cheek. “Tell him the truth. He is bound to the gods, even as they sleep, to ensure your safety.”
“Please, don’t go back. If you do and are captured, she will never trust you again.” Momma’s voice hardened. “She’ll never let you have a second of freedom—”
“I have to,” Papa interrupted. “You know that.”
“Is it because of her?” Momma’s voice softened.
He said nothing.
“She will never leave,” Momma whispered.
“I have to try.” He clasped her cheek as I struggled to hear what he said next. “And it’s not just her I must go back for.”
Her eyes slammed shut. “I know.”
Lowering his head, he pressed his lips to her temple. “Only they matter. You must get them away from her. I—”
“Don’t say that you don’t matter.”
“I’ll be fine,” Papa assured her. My heart started to pound.
She shook her head and kept her voice quiet. “You know what she wants. And if she succeeds in using you, the very realm itself will be in jeopardy.”
I couldn’t hear what either said next, but she finally looked at me. She took a deep breath and smiled, but it looked all wrong to me. “I’m going to check again.”
Papa nodded.
She spun, disappearing back through the doors. My grip tightened on his arm. “Is Momma mad?”
“No, my Poppy-flower.”
I nibbled on my lip, gaze darting back and forth between the shadows. “Are we…not safe?”
“Don’t be scared, baby girl,” he said, drawing my attention back to him. He lifted me into his arms. As tall as he was, I thought I could touch the exposed beams of the ceiling. “I will never let anything happen to you or your brother.”
I knew he wouldn’t. He never would.
Papa carried me over to a wooden bench and sat, placing me on his lap so my feet dangled high above his. “Did I ever tell you how you were named?”
