“The Unsettled are going to be so very happy to have a Yarrow here again.” Penny looked up to the sky, her violet eyes sparkling. “We are finally going to be treated like living beings again.”
“The Unsettled?” Sol glanced at Nina, knowing she would soothe her confusion.
And she did. The Earth Caller smiled. “A term for those of Wielder bloodlines who never materialize magic.”
It didn’t occur to Sol that such a thing was a probability until that very moment. Nina’s answer only fueled more questions, but she decided to keep them for another day, especially as Penny gave her a small smile. “They say we are bad luck to have around, so they usually keep us at arm's length. I think they only tolerate me because of my mother’s status.”
“You are not bad luck, Penny,” Cas chimed from behind them. “Don’t let those idiots get to you.”
“You’re more talented than most of my prior students, Pen,”
Sawyer added. “A shame your mother isn’t more like you.” Alix, who had been mostly quiet, hummed his agreement.
They continued to the castle, Penny sharing updates on Rimemere for the Royal court, most of them things Sol didn’t understand. Apparently nothing new, except a handful of cruel laws and regulations no one was surprised had passed.
Sol became lost in the scenery, her companion’s conversation soft in the background. As they exited the human sections, the small shops and homes slowly dwindled, replaced by green, lively trees rooted in swaying grasses and bunches of yellow flowers.Sol admired the nature, thinking how wonderful Earth Callers must be for the plant life. Indeed, there wasn't a single wilted flower or shrub, and any that looked sad, Nina made sure to caress on the way to revive them.
Behind her, Sawyer radiated a comfortable warmth, either by magic or simply by her presence. Her cousin shared stories of their voyages with Penny, the girl as intrigued with everything beyond the wall as Sol was with everything within it.
When Sawyer got to Yavenharrow in her retelling, though, she paused. A silent conversation passed among the Wielders, one Sol couldn't decipher, until they collectively told Penny Sol was found in Graniela. She was confused at first, then figured they likely wanted to protect her town from this place as long as they could. Sol was thankful for that.
Penny looked over at Sol. “What was it like, Princess? Living such a different life?”
Sol’s lips twitched in a small smile. “Unnervingly calm at times.”
“And why did you choose not to come until now?”
It occurred to her that perhaps no one knew the truth. Maybe they thought she’d known who she was all along and simply chose to hide, to live an uninteresting life instead. “I didn’t know any of this existed until a week ago.”
Penny angled her head in a gesture of contemplation. “I don’t blame Queen Irene for choosing to forget about us.”
“I do,” Sawyer added. “She abandoned the kingdom when we needed her most.”
“Sawyer!” Nina chastised. “We don’t know what truly happened.”
Sawyer shrugged. “She chose to flee. That’s what happened.”
As they neared the castle’s steel gates, Sol wanted to argue. To defend her mother’s choices and explain her innocence. But as she tried to formulate an argument, her fingers twirling in Fey’s mane, she came up utterly, and sadly, empty.
Truthfully, Sol didn’t know. She loved her mother and knew she was good, but couldn’t provide a defense for her actions, especially when everything pointed to the fact that Irene truly had up and left.
Her mind drifted to her mother’s note, wrinkled within her satchel.
The people are in your hands now, and for that I am so sorry, Soleil.
She wouldn’t think of the rest. Not now. Not ever. Maybe someday, but not soon.
“I don’t know what I’m doing here,” she whispered.
It was meant more for herself, but Nina responded as she idled beside them. “For now, we rest. And eat.”
Sawyer added, “And bathe.”
“Then we will deal with the ‘supposed to be’s,’” Alix finished.
They trotted along silently through the streets, and as they finally neared the castle gates, Sol tugged on the reins. Fey stopped without protest, as if she, too, was nervous.
Sol stared at the massive gates before her and the stone archways beyond them. The courtyards were alive, people dashing from one place to another, seemingly uninterested in those about to enter. They all wore black or brown leathers, their hair braided tightly around their heads, men, and women alike. Some carried weapons, though Sol had the sense most didn’t need them.
