“You okay, Mum?” I rush to her side, setting my coffee down on my way.
She brushes me off and glances at the twins. “I’m fine, Sam.”
Letty hands her a small satchel.
“Just tired, I’m an old lady after all and the last few weeks have been trying.” She smiles as she dumps the contents of the satchel into a cup of hot water. “Tallulah gathered me some tea to help with the pain, I just need to sit down for a while.”
I’m reluctant to let go of her arm, but when she insists a second time, I finally do. I drink my coffee in weighted silence with Jarek and Elora at my sides.
“Well, we’re off.” Thaddeus and Calix join us in the kitchen. Thaddeus pauses at the counter before plopping a blackberry into his mouth. “Make sure to leave by nightfall, don’t want to get caught in the Trinity Forest after dark.”
“Why not?” Elora asks. “Oh right, vicious wolves.”
Was that ajoke?
“I’ve heard they’re feral, beasts.” I decide to lean into it. “They’ll rip your throat—” I wince, remembering just how feral the wolves truly were yesterday on Cade. “Too soon?”
“Too soon.” Elora throws a blackberry at me, and I’m mad when I don’t catch it in my mouth.
“I wanted to thank you,” Calix says, stepping to join Elora and I at the table. “I know you didn’t have to hear me out, but I’m thankful you did.”
All humor and playfulness washes from Elora’s face. She smiles, tight and closed, and Calix must take it for what it is because he only nods before he turns.
“Calix,” she says, standing from the table.
He turns to her, his eyes wide. Hopeful? I missed something, clearly.
“I’ll see you at the Onyx Guild,” Elora says. His face lights up, like she has just tossed him a line in a raging sea.
He and Thaddeus pack a few provisions, say a few more goodbyes, but as they leave, a wave of unease hits my gut. I stand and follow them, keeping light on my toes. Thaddeus is already in the caravan by the time I make it outside, but Calix has stopped, bracing himself against a pillar, his hand hanging loosely at his side. My heart constricts, the wave that I felt earlier intensifies and it is still an unnatural feeling that I forget the wave is my magick calling to me. Taking a deep breath, I accept its presence and that’s when I see her.
Elwyn.
She manifests with a glowing aura filling the space next to Calix. She reaches for him and when she does, his hand flexes before he shudders and moves forward. Just out of her reach. Her eyes trail him and it isn’t until he’s in the caravan that she vanishes. Gone. Like she was never here.
I stumble back into the kitchen in a haze.
“You’re up late by the way,” Elora says between bites of jellied bread. She smiles but her eyes bounce between me and Agnes. A similar weariness in them that I’m sure is mirrored in my own.
I retake my seat and bury my face in my coffee cup.
“Oh, we’ve been up,” Jarek mutters next to me.
I cut him a glare but it quickly melts when I’m met with a smile.
Elora pours herself a cup of coffee, bringing it to her nose and taking a long inhale just as I had done. Agnes pats her arm lightly, a smile tugging at her lips.
“Did something happen with Calix?” I ask over my mug.
Elora sighs, dropping the last bits of her bread on her plate. “Yes, actually. Turns out, he knew my mother.”
“Oh?” I take another sip of coffee, savoring the bold yet nutty flavor.
“Yes,” she says. “Heknewher.”
“Knew her…” I place my mug down.
“Apparently theykneweach other very well.”
