“Yes, sweet girl. If any were to have it, I’d want it to be you.”
Vi breathed a secret sigh of relief. She hadn’t wanted to try to convince her mother to let her keep it. “Who gave it to you?”
“She said her name was Vi.”
“Why was I named after her?” Vi asked softly. Things weren’t adding up. Her brother was named after their great grandfather—the last king of the Solaris line before their grandfather proclaimed himself Emperor of the Main Continent. Vi was named after a woman her mother had met a handful of times?
Vhalla pressed her fingertips to her lips in thought. Her eyes seemed hazy and unfocused, though Vi couldn’t tell if it was from exhaustion or from focusing on the past more than the present. When her mother finally spoke, it was more dream-like than the confident way she usually presented herself.
“She was… important.”
Vi waited for more, and when the silence stretched on: “Importanthow?”
“Forgive me.” Vhalla smiled. “I’m afraid that the more time that passes, the harder it is to remember exactly what happened when it came to her. Your old mother is going senile.”
“You are neither old nor senile.”Nor dying. No matter what, she wouldn’t let her mother die. The family Vi had always envisioned would be together, even if she had to fight death itself to make it a reality.
“Well, in either case, she saved my life, multiple times. And every time, she seemed to be less real than the last.”
“How well did you know her?” Vi asked cautiously.
“Not well.”
“Would you say she was a… traveler?” The word stuck on Vi’s tongue, weighing it down, filling her with anticipation.
“I don’t know what she was.”
Vi could tell her mother was tired and had revealed all she remembered already. For all Vi wanted to press for more information, she let it slide. If the woman who gave Vi her name was somehow linked to Sehra’s traveler, Vi would only find out in time.
“Thank you for telling me, Mother—about both the watch and the woman I’m named after. But you should rest now. You look tired.”
“I am.” Vhalla raised her hand and Vi reached out, grabbing it one more time. “How was I blessed with such an understanding daughter? It will do me well to have the trials of the Empire passed off my shoulders. Forgive me for that.”
“Stop asking for forgiveness; you’ve done nothing to forgive. Romulin or I would both be relieved to see you in a place where you can rest and focus only on your health.” Vi leaned forward, planting a gentle kiss on her mother’s forehead. “Now, get all the sleep you can before the march tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” Vhalla said softly, eyes dipping closed. “Forgive me also… that I repeat the mistakes of my mother.” Her voice trailed off, already drawling with slumber so much that arguing further with her was pointless.
Vi took a few steps backwards, her attention settled on the rocky portion of her mother’s chest, laid bare by a tiny singe. She took a deep breath, straightening with it, and strode from the tent—nearly bumping into Jax on the way out.
“Vi?”
“She’s falling asleep.” Vi looked up at her uncle. “See she gets to the actual bed so she’s comfortable.”
He was startled at her tone. So was Vi. She wasn’t usually one to order him of all people. But things had changed. In such a short period of time, everything was becoming irrevocably different.
“Are you—”
“I’m fine. I will be fine,” Vi answered, soft but firm. “Please, look after her.”
“I always have.” Jax turned his head toward the tent. “Your father asked two things of me. The first was to look after you. The second was to look after her.”
“Don’t let him or me down.” Vi grabbed Jax’s hand. “I—Weneed you.”
“I will always be here for Solaris.” Jax’s eyes were shadowed and haunted. But soft, and as loving as she’d always seen them. “They call me the Crown’s Dog. But these days, if I’m a dog, it’s because the hearth I have found to guard is yours.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He merely nodded, pulling away, and stepped into the tent. Vi moved in the opposite direction. Her family was splintering at an alarming rate, and there was one bond she couldn’t allow to sit fractured any longer.
