“Assuming we have not adopted children of our own.” Romulin rested his temple on her shoulder and Vi shifted her arm around him.
“Well, if you’re doing that, then I’ll just see to changing the laws that the heir must be by blood and then have no children of my own.”
They both shared a small laugh at that. Romulin’s arm snaked around her waist and they stood together quietly.
“I’m sorry for being tense around you, sister. I hadn’t wanted our meeting to go like this.”
“Me neither. But I understand… these are tense circumstances.” Vi gave him a small shake. “When I return, we’ll both have time to relax. Maybe even take a trip down to Oparium with Andru and stay at the summer manor. Jax has told me rumors of caves connecting to it that I’d love to mark on my maps.”
“Always with your maps.”
“I’ll have so much more to show you of Meru, too.”
Romulin pulled away, starting for the door. “You do know I don’t like this, even still.”
“I know.” Her heart sank; she thought they’d reached an understanding.
“But I’m going to allow it on one condition.” He stopped, his back to her. “You find Father and bring him back.”
“I swear.” Vi started over, grabbing her pack on the way, as he turned to face her. They embraced tightly. “I swear.”
“Good. Now you should get going, while the night is young. I’ll do my best to cover for you here, keep them busy come dawn for as long as possible.”
“Thank you,” Vi whispered as he pulled away. Her eyes were prickling, but Vi refused to allow herself to cry. She needed to keep her composure—be strong for her and him both. “Will you cover while I sneak out through the lobby? Make a distraction?”
He shook his head.
“What? I thought—”
“There’s a better way for you to leave.” He walked behind the small bar in the common area of her room. On the second shelf, he counted three bottles in from the left. Vi watched, fascinated, as his fingers closed around the glass neck of the unassuming bottle. It looked just the same as the others—mostly full and freshly polished. At least, until he went to lift it off the shelf.
The bottle did not move up, but forward, connected to a hidden latch on the shelf beneath. She heard the softclickof a lock disengaging. Vi stared in wonder, pulling open the whole shelf to reveal a secret passage.
“How did you…”
“When you came up here to presumably pack… I stayed after at dinner. The adults drank far too much and reminisced.”
“As they do.” Vi had seen as much when her mother and Jax, and Elecia and Jax, had been together in the North. She could only imagine how it was when the three of them were all in one spot.
“Yes, well apparently, Father did not enjoy feeling trapped in a space and requested this room specifically for that reason.” Romulin’s fair skin turned scarlet. “They wouldn’t stop teasing about Mother sneaking in through this passage.”
Vi’s reaction was a cross between a grimace and a laugh. She did not want to think of her parents as rebellious, young, and full of desire. But it was also amusing to picture them that way, so free compared to the composed, careful adults they’d been forced to become.
“If you leave through here, no one will know you’re gone until some time after breakfast. I’ll tell them you weren’t feeling well this eve, and to give you time to sleep. I’ll try to delay as long as possible.”
She looked at her brother. For all he said he didn’t want her to go, he was doing everything in his power to help her. Perhaps some part of him did want to see her venture forward, claim a freedom neither of them had. Find their father for the good of their family and their Empire.
Or… perhaps… love in all its forms was simply complicated. And for all he did not want her to go, he loved her and wanted to support her. Would she not do the same for him if the roles were reversed?
“I love you, brother,” Vi whispered, pulling him close one final time.
“I love you, sister. Don’t forget your promises. Now, go… get a head start on the hounds they’re going to send after you.”
He all but pushed her into the narrow tunnel. Vi tripped on the sloping path, and caught her balance on the rough wall. She turned to get one last look at her brother before he closed the shelf behind her.
Lifting her hand, Vi uncurled her fingers and allowed the spark to lift off her skin, and ignite into a full flame. She lowered her hand away and the flame continued to hover right where she’d placed it, happily burning near her shoulder and giving light to the darkness. It was enough to scare away the shadows, but not enough to cast aside the thick curtains of cobwebs and what looked like years of dust that had settled on the stairs.
She stifled a cough, waving away the remnants of spiders—even they seemed to have abandoned the place. The passage was long and she had no idea what rooms it was nestled between. When she reached the end, a door blocked her path. Vi ran her hand over the smooth plate of metal—a Firebearer’s lock.
