"The wall wasn't responding to reasonable requests for information about your location," I mutter, feeling heat rise in my cheeks.
"Dad was being dramatic," Irida stage-whispers to Heidi. "Thera said so."
As if summoned by her name, Thera appears in the doorway, wiping her hands on her apron and wearing the kind of satisfied expression that usually means trouble for me.
"Well, well," she says, looking between Heidi and me with sharp eyes that don't miss the way we're standing closer together, the way my hand rests possessively on Heidi's lowerback. "You look much better, Mihalis. Less like a corpse and more like a functioning adult."
I level her with what I hope is a withering stare. "Your concern is touching, as always."
She snorts, completely unimpressed. "My concern is for that poor girl you've been moping over and the child who's had to watch her father fall apart because he'd never experienced an emotion before."
"I did not fall apart," I say with as much dignity as I can muster.
"You forgot to eat for three days straight and I had to remind you to bathe," Thera replies dryly. "If that's not falling apart, I'd hate to see what you consider a real breakdown."
Heidi's shoulders shake with suppressed laughter, and even Irida is giggling behind her hands. I glare at all of them with absolutely no heat.
"For your information," I say to Thera, "we completed the bond. Properly this time."
Thera's expression softens slightly, though she tries to hide it. "About damn time," she mutters. "Maybe now we can get back to some kind of normal around here."
She turns to Heidi with a smile that's genuinely warm. "Welcome home, girl. Your room is just as you left it, and I've got soup warming on the stove if you're hungry."
"Thank you," Heidi says softly. "It's good to be back."
Thera nods once, satisfied, then turns and heads back toward the kitchen, calling over her shoulder, "I'll leave you three to get reacquainted. Try not to break anything important."
Irida tugs on Heidi's hand, bouncing on her toes with barely contained excitement. "Heidi! Heidi, guess what? Tomorrow is the last day of Noxalyth. That means today there are going to be processions! With dancers and fire-breathers and musicians and everything!"
Heidi kneels down to Irida's level again, genuine interest lighting up her face. "That sounds amazing. Tell me more about these processions."
"They go all through the city," Irida says, her words tumbling over each other in her enthusiasm. "And there are people who can make fire dance in the air, and singers, and sometimes there are people on stilts! Thera told me that last year someone brought a tame rono and painted flowers on its horns!"
"A rono?" Heidi looks delighted. "That must have been quite a sight."
"Can we go see them?" Irida asks, looking between Heidi and me with hopeful eyes. "Please? I've never been to see the processions before, and now that you're back we could all go together!"
I feel something warm unfurl in my chest at the casual way she includes all three of us as a unit, a family. After years of it being just Irida and me against the world, the idea of expanding that circle feels both terrifying and absolutely right.
"I think that sounds wonderful," Heidi says, glancing up at me with a question in her eyes.
"If you're feeling up to it," I say carefully. She's stronger than she was this morning, but I'm not taking any chances with her health. "The crowds can be overwhelming, and you're still recovering."
"I'll be fine," she assures me, standing and slipping her hand into mine with an ease that makes my heart skip. "Besides, how can I say no to seeing painted rono horns?"
Irida cheers, throwing her arms around both our legs in an enthusiastic hug that nearly knocks us over. "This is going to be the best Noxalyth ever! We can get honey cakes from the vendors, and watch the fire dancers, and maybe see the blessing ceremony at the main temple!"
Looking down at my daughter's bright face and feeling Heidi's contentment through our bond, I can't help but agree. For the first time in longer than I care to admit, the future looks bright instead of terrifying.
"Then it's settled," I say, squeezing Heidi's hand and returning Irida's hug. "This afternoon, we'll brave the crowds and see what wonders the festival has to offer."
The smile that spreads across both their faces is worth every moment of terror I've endured in the past week.
20
HEIDI
The late afternoon sun filters through the winter clouds as we make our way through New Solas' main thoroughfare, and I can barely contain the grin that keeps threatening to break across my face. Irida skips between Mihalis and me, her small gloved hands gripping ours tightly, her excitement practically vibrating through her tiny frame.
