I’d given her and Folami as much time as possible, as this was, most likely, the last time they’d see each other as mother and daughter. As soon as Itanya left Hestin, she would shed her previous identity and become the Bone Weaver fully.
As a mother who had to watch her child grow from afar, I knew all too well the pain that ripped through Folami’s soul with every heartbeat, but we were at theend. It was time for Itanya to return to the nations in the Far North to continue her training.
And time for me to bring Kaos’ tether north. I swore I could feel his knife—the one I used to kill our sister—heat through the bursting pack at my thought.
“Bone Weaver,” I said softly but under-laced with a command. Itanya’s milky-white eyes snapped to mine, and something in the air shifted as she reached out to touch her powers. It was like a long-dormant consciousness awoke and stretched, unfurling in the suddenly charged air.
Folami felt it too, judging by the stiffening of her shoulders and the tightened grip on her daughter’s biceps.
Itanya simply nodded in my direction, her spine straightening as she seemed to grow a few inches just by the use of her honorific.
“Write if you can,” Folami whispered, pressing her dark forehead to her daughter’s slightly lighter one. There was a moment where Itanya relaxed against her mother, her fingers twisting into the back of Folami’s cropped tunic, and I thought I might have to physically pull them apart.
It was not something I wanted to do, but this was her fate.
“I love you, my sweet girl. No matter where you go, no matter who you are, you are always my daughter first. Remember that, and remember how much I love you when the days are hard and cold. You will always have a home here, should you need it,” Folami whispered. Itanya nodded once, pressing a quick kiss to each of her mother’s cheeks.
The sentiment was felt, but the Bone Weaver knew as well as I did that she would not return to this side of the Ice Shelf while her family still lived.
Itanya broke from her mother’s hold, moving to each of her three fathers and embracing them in turn. Ilyas folded her into his ginormous arms, picking her feet off the ground for a moment before releasing her with a grunt. Tears burned in his eyes, but I knew he wouldn’t let them fall until they’d taken care of Folami. Lex was next, a playful smile and whispered barbs in Itanya’s ear had her giggling slightly before she moved to Peytor last. Neither of them said a word, but their hug lasted the longest.
Out of all of them, I feared missing Peytor—or Da, as she called him—could be her undoing.
He broke the hug first, squeezing Itanya’s arms once before jerking his chin at me.
The Bone Weaver said something under her breath, causing a small smile to pull at Peytor’s lips even as a tear slipped free and ran down his cheek.
Itanya embraced her mother once more, quickly, before shouldering the pack her family had painstakingly put together for her journey northward.
“May Fate guide and keep you,” Itanya whispered to her family, raising a hand in farewell before turning her back for the last time.
I watched as Folami collapsed in silent sobs, held upright by her three husbands before Itanya shut the door to their home, silencing any sound of grief that her mother and fathers made.
We walked in pleasant silence for a bit, our boots clicking against the stone road as the fresh summer sun beat against our backs, warming us instantly.
“Enjoy the heat now, Bone Weaver,” I said when my companion removed her outer jacket within an hour of walking. “The Far North is cold and unforgiving. Ice storms happen often and crust the heavy snow, making travel dangerous and difficult. There is no leaving once we are there.”
The Bone Weaver said nothing for a while, and I figured the conversation over.
“I’ll leave eventually. Fate will call me to do so,” she stated confidently, that eerie tone returning after being dormant for so many years. I shivered despite the heat.
Fate will call you to do a lot of things, Bone Weaver, I thought.The future of Elyria depends on whether you decide to heed that call.
Chapter One Hundred Thirty
Lex
EIGHT MONTHS LATER
“You’re certain we have everything?” Peytor called, manically checking each room of our house in Hestin. It was small—only two bedrooms and a bathroom—but had served our needs for nearly six years since the war ended.
The hurried stomps of his boots faded as he retreated to the back of the cottage, evidently opening drawers and peering in closets to ensure we’d grabbed everything that was important. Snow began to fall in soft, unhurried flakes while we waited, landing on our covered carriage and the pull behind stacked with our belongings.
There were many more trunks than I originally anticipated.
Apparently, we had amassed some things since the end of the war.
“Peytor!” Ilyas called. “I want to get moving and cross the river by dark!”
