“Did you offer this to everyone, or are you finally giving your granddaughter a special privilege?” Faylinn’s wry humor had Rohak’s mouth quirking at the ends, hundreds of smile lines appearing on his face.
I huffed a laugh.Whip smart until the end.
“Yes,” I admitted, leaving off that none of the others had taken my offer.
As astute as ever, Faylinn read between the lines, her sharply intelligent hazel eyes milky with age, swooping over my figure.
“How do you benefit, Fate? What’s the other part of the bargain?”
I smiled sharply at her question.
“The book comes with me to Meru.”
Rohak growled, the glower of the once-formidable General now directed at me, but was silenced by a quick pat on his chest from his wife.
“I cannot do that, Fate,” Faylinn said with a shake of her head. “You know I cannot.”
I sighed deeply, rolling the singular shadow through my talons. “It was worth the attempt.”
Faylinn slowly extracted herself from Rohak’s grip before bending to scoop thebook into her arms. “The knowledge in here”—she explained while walking toward an open shelf—“is meant for all. Who knows, perhaps one of our descendants will have use of it someday.”
With a strength counterintuitive to her stooped stature, Faylinn hefted the thick tome and slid it into place. Her fingers lingered against the thick spine, the pad of her forefinger tapping once before spinning to face me.
“How about an amended bargain?”
Rohak’s bushy white eyebrows hit his hairline as I smiled fondly at my granddaughter.
“Your proposal?”
“You take us into the ether together, as you originally planned.”
“And what do I get in return?” The shadow flickered faster.
“I ward it. It will stay hidden in plain sight, its existence only revealed when the information is needed.”
The shadow ceased its movement, hovering still above my open palm.
“Deal,” I said, with no hesitation.
That will work beautifully.
My granddaughter wasted no time in procuring a short blade from her waist pouch and slicing her forearm. Her blood flowed sluggishly, as if her body knew its time had run out. She dipped a tremoring finger in the small rivulet of red before quickly and deftly inking a series of runes on the shelf around the book, murmuring words of power as she worked.
As quickly as she started, her work was finished. The runes on the shelf glowed a bright white before fading completely. The book was still visible, though it was clear that was as intended. The three of us knew its contents, it would always reveal itself to us.
Faylinn smiled then, a true, wide, beautiful thing, as if the weight of her life was lifted from her shoulders.
“You are certain about this, Faylinn?” Rohak asked. Faylinn’s hand dropped from the book before resting just as delicately against her husband’s cheek.
“Yes.”
Rohak’s palm came to cover Faylinn’s hand. He closed his eyes on a deep breath before opening them again, the emeralds shining with tears and pure devotion.
“Then when it is time, we will go. Together, as it was always intended.”
Hands clasped, bodies pressed together, Faylinn and Rohak turned to face me.
“Mortality is a fickle thing, granddaughter. Use the remainder of your time well. When the ether calls you home, I will bless and keep you. Together forevermore in the ether.”
