It was not seen that way.
She wanted to ask, I could see it in her eyes, but Lyra dragged her bottom lip between her teeth, as if biting the question off before it could form.
I brushed a hand over her shoulder, drawing her attention.
I do not recall everything, the mark—I gestured at my scar—is a curse in a way and must have shadowed memories. But as time goes on, I recall more. One of my choices caused the death of the Draven prince. Where blood is taken, blood is given.
“The prince?” Lyra fiddled with the end of her hair. “Thane said you were found at Stonegate after—wait…you were found after the raids.”
I looked away. It was foolish to be speaking of this when so much was at risk, when I was half-convinced my nightmares of a silver-eyed girl in the darkness might be more than a dream.
Lyra drew in a sharp breath. “Roark, you were in the craft raids as aboy? Weren’t you?”
I told you, I remember little but—I hesitated, my hand stilling in the air—I remember smoke, blood, and screams.
Her chin dropped. “So do I. When I was taken from Skalfirth, small moments from the raid started returning. Mostly in dreams.”
My stomach tightened. A muscle pulsed in my jaw. Why were we both all at once recalling moments of that bloody night?
“I’m not sure they’re even real,” she said. “But I remember my father. He…he had dark eyes and a deep laugh.” The corner of her mouth curved into a small smile, but it faded swiftly. “I remember the heat of fire on my face, and I think someone pulled me from the longhouse. I don’t know, but since using my craft, slowly my mind seems to recall horrors it wanted to forget.”
Perhaps it is better to forget, I responded.I would rather not remember any more.
“You did not deserve what was done to you,” Lyra insisted. “Forgive me, but customs or not, that is terrible. What I am assuming was an accident, gods, to punish a child in such a way…” Her voice trailed away like the words were too bitter to form.
How do you know it was an accident?
“I suppose I don’t.” She pointed at Thane. “But your eyes when you mentioned the dead prince looked a great deal like they do now—with this prince. Fear is in them, the kind that comes whensomeone does not want to live through heartache again. I had the same fear when Kael was dying on the jarl’s floor.”
I studied my palms for a breath.Emi would not have let him die.
“But I didn’t know that.” Lyra cleared her throat. “I understand you were under orders to force out the melding craft; Kael holds no bitterness…nor do I any longer. I know there is no returning for the two of us, but”—Lyra shifted in her chair, hesitating—“but Edvin and Hilda, they left behind children, a wife, and a new husband.”
I knew what she was asking.I am not the king here. Nor is Thane.
Her face fell. “Thought it was worth the ask.”
I leaned closer.In time, you could have enough of Damir’s respect to barter for their return.
“In time.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “How long might that be? When Edvin’s eldest boy is a man himself?”
I didn’t know how to respond. Once Damir had a crafter in his walls, the king became a bit of a collector of magic, believing it only added to his power. I doubted the two crafters would ever be welcome to live on the shores of Skalfirth again.
“I don’t mean to offend, but Dravenmoor sounds harsher than even Stonegate.” Lyra forced a small smile and picked at some of the fruit she brought for me. “Emi told me why she fled the clans.”
I nodded.The Draven clan holds little patience for bone crafters. Even when they are born of their own blood.
“How did Emi escape when she was only a girl?”
I sighed and sat back in my chair. She managed to send a raven to me with a plea for help. I had been here two summers already, and with Thane’s aid, we saw her safely behind the walls.
Lyra watched Emi sleep for a pause, then grinned. “I thought I’d hate her, but she’s rather likable. Started liking her on the longship when she forced Kael to walk.”
She is stubborn and aggravating. A little like another woman in Stonegate.
Lyra chuckled, but started picking at one fingernail. “I’m certain it’s…well, I’m sure it’s good to have someone from your own lands.”
I suppose.
