A few seconds of silence followed, then he asked, “And your brother? Do you get along?”
The question brought her back to the day she’d found out her mother was sick and a feeling of dread and regret washed over her. “We used to be much closer before I left to study. I came back home when the virus took over my world. I told him I’d be there for him and now I’m not. He didn’t want me to leave.”
“He doesn’t want you to get a cure?”
“No, he does. But he also wants me to be home and I can’t do both. I probably made it worse by leaving without giving him any warning.” Her brother’s hurt face in the kitchen came back to plague her. The spoken promise she gave him was one of many she couldn’t keep.
“He’s your brother, he’ll always forgive you,” Eyden said. He seemed so convinced even though he’d never met Oscar. He still barely knew her.
“Do you have siblings?” Lora asked.
The pause stretched for so long, she started to accept he wasn’t going to answer.
Eyden took an audible breath as he moved his head up, probably taking in the spotless blue sky of the warm, early afternoon. “My half-brother died at birth. I lost my mother at the same time.”
Lora almost tripped as she fully took in his words. She stopped walking but Eyden continued, so she picked up her pace again. A piece fell into place and she felt sad that this was his story. Lora understood the pain she saw earlier but was surprised his mother had died during childbirth. Fae were almost indestructible aside from almandine.
As if he could read her thoughts, Eyden explained, “Birth is complicated for fae. It messes with a female’s life magic—the magic that makes us strong and keeps us young until we near the end of our lifespan. Pregnancy can interfere with that magic and leave fae vulnerable. Sometimes there are…circumstances that no healer can save them from in time, after the child is born.”
There were no perfect words for such an occasion but Lora quietly said, “I’m sorry that they couldn’t be saved.”
“I try to keep her alive in my mind as much as I can. I was seven when it happened. My parents had split up years before, but I don’t think my father was ever able to get over her death.” Eyden peeked over his shoulder. His eyes were focused, the pain overthrown by layers of pretence. “Do you wish you knew your father?”
Lora eyed the ground, kicking at a tiny stone in front of her. “He chose to not be involved.” Her mum had written him letters and he had responded...until she told him about her pregnancy.
“Doesn’t mean you can’t still wish it was different.”
Wishing was as dangerous as hoping. Lora was spared from replying as they broke into a clearing and discovered the wall they were supposed to scale.
To their left was a short path leading out into an abyss. There were a few patches of grass and lavender blooming on the ground, falsely making the image less alarming.
Opposite the rather slick and high wall was only air, the cliff promising a painful death. Lora carefully spied over the edge when they walked onto the small trail. The fog hid how far the fall really was, but she could tell it was deep.
Eyden kept looking back and forth before his gaze settled on Lora. “If I asked you to go back and let me do this alone, you wouldn’t, would you?”
She let out a short laugh that was more of a snort. “You want me to turn around now that we’re almost there?”
“I can do this better by myself. You’re human. If you slip and fall, you could die.”
“I’m pretty sure you could die too even if you survive the fall.” She pointed behind her to the dangerous cliffside. “If you get lost down there, I don’t think a healer will find you in time.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m a good climber.”
“And who says I’m not?” She actually wasn’t, but that was beside the point.
“Look, it’ll be quicker if I do this by myself. And I’ll be safer if I’m not looking over my shoulder to make sure you don’t slip and die.” He wasn’t totally wrong, but his tone was getting under her skin.
“Fine. Then I’m waiting right here.” She sat down on a rock next to the stone wall and crossed her arms. “Go ahead.”
She didn’t know if Eyden could look any more annoyed. He seemed to grudgingly accept he couldn’t completely win this argument.
Eyden took off his backpack and removed the equipment he’d borrowed from Ilario’s home. As he secured a rope around his waist, Lora looked up to the top of the wall. It was high but the edge was visible. It was within her sight, barely so, but enough to give her hope.
* * *
Not quite an hour later, Eyden had reached the top and disappeared from her view. He had taken several breaks on ledges but never for long. Lora was certain if it wasn’t for his fae strength, he wouldn’t have been able to make the climb so effortlessly.
When he returned to the edge of the cliffside, he signalled that he’d gotten what they had come for. Eyden hooked the rope, which was attached to his waist, around a makeshift fixture. He had strategically been placing hooks as he’d climbed up, making sure he wouldn’t fall too far. Lora had attached the other end of the rope to herself and it was also secured on another fixture on the ground next to her in case his weight overwhelmed her.
