“Yes!” Brenna grinned, bouncing in place. “Race you!”
“Watch for ice,” he reminded her.
Shoving the door open, he let her through and then gave chase. Darting off to the side where he knew some deeper snow lingered in the shadow of the keep’s walls, he gathered a ball of it in his hands. Racing to catch up with her, he pulled even before tossing the snowball at her.
An indignant shriek filled the air as he burst ahead of her to the door on the opposite side of the courtyard.
“Not fair!” Brenna stomped inside after him.
Laughing heartily, Rodric nudged her to keep walking. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“How?” she asked, eyes dazzling with ideas he was sure he didn’t want to know.
Smiling, he shrugged and kept silent.
Soon they came to the front part of the house where visitors were entertained, and Rodric directed her toward one of the sitting rooms.
She frowned as they stopped outside the door, no doubt wondering what mischief Jed could have gotten into in this wing of the keep.
Rodric savored the moment of anticipation only he felt. Behind the closed doors, a group of people waited nervously. Sev had collected Veron and one other family from Eldridge and guided them to Calderre to be reunited with their children.
Sadly, they couldn’t do the same for the other children. Some, like Opal, had no family to search for. Others, like Marin, had been willingly given up by their families—something he could hardly fathom.
Thankfully, that wasn’t the case for his soul-daughter. It was a moment of extreme joy and fulfillment to get to reunite her with her father.
“See what you think of this.” Winking at her, he pushed the door open.
Veron was easily recognizable, talking quietly with the other family who had traveled from Eldridge. He was standing upright, healed from his injuries and without any pain—Rodric had silently checked when he’d greeted his cousin earlier. Veron’s hands twisted anxiously as he awaited the sight he’d longed for these past months.
“Da!” Brenna’s cry preceded a blur of motion as she flew through the room to launch into her father’s arms.
Veron caught Brenna in a hug, emotion filling his face as he was finally reunited with his daughter. They were both crying within seconds and talking over each other. Rodric smiled, the sight warming his heart.
The door swung open to admit Sev and Holt, the other refugee who was lucky enough to have family who cared enough about him to upend their lives and move to a new realm to reunite with him.
The boy sucked in a breath, freezing on the threshold. Sev squeezed his shoulder.
“It’s okay, Holt,” Sev said. “They didn’t want to let you go. They chose to come here, to you. They’re staying.”
The boy eyed his parents with hopeful hesitation until his mother broke the tension by sweeping over to him. Dropping to her knees, she hugged him tightly, speaking in rapid, soft tones. Whatever she said made Sev smile, and he gave Rodric a nod that all was well.
Leaving the family to their reunion, Sev came to stand by his side and nodded toward Brenna and her father. “You did it.”
“We did. I couldn’t have done it alone, and I owe you for making me face that fact.”
Sev shrugged off the compliment.
“Thank you, my friend.” Rodric tried to pour the vastness of his emotions into the simple words.“Truly.”
“Anytime. Truly.” Sev smiled at him. “Hope you don’t mind extra company for a few days before I head home. There’s a bad storm headed this way.”
“Of course. You’ll always be welcome to stay as long as you like. You’re family to us.”
Inthegreatroom,Rodric sat catching up with Sev in front of the huge stone fireplace. After an emotional reunion followed by a celebratory meal, the families were finally settled into their rooms for the evening.
The other children had been reserved and quiet, and he and Sev would make a point of spending time with them in the next few days to ensure they were holding up amid the emotional reunions.
“Met with the Hunters Guild yet?” Sev took a sip of ale.
