Grim huffed a quiet breath that might have been amusement. "Would you like to walk the frozen expanse?"
She shook her head. "No."
"Then neither would I."
She nodded, satisfied with the logic but another thought took root. "If you do not return, will they send someone for you?"
Grim let go of a greedy breath. "No."
"Why not?"
"Because there is no need."
Ilys’ frown returned for a second performance. “Then how will we know what happened to you?”
“You will not,” Grim said, tone final and intonation pitchy.
She padded over to him, swallowing her pride as she wrapped her arms around him. He stiffened at the contact, but after a moment dropped his hand for a brief, awkward pat on her head, where it lingered before sliding to her fingers and squeezing. Once. Twice. Three times. Their code. Their language. It meant he would come back. Ilys liked to think it meantI love you.
“Ilys,” the Mother called, beckoning her back to the lesson.
An itchy, desperate feeling twisted in the girl’s stomach. She pressed her lips together, tasting the question she could not name.
The words ofThe Book of the Veilwaited patiently before her.
When she turned back, the doorway glowered, empty. Grim gone.
Though just two weeks had passed since Grim’s departure, the temple corridors grew ice cold, the stone leeching warmth through the soles of Ilys’s slippers. She stayed near the wall, her breath stirring faint wisps of chilled air.
Rowenna ambled ahead, her arms full of firewood. A twig slipped free, skittering across the floor. She muttered under her breath as she bent to retrieve it. It was this clumsy movement that caught Ilys, more instinct than reason, and she followed before she could question it.
Another twig tumbled free. Rowenna straightened, frustrated.
“You’ll lose the rest,” Ilys called out, “if you don’t tame them now.”
Rowenna startled, spinning. “Oh—” She blinked fast, her eyes catching the Veil sigil on Ilys’s chest. Her tone shifted. “Veilwalker.” Rowenna adjusted the bundle, hugging it tighter. “I didn’t hear you.”
“I’m not meant to be heard.” Ilys shrugged.
Rowenna gave a small, unsure laugh. “Right.” She looked down the corridor, then back. “I should keep going.”
“I could help.”
Rowenna halted, looking on, confused.
“I could carry some. If it’s heavy,” Ilys explained further.
Rowenna stared at her for a beat too long, hands tightening around the bundle. “It’s fine,” she said. “But... thank you.”
Rowenna turned to leave, but after a few steps, she paused and looked back, conflict brewing in her eyes.
“Are you coming?”
Ilys blinked. “What?”
“You followed me. Walk with me, if you’re going to hover.”
“I wasn’t hovering,” Ilys denied.
