I nodded.
My father took a deep breath and exhaled. “The night you came to Isa, I planned to take my own life.”
I gasped in shock. My father? That was… I couldn’t believe it. “I just couldn’t handle one more night alone, with no one to talk to. One more holiday without someone to celebrate with. The loneliness was soul crushing.”
Using a blanket to cover my hand, I reached out and pulled his hand in mine, squeezing so hard I saw him wince.
Hug hard. Oh, how people underestimated the power of a hug. How desperately I wanted to take my father into my arms and hold him right now.
“Anyway, I had it all planned out and then I heard this faint sound of a baby crying,” he said.
I knew from stories that the baby was me.
“It cried and cried, and I thought it was Mrs. Costa’s new baby but it wouldn’t stop. So, I went to investigate and that’s when they told me about the note. They warned me that if I picked you up, I might die.”
His voice cracked but he went on. “No one wanted you, and I wasn’t afraid of dying then, so I walked over and picked you up.”
I squeezed his hand again.
“And Fallon, when I looked into your bright-green eyes it was like an arrow shot straight into my heart. You made me come alive in that moment. Youneededme. A helpless child with no one to care for her. You saved me, and I have regretted nothing about any second of our life together.”
I choked on a sob, my throat tightening as I forced myself to try to keep my emotions in check. These past few hours had been so overwhelming.
“I don’t regret anything, either. I’m sorry for saying that,” I told him.
He leaned against the sofa and smiled at me. “This is more comfortable than my bed roll. I might sleep out here.”
I burst out laughing. “We’ll have to sleep on the floor once a week so we don’t get too spoiled,” I offered.
He grinned.
A sudden knock came at the door, and Dad stood to answer it. Maybe a neighbor introducing themselves?
I got up to follow him and when he yanked the door open, two guards were there, holding Hipsie between them.
A shriek flew from my mouth when I saw her unconscious and limp form. One of her hands was hacked clean off and the nub was wrapped in linen soaked through with blood. A numbness threatened to take over my body at the sight before me. Words failed me, my voice silenced by the overwhelming flood of disbelief.
They took her hand.
“What the Light is this!” my father yelled as the guards pushed past both of us and deposited her on the couch.
“She’s been tried, sentenced to live life without a hand, and released. She can stay here to heal for three days before she must return to the village of Isariah, where she will be banished forever,” the guard said. It was the same one from before, with the neck tattoo—the one who’d let me out of my cell and had been somewhat kind when the other guard was mean to me.
“Thank you,” I managed, and they left.
“They took her hand.” My father rushed to Hipsie’s side in horror.
“Because she took a guard’s hand. It’s better than her life, I suppose.” I was trying not to freak out and focus on the positive side of this. I’d told Clarke I needed to see that they were decent people, and, well… I guess taking a hand instead of a life was decent.
Hipsie moaned, regaining consciousness, and my dad flew into action. “We need Sorrel. Or herbs. Or something…she’s going to be in a world of pain.” He ran into the kitchen but thought better of it and just paced the living room instead.
Sorrel was a three-hour walk away, and we weren’t allowed to leave the city.
Hipsie moaned again and I swallowed hard. “I have an idea. I’ll be back in a bit.” I pulled my gloves up past my arms. I had no idea where my cloak was. I was still wearing my pants and blouse with long gloves from the night shift at the tavern. There were a few holes in the palms, but it would have to do.
Before my father could say anything else, I burst from the house into a run and made a right. I was in shape and a good runner, often going for long jogs around the village to clear my head. It was something that had always felt freeing to me. Feeling the wind in my hair and on my skin. The pressure of the wind brushing against me almost felt like touch. But it wasn’t painful.
I burst out of the West Side arch and crossed the large main road that separated the two communities. I spotted the East Side arch and slowed when I saw two guards standing there. They weren’t armed, which either meant they were there for decoration, or their powers were so deadly they didn’t need a blade.
