Please, Creator, let her be okay.
“My friend has been helping in our absence. She said your mother is a bit better. Her fever is less, and the rattle in her chest is coming up and out with thick phlegm. It’s a bad cold in her opinion, nothing more.”
I burst into a relieved sob and then wiped at my eyes embarrassingly.
“And her jobs? My siblings?” I asked, hoping she hadn’t been let go. My mother did so much for so many. She was irreplaceable in so many ways.
“My friend has been working her shifts, feeding the young. She’s a mother herself, she knows how to handle young and run a household. Everything is fine,” heassured me.
I collapsed next to him, sighing in relief. I’d been so terrified in the darkness of the trial, I barely thought of my mother at all, and now that he’d brought her up, I was sick with worry. I wanted to be with her.
I barely slept on the train that night, for fear of my mother’s condition worsening, and fascination as Kaelric’s shoulder wound slowly healed before my eyes without intervention.
The second the train reached Aerlyn, I ran for the crook in the gate, hefting my large pack behind me.
Kaelric bounded after me. “Wait up.”
I needed to see my mother, my siblings, to check on Tyrus and how he was managing as the eldest in my absence. The sun was just rising in the sky, and it appeared to be around breakfast time.
I got to the break in the gate and slid through it, my legs pumping as I leapt over tall grasses and ferns. Kaelric pounded behind me, then we reached the outskirts of the Dregs.
Mrs. Turney was sweeping her porch as I ran past.
“Brynn, you’re home!” she called. “We’re so proud of you!”
“Hi! Thank you!” I called back, but didn’t slow.
Smoke curled from the chimney of our tiny shack. I slowed, heart thudding, unsure what I’d find. My boots skidded over the uneven path as I rounded the last bend, and my breath caught.
The doorway stood open, and I stepped inside, taking in the scene. In the kitchen was a gorgeous young woman. She stood stirring something in our dented pot with one hand while the other rested gently on Renna’s shoulder beside her. The woman’s braid was dark auburn, like old copper under sunlight, and her skin was tanned from work, cheekbones dusted with freckles. She wore a simple tunic and trousers rolled to the calves, but something about her screamed quiet strength. Calm. Capable. Andbadassfrom the look of the heavy blade hanging from her waist.
The scent of fresh herbs and meat stew wafted through the open door, mingling with the faint tang of firewood and thyme.
My siblings, Tyrus included, sat on low stools with lazy smiles. Someone had combed their hair, and their faces were clean.
The beautiful woman looked up when she saw me, and her lips curved into a soft smile.
“You must be Brynn,” she said warmly, setting the pot aside and dousing the flame.
“Kaelric!” she shouted when the wolfkin stepped up behind me.
Before I could speak, Kaelric was already moving. He sidestepped me, closing the distance between the woman and himself in three long strides. She reachedup and threw her arms around his shoulders, and he pulled her into a tight hug without hesitation.
The sight hit me like a slap.
Jealousy curled hot in my gut, sharp and unwanted. I had no right to feel it, but it was there anyway. My siblings leapt up from the table and rushed me, hugging me tightly as I hugged them back.
The woman stepped back from Kaelric, green eyes flicking to me. “I’ve been watching over them,” she said gently. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“Thank you,” I managed, voice tight.
Kaelric glanced at me, something unreadable flashing in his eyes. He stepped closer and brushed his hand along my arm, just once.
“She’s the one I told you about,” he said softly to me. “This is my cousin, Elia.”
Cousin.
Relief spread throughout my entire body. I was just about to wonder if she was his wife, or mate, or whatever they called it in Fenmyr. Now that I noticed how deep her green eyes were, the resemblance was uncanny.
