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Randa watched Kahn from the corner of her eye, trying to decide how to respond. “Is that why you offered to buy my drinks?” She guessed.

He blew out an annoyed sort of breath. “I just want you to like me a little.”

This was him trying to apologize. He wasn’t quite succeeding, but she appreciated the attempt. Against her better judgment, Randa felt herself relenting a bit. “You could say you were sorry for insulting me all those times. That would help.”

“I am sorry. You have no idea how much I regret it.”

“And for prying into my relationship with Hekktor.”

“That one I’m less sorry about, but…”

“And for cursing so much.”

“Okay. Fair. My language isn’t…”

“And for getting me banned from the supermarket, because you attacked that artichoke display.”

“I didn’t know they were vegetables! They looked like hand grenades, and I was…”

She cut him off again. “I can keep going and going with all the reasons you owe me an apology. We’d be here for hours.”

He stopped defending himself and held up his hands. “No, I admit that I’ve screwed up plenty. But, if you forgive me, I can make it up to you.”

“How?”

“I’m not really sure. I’ll think of something, though.” He made a face. “With my sisters, I usually bribed them until they’d forget I was an asshole.”

“You must have made them rich.” She deadpanned.

“They didn’t care about gold. It was clothes they were after. Those extortionists had the best wardrobes in the realm.”

That made her smile.

Seeing her amusement had the tension drained from his massive shoulders, and he shook his head. “I had to build them extra closets. I swear to Gaia.”

“What were their names?”

“Livinia, Syllia, Aggie, Roma, Tonia, and Prinny.” Just saying their names made his face soften.

And for the first time Randa wasn’t afraid of him, at all. No one who loved their sisters as much as Kahn did could be bad. “You don’t need to bribe me into forgiving you. I’ll call it even if you tell me about them.”

Kahn liked that offer.

“Livinia was beautiful. That was the first thing people noticed about her. But when you really got to know Livvy, you saw she was so much more than that. She was incredibly smart. She could outthink anybody. Syllia loved sports, so she was always jumping and running. I never saw her walk. Aggie was boisterous. Funny. God, she was so funny.” He shook his head, like he’d recalled some private joke. “Roma was the quiet one. Gentle. Always interested in making sure everyone else was happy. If there was a disagreement, and there were always disagreements, she tried to smooth it over. Prinny was the baby of the family. She wanted to try everything at least once, so she instigated most of the trouble. We all doted on her.”

“And Tonia?” Randa prompted when he skipped over her.

He blinked rapidly and cleared his throat. “Tonia was fearless. She never gave up. And she loved drawing.”

“Your sisters sound like they were very happy and very loved.”

“They were.” He paused for another beat. “I don’t get to talk about the good times with them. The others,” he gestured in the general direction of the rest of the Light Phases, “I think remembering the before is hard for them. It’s hard for all of us. But sometimes it feels like my sisters didn’t even exist. Like I just imagined them. When I talk about them, it makes them real again. They’re remembered.”

Randa nodded in understanding. Sometimes everything that happened before Parald seemed like it was a dream. She nudged her extra club soda closer to Kahn and then picked up her own. “Here. I’ll buy you a drink.”

“Who poured that?” He demanded with a sudden scowl.

“The bartender.”