Page 37

“It’s all right. I hadn’t remembered that night until that glitch. Mom didn’t die in an accident, and I know you don’t want to talk about it or her, so I’ll leave those questions for another time. But I will bring them up again. That night, when I begged her not to leave me, she told me she’d broken a rule. And there was this strange incident with a neighbor just before that. The woman had most assuredly broken a leg or hip, but Mom went to help her and, suddenly, she was all right.”

Raina avoided eye contact, but she listened raptly to my words. She rolled her lips in for a second before releasing them. “Your mom was a healer. Not a learned or trained healer, a natural healer. It’s not an easy power to live with. It takes a lot of energy to heal a bad injury or someone who is very ill. I’ve only known a few natural healers in my day, and they were always in despair about their limitations. You see, if they helped too many people with big injuries or illnesses, it slowly drained away their own health. At the same time, how can you tell one friend that you will cure their ailment and tell another no?”

“Mom used her power to heal the neighbor. The woman was in terrible agony. And that triggered a reaction that rolled all the way back to Troikana.”

Raina nodded. “She left you behind because if she’d stayed it would have given away your location. She did it to protect you.”

“Is she still alive? You said she was a healer. Did she not make it back? Did Revel have something to do with it?”

“Revel was only sent to take her from the human world.” Raina reached over and squeezed my hand. “It’s best not to talk about it.”

“How can I leave the subject alone, Raina? I miss her so much, and I have no idea what happened to her.”

“Knock, knock,” Lyric chirped from the front stoop. She followed the announcement with an actual knock.

I hopped up excitedly and ran to the door. Lyric wore snug breeches and a lavender vest. She’d changed out her pink headband to lavender to match. It was strange seeing her in new colors. We hugged and even jumped around a few times as if we hadn’t seen each other in years.

Raina came over for a hug, too. “Lyric, my little wonder girl, thank you so much for looking over my Raphael all those years.”

“It was my pleasure.” Lyric turned to me with a twinkle in her eye. “And speaking of pleasure—how would you like to join me for a trot over to the warrior training camp? Madi will be there and Revel.” She winked.

“Not sure what the wink was for but that sounds fun.” I looked at Raina for approval.

She laughed. “You’re not a kid anymore, Rafi. You don’t need my permission.”

My face warmed with a blush. “Oops, old habits, I guess.”

I finished my bread. The weather was warm enough that no cloak or shawl was needed. Lyric and I practically skipped down the street arm in arm. “I can’t believe I’m back home, and I got to bring my best friend with me,” Lyric said. She turned to me. “I’m sorry you had to witness the awfulness so soon upon your arrival. Mama and Anji were in town at the time. Anji was a few towers down, but she saw you climbing a tower with Revel right behind.”

My stomach knotted as I thought about how close I came to being a meal for the fish. “Revel saved me. I was almost swept away.”

Lyric stopped and turned to hug me. “Thank goodness for the big, cocky, gorgeous bastard.” We continued our journey. Each cottage had flourishing gardens and flowers. Crops of stalky plants that I was sure were amaranth grew behind some of the cottages in straight rows. We passed an old stone mill that had a stream of water running around it and through its wheel.

I’d connected a few dots the day before, and I debated with myself whether or not to find out if I’d connected them correctly. I felt comfortable enough with Lyric to ask. “Lyric, the anklet you chose—that belonged to your sister, didn’t it? The one you lost … I assume to the Krakatow.”

Lyric grew uncharacteristically quiet, and I regretted asking.

“It was just a week before Ari’s tenth birthday,” she said quietly. “Mama had taken her to town to pick some fabric for a new dress. The tide came in. Mama reached for Ari’s hand, and they ran for a tower. Ari tripped and fell. The water snatched her away before Mama could grab her. We nearly lost Mama, too. She tried to dive in after Ari, not that there would have been any way to save her. A neighbor saw her trying to go after Ari, but it was too late. My sister was gone. The neighbor grabbed Mama and carried her to the tower. I didn’t think my parents would survive the loss, but they had Anji and me. They had to move on.”

“God, I’m so sorry, Lyric. It’s awful. I confess, I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the whole thing.”

Lyric took a deep breath and pulled me closer. “There’s no better way to get your mind off it than to watch the warriors train.”

Up ahead were four stone walls with no roof to connect them. The sounds of metal clanging, triumphant yells and mournful groans of defeat rumbled up and over the walls. A wooden gate marked an entrance into the four-cornered courtyard. A young man with a scar that tore right across his forehead stood outside the gate. There were a few gaps in his grin.

“Why, if it isn’t pretty little Lyric, the tease.” His toothless grin turned my direction. He eyed me suspiciously at first; then, like most people, turned politely away.

“I’m not a tease.” Lyric crossed her arms to punctuate her insistence. “We’re here to watch this morning’s trainings, so let us through.”

“How about a kiss first?” The man puckered up his mouth.

Lyric lifted a fist. “How about I kiss you with this fist? Now, let us in, Urik, before I tell Madigan you were harassing us.”

Urik’s eyes rounded. It made the big scar on his forehead pucker. “No need to let Madigan know. Go right in.” He hastily pushed open the gate, and we slipped inside.

Loud voices and weapon clangs echoed off the stone walls. The courtyard was divided into two parts by a row of benches. On one side, men and women practiced intense hand-to-hand combat with swords and shields. On the other side, people practiced archery and axe throwing. I spotted Madigan’s snow-white hair instantly. She had her bow in hand and an arrow pulled back. She released it toward an apple-sized target that swung back and forth on a rope. The arrow landed directly in the middle.

“She’s phenomenal,” I noted.