Page 79
“That wasn’t a joke.”
Daven blinked. “I know.”
They moved through Umbral Park. The trees thinned toward the city edge. The sky burned low and red behind the mountains.
By a food stall, Daven got them sandwiches and coffee, and with both in hand, they made their way home.
“So,” Daven said after a moment, “Düren.”
Ryneth chewed. Swallowed. “What about it?”
“I was told it’s dust and scrap.”
Ryneth huffed. “I guess it is.”
“Nothing else?”
Ryneth wiped his fingers on the paper. “Life’s hard there. If I look here, at all these young people just lounging about, being able to go to college, then that’s definitely something we never had.”
“You have no schools?”
“We do. It’s just not for everyone. I started working when I was fourteen. Mara would have wanted me to continue education, but we needed the money more. With the others, and Tavi…it was an easy choice to make.”
“What sort of work did you do?”
“Anything, really, where they’d hire someone my age. I worked the dock lines. Then the mines. Those were hard.”
“That must have been awful.” Daven studied him.
“It wasn’t. Not always at least. I liked living with Mara. She’s a good woman, and my siblings are kind. They’d always sleep around me, pressed close, keeping the warmth. Those small bodies, tucked tight.” Ryneth’s smile was soft. “I protected them. From starvation, from danger.”
“Is that why you protected the Ward?”
Ryneth nodded. “Yes. But it wasn’t really a choice. Everyone old enough pulled shifts on the wall. I had my section, and if I didn’t show up, someone else paid for it.”
By the time they reached the other end of the park, the sky had gone fully dark.
Neither of them spoke in the lift. The city lights stretched beneath them.
The quiet felt different now. As they made their way inside his penthouse, Daven couldn’t help but wonder why that was. Because Ryneth had finally shared some of his previous life? Or perhaps because someone was still looking for him.
“So this is it, then.” Ryneth placed his bag next to Daven’s and toed off his shoes. He didn’t explain himself, and Daven didn’t ask. Instead, Daven poured them a drink and crossed into the bedroom, stopping just inside the doorway.
“Come.”
“I have questions too,” Ryneth said from the threshold. He took a shaky breath. “I need to understand when I’m going home.”
“You are home.”
“No.” Ryneth shook his head. “I have told you about my home. On Düren.”
“And I appreciate that. But, Ryneth, come here, baby. Let me show you something.”
Ryneth hesitated in the doorway. Then he stepped into the room, one slow pace, then another, stopping a foot away from Daven. “What?”
“You seem to find it hard to understand that your life has changed, aethera. You are now mine. Perhaps I should be more specific.”
“No.” Ryneth shook his head.
