At first I could only gape at her, in part because I wasn’t even sure if she was real. But also because there was so much I had to say to her, so much that had happened since the last time I’d seen her that I hadn’t been able to apologize for. Not that I’d ever be able to make up for it.
And top of all that, here she was, alive and safe. I’d spent so much time worrying about her, and now here she was at my bedroom door.
“Can I come in?” she asked quietly and opened the door a bit farther.
I meant to say, sure, or hello, or anything normal, but what tumbled out of my mouth was one big hurried, desperate apology, “Ohmygod, Tilda, I’m so sorry.”
As soon as the words escaped my mouth, she began crying. In all our years of being friends, I’d only really seen her cry a handful of times, and never like this. These were big, heavy tears streaming down her cheeks, and she looked completely shattered in a way that I’d never imagined Tilda could be.
I wasn’t sure if she hated me or not—I wouldn’t blame her if she did. But at that moment, I didn’t care. I rushed over and threw my arms around her. She leaned against me, letting me hug her, and sobbed into my shoulder. The fullness of her pregnant belly pressed rather painfully against the wounds from the bear attack, but I didn’t care.
For a long time, we didn’t say anything. We just stood that way—me holding her as she sobbed. Eventually, she began to collect herself and pulled away from me, wiping at her eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” I said again.
She shook her head, sniffling a little. “You don’t need to be sorry. I know that you never would’ve hurt Kasper or let anything happen to him. Not if you could help it.”
“I never meant for things to happen the way they did,” I said.
“What did happen?” Tilda asked, looking down at me with moist eyes. “I don’t believe anything the Queen says, and nobody else was there. Nobody knows what really happened but you.”
I motioned to the bed, and Tilda and I sat down. Then I began telling her the story of how her husband had been killed. How we’d gone to tell the Queen about how Kennet Biaelse and the Skojare head guard Bayle Lundeen had been working together to hurt the Skojare royalty. And how Kasper and I had escaped from the dungeon and went to confront Kennet, and he’d gotten the best of us and killed Kasper, and how I’d fought with Kennet and he’d fallen to his death.
She didn’t say anything as I spoke. She only stared at me, listening intently as I wove together the whole story. I even added in the pieces I’d learned from Konstantin, and how I’d found out that Mina was Viktor D?lig’s daughter.
When I’d finally finished, she nodded once. “It’s good that Kennet is dead. I’m in no shape to hunt him down and kill him, but that’s what I would’ve had to have done. Thank you for getting rid of him for me.”
“You’re welcome,” I said, instead of explaining that I hadn’t meant to kill Kennet. I’d been hoping to get him to tell me who he was working for, but since Konstantin had filled me in later, it didn’t seem to matter now.
And then I realized something. “What are you doing here? I heard Doldastam was on lockdown.”
“It is.” Tilda grimaced. “Everything has completely gone to hell since you left, and I couldn’t stay any longer. There was no way I could have a baby there, so I had to get out when I could.” She’d absently rubbed her stomach as she spoke.
“How far along are you now?” I asked.
“Almost five months.” She smiled. “It’s so weird because I’m already starting to feel more like a mom.”
Hearing her say the word made me think of my own parents and how I hadn’t heard anything from them since I’d been gone.
“Do you know how my parents are doing?” I asked.
Her smile fell away. “I’ve seen them around. I won’t lie to you—things are hard for them right now. They’ve both lost their jobs, and people don’t trust them. But they’re safe, and they’re still together. They’re as free as anyone else in Doldastam.”
I let that sink in for a moment. My parents were safe, and they were together.
“How did you get out of Doldastam?” I asked.
“Pretty much the same way you did,” Tilda said. “I snuck out with Ridley.”
My heart skipped a beat at the mention of his name. “What do you mean, Ridley?”
“He can explain it to you better. He convinced Mina to send him out on an errand.”
“He can explain it?” I asked, and my mouth suddenly felt dry. “What do you mean? Where is he?”
“He’s here.” Tilda motioned toward the door. “I think he’s outside talking with Finn. But you can go see him.” She slowly got to her feet. “Mia offered me tea when we got here, and I think I’m going to take her up on the offer.”