It feels like hours before anyone joins us, when in reality I’m sure it’s only minutes.
A woman with her hair cut into a gray bob enters the greeting area. She wears a short skirt that doesn’t quite reach her knees. Sandals cover her feet, and her sleeveless shirt shows off beautiful tattoos of local flowers, marking her from her wrists to shoulders. Blue eyes flit from Temra to me and back again. Her hand flies up to cover her mouth. “You look so much like your father. You have his eyes. And you his nose.” She laughs sadly. “I’m your grandmother, Volanna. Would it be all right if I embraced you?”
Temra runs into her arms without hesitation, and guilt replaces any fear I may have had about this encounter. I didn’t realize how starved for comfort Temra was. But it makes sense. We’ve been on the run for over a month. Before that, it’s just been the two of us. No parents or even parental figures.
I’m not one for hugs with strangers, so I do not embrace Volanna when she turns to me. Instead, I plant an awkward smile on my lips.
But Temra captures her attention once again, telling this woman our names, our ages, where we’re from. She introduces Petrik.
When Volanna asks what happened to our father, Temra tells her how Father and Mother passed away when we were young, leaving it at a home invasion gone awry. Temra and I slept through the whole thing, and I found our parents in the morning. At least that’s what the matron of the orphanage told me. I have no memory of that day, for which I’m grateful. Temra, of course, doesn’t include any of those details. She explains how I’ve provided for us while Temra has focused on her schooling. Volanna nods politely and squeezes Temra’s hand reassuringly through the painful bits.
Then the older woman looks to me. “You don’t have much to say, dear. Is there something wrong?”
“Oh, Ziva is just very shy, Grandmother,” Temra says.
Grandmother? That was fast.
“No matter,” Volanna says. “We have endless time to get to know one another. I’m so glad you decided to seek us out. Come, let’s get food in your bellies.”
* * *
It turns out Father has three brothers. He was second eldest, and all the others work on the estate during the day before returning home at night to their families.
“You have six cousins!” Volanna says over a meal of fresh bread and butter, salted pork, and tropical fruit. “You’ll get to meet them later this week at the service. Oh, you will of course wish to join us for church?”
Temra doesn’t miss a beat before saying, “Of course.”
Our worship of the Sisters has always been flimsy at best. We’ve never regularly gone to services held in their honor. I can’t stand to be around all the people. Temra went a few times for the social aspects, but she eventually quit attending. I don’t think she believes in a higher power.
I believe the Sisters are real. The world and all its creations had to come to pass in some way. The Sisters gave me my own sister, and for that I’ll always be grateful. But they also let my parents be taken from me.
So I suppose my relationship with the divine is complicated at best.
But Temra and I can feign interest in a religious service if it means earning the protection our father’s mother can provide us.
“I just can’t believe you’re truly here,” Volanna says. “Darren disappeared twenty years ago. He left a note to tell us he was safe but his future was in another place. We never met your mother. I don’t know if he met her before or after he left or what caused his disappearance. I am relieved to hear he was safe and had a family of his own, but I am grieved to hear of his passing.”
She takes a bite of pork. “You’re welcome to stay with me for as long as you’d like. I would be overjoyed to have you live with me. With all my boys gone to their own homes and my dear husband passed away, it’s been empty in this large house. My faith has kept me strong, but this old woman does get lonely sometimes.”
“We’d love to stay, Grandmother,” Temra says. “And we’re happy to help with the chores however we can. Ziva obviously has many skills. She can repair any farm equipment. Petrik and I are strong.”
Volanna looks close to crying. “My son raised you girls right. We’ll figure something out. For now, let us enjoy one another’s company. I’ll show you the city tomorrow. Sunday belongs to the Sisters, so we will spend it in worship and prayer. After that we can decide how best to proceed. Now, why don’t we get you all cleaned up and in bed?”
* * *
The bath was heavenly, more so since it was the first time I was truly alone in a room for so long. I scrubbed over a month’s worth of dirt from my body before changing into a clean nightdress provided by Volanna. She showed us all to our rooms and promptly took our clothes for washing. Temra has taken it upon herself to look after all the weapons, and I don’t protest. She’s clearly more capable of protecting Secret Eater than I am. I watched her stow it under her bed for safekeeping along with the shortsword, spear, and staff.
I felt rude for not saying much to my father’s mother, but I was so overwhelmed by everything, I couldn’t find any words to say.
And now. Alone in a comfy bed, all I can feel is relief.
Relief, and a little fear.
What if Kymora somehow knows where we are? Is she tracking us? What if it’s not safe to close my eyes? There is no mercenary looking out for us now. And I somehow have to make a magical blade for Kellyn. Just how does he expect me to pull that off when he also cautioned me not to mention to anyone that I have magic?
He thinks you’re a beauty.
Ugh.
That thought has a habit of poking its head through my consciousness when I least expect it. I don’t need to be thinking about him right now.
It’s only been a few hours since I last saw him.
There are much more important things to be thinking about than that mercenary.
Like Kymora and the sword. Like my sister and her happiness.
I worry about Temra. I think she’s already attached to Volanna, but should something happen—should Kymora find us—we’ll have to pick up and leave again. Leave what’s left of our family.
And it will be my fault.
Again.
* * *
Volanna takes us to all her favorite stops in the city. A shop that sells fruity drinks. A store entirely devoted to hair ribbons and cosmetics. And finally, a dressmaker’s.
“We’ll need to find something for you both to wear to the service. No time for something tailored,” Volanna muses aloud. “What do you have already made in their sizes?”
One of the workers produces two ghastly dresses with strange frills and lace in uncomfortable places.
Volanna is delighted by the dresses and buys them instantly. I turn to whisper my thoughts on the new clothing to Temra.
“You’re just upset you have to wear something fashionable for once.”
We head to the fjords after the dressmaker’s, find a place to sit, and spend time watching the fish through the clear water—and those strange birds swimming after them.
“They’re called penguins,” Volanna explains. “They’re normally found in very cold climates, but this is a special breed found in the fjords.” We quickly learn that Volanna loves animals, and she tells us the name of every fish as we spot them.
We laugh over the birds playing with one another. They push each other into the water, play games of chase.
At one point, Temra excuses herself to find a privy, leaving me alone with Volanna.
“It’s all right,” she says once my sister is gone. “Your father was the same way, you know. Very shy. A man of few words. More comfortable when he was on his own. I didn’t think he’d ever go off and leave me, let alone marry. I’m happy he found someone to share his life with.” She gives me a warm smile. “All I’m saying is, you can say as little or as much as you’d like. I understand and don’t hold it against you either way.”