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Home.
Being right here felt more like home than anything I'd experienced in the past two years. Even my visits with Aunt Grace hadn't felt so safe, so comfortable, after that night.
Finally, Mrs. Harlsted stepped back, wiping tears from her cheek, then mine.
I tried to speak — to step away, but I couldn't move. My feet were frozen, and my heart threatened to beat out of my chest.
By the time things had settled down that night, the Harlsted's little shop was cleared out and they were gone. Frexin was on a warpath, looking for anyone and everyone connected to the cult.
Because of me, Eli had gotten tangled up with them, so I had no doubt Frexin would have tracked him back to his aunt and uncle. It was smart for them to get away.
I couldn't logically blame them for leaving.
But logic had little to do with my feelings. And that night, I'd lost everyone close to me, save for my aunt.
I'd cried for weeks … and they hadn't been there.
"You left …" My voice was barely a whisper, just a hint at the maelstrom raging inside me. "Why not leave a note letting me know you were okay? And if you knew about Eli — Liam —"
They'd even tried to set me up with him!
Betrayal twisted in my gut.
Mrs. Harlsted wiped her hands on her skirt, looking uncomfortable, then grabbed a piece of bread and passed it to me. "I — we're so sorry, Kaiya. We were working with the Rogues. So, when our covers were blown, and the Empire swooped in, we had to relocate. Cutting ties wasn't what we'd have chosen, but it was how things needed to be — for everyone's safety."
I heard her words, but I couldn't process them as the anger and hurt inside me grew stronger, threatening to break free.
I'd grown up with them, eaten bread inside their shop, spent hours learning about relics from Mr. Harlsted and his books. And yet I'd never really known them.
Was I just a mission to them, too?
Forsaken hells!
I tried to push down the feelings, but it was too late. A soft sob wrested itself from my chest. Then another one.
I stepped back. It was all too much. I just — I needed space.
Their concerned faces wavered in my vision.
I couldn't look at those faces. I couldn't be here where everyone could see.
I took another step away.
My chest burned. Fire flooded through my veins.
I had to get away.
Then I was running, my feet hitting the stone floor in a rhythmic pounding, their voices a distant rumble in the back of my mind.
Chapter 22
Kaiya
Emotions bubbled in my chest, and I couldn't push them away, no matter how I tried.
"Kaiya, come back, dear!"
Farther — I needed to get farther away. I ran through corridors to … anywhere but here. Walls sped past me, then doors, then more walls — but I didn't care.
