“Look how far indeed.” A moment of silence as she flips the eggs. My sister always liked the yolks harder than I do. Then she says, a little too casual, “Didn’t catch you going to bed.”
“Tucked in early.”
“So did I.” She sweeps a strand of hair behind her ear, fighting a blush.
“Oh?” I do not miss the implication, and given that she went out of her way to bring it up, I can only assume that she wants me to ask.
“Nothing—It wasn’t—We didn’t—” She’s so flustered I can’t help but laugh.
“You’re a grown woman,” I remind both myself and her, even as my protective instincts flicker to life. “You’re allowed to spend the night with anyone you choose.” I pause, voice dropping. “Thal was polite, I trust?”
She nods, intensely focused on the skillet. “They…they have complicated feelings about their body, too. In very different ways than me, for very different reasons. But it’s fine. I’m not ready for anything more hands-on than simply finding some comfort in an embrace from time to time. And neither are they. For now we’re both appreciating the companionship and are taking everything else in its own time. It’s nice to not be alone.”
I drop my hand, clasping it with my other, and my gaze drifts out to the now-empty balcony. Riverboats that Jura once worked on drift upriver and toward the inner sea, carrying goods from across the world.
“Itisnice to not be alone,” I muse softly.
A sharp gasp and the clatter of the pan dropping hard back onto the stove have me nearly out of my skin. I’m sure she’s woken up half the house. But Arina doesn’t care. She grabs my left hand and stares at the ring adorning it.
“Clara?Clara!”
“Keep your voice down.” Even as I’m shushing her, I can’t fight a laugh.
“I knew it,” she says triumphantly. “Iknewyou would get married in secret.”
“I’m not married. He proposed.” I twist the ring around my finger,trying to hide the sapphire. Of course Kaelis’s flair for the dramatic has made it almost impossible to be discreet with this piece of art cast in platinum.
“And you said yes. In secret.”
“That’s different from a marriage.”
“It’sclose enough,” she insists and returns to the pan, scooping out the eggs and laying them on top of the toasted bread. We share a plate, just like we always did. “I wouldn’t tell the rest of them, though.”
“I know.” I hesitate: yet more secrets I’m keeping from the people I care about most.But it’s only temporary.“I don’t think he has any expectations of me doing so right away anyway. I’ll let them know once they warm up to him a bit more. I’ll tell them after—”
My words and thoughts stop short. Mouth hanging open.
I’ll tell them after I cast the World.
They wouldn’t remember even if I told them. Would a part of them know inherently like Kaelis knew of his mother? Could I ask the World to ensure that they would?
The questions spiral, none with good answers.
“After…?” Arina probes.
“Arina, would you consider joining the Worldkeepers?” I ask.
She blinks, not following how I got here. After a large bite of toast, she shrugs and says, “Yeah, sure.”
“You’re agreeing that easily?”
“Mom led them, right?” she asks. I nod. “And they’ve always worked against that fuck-wad Naethor, right?” I nod again. “Okay, that’s good enough for me.”
I can’t stop a smile, or a laugh, or a slight, incredulous shake of my head. I spent months debating. She joins like I’m asking her to lunch. It looks like not even Ravin’s abuse could extinguish her spark.
“Why’d you bring it up, though?” she says around another large bite.
“After the wish is made, everyone but the wisher and the Worldkeepers forgets this world. I’m still unsure of exactly what details get remembered. Obviously people still know their names, or their family,I think. But depending on what the World changes, memories are altered.”
