Young fingers clawing at the tank.
Hard eyes staring into Kira's, promising to hurt her.
The weapon on Zayne's hip that looked like he'd been born to wield it.
Snake tattoos twisting around his shoulders.
Scars.
All that she'd seen of Zayne flashed through her mind, and Kira reached for Adelle's hand, squeezing it when the older woman accepted hers.
“I waited until they went to the academy to have another child each time. Those five years at home, they were my sole focus. Five precious years for each baby.” Adelle smiled. “I'm happy. And I'm very sad.”
Kira only held on tighter. She understood.
When they walked past the rest of the pictures, she couldn't bring herself to look too closely at those kids on the walls, unable to reconcile them with the soldiers who took their place.
“The Phaedra pressured us to have more children. You can never produce too many candidates for High General, especially when soldiers die in war. After Andi went to the academy, and Luke prepared to leave for the territories, we falsified medical documents to pretend I wasn't able to have more children. I knew I couldn't send another one away, especially not with the boys growing up enough for real combat.”
“None of that should be the Phaedra's business.”
“Luke's girls will never join the military. What about Zayne and Andi? It's dangerous to have children.”
“You're worried about Zayne being in the territories right now.”
Adelle rubbed her face. “He almost died again. So many of them did die in Bluehaven.”
Still holding Adelle's hand, she rubbed her thumb along the back of hers.
Outside, the fresh smell of approaching spring settled peace over the tender places of her soul. No words alleviated the fear of a mother with children at war, so Kira didn't speak. She walked beside her for a long time.
“I feel happy and sad too,” Kira said belatedly. “All the time.”
“You're a kindred spirit. I think we were born to meet.”
The phrasing stilled Kira's heart, and she turned her head, wondering if it was only in her mind. The Followers always said they were born to meet. But Adelle nodded before Kira could even parse the moment.
“Yes,” she said.
A follower. Did Zayne know? What about Luke or the High General?
Soon, they walked down close enough to see the water, and Kira's mind raced with this new information. The Phaedra hunted the Followers. It was the entire reason he held Kira in captivity.
But Adelle Riven was one?
“Zayne?” Kira whispered. “He knows?”
“He does. My other children don't, though they understand the need to protect me. They're smart, and while they never ask questions, probably don't think I'd go so far, they realize I struggle with this life.”
No wonder Kira felt so much trust and kinship with Adelle. She was like her mother. Growing up, Kira never knew how to contact the Followers, even if she wanted to. By the time she joined the newspaper, she didn't need them beyond looking for her mom. When she never found any leads, Kira didn't pursue further.
Perhaps, one day, she may be interested in revisiting it as an adult. At the same time, Kira didn't believe the myths surrounding the Old World. Thousands of years from now, Ciondo may be the legend people create to explain. The world had always been full of people who loved and hated, lived and died, gave life and took it. While Kira followed that thread of justice weaving through the history of mankind, of all living beings, she didn't need to attribute it to any faith.
But she respected that her mother and Adelle did. Whatever being a Follower meant to them, they both stood against the evil of the Phaedra, and Kira understood that cost.
“Do you know my mother?” Kira asked, hope warming her.
“No. I keep a low profile given who I am.”
