Page 224 of Commander’s Mate

“We found it.”

“Sela found it.”

Sela shook her head.

“You made place for memory.”

That sentence stayed with me.

We took the record to Zared.

He read it twice.

“Deyan Reh.”

“You know her?”

“Not personally. She was in the memorial room.”

I remembered.

The woman sitting beneath a missing name.

Different son, I had thought.

No.

Deyan had more than one missing child.

“How many?”

Zared’s face tightened.

“Three children. Two taken.”

“Oh.”

“Her son Tovan remains missing. Nera is the daughter.”

I sat down.

“This is what the registry is going to do to people.”

“Yes.”

“Give them hope.”

“Yes.”

“And maybe take it away later.”

“Yes.”

I hated that he did not soften it.

I needed him not to.

“Do we tell her?”