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I had no choice but to accept them.
We had nothing. And that was still true, even more so now.
Cal had left after ensuring we arrived safely at Solise’s home, his weeklong watch at the castle beginning shortly. My mind moved back and forth between quiet contentment and wicked uncertainty. I was questioningeverything.
After examining my mother, Solise determined that her only injuries were minor burns on her shins and ankles, evidence of where she stumbled too close to the fire in her hysterical state. They would heal.
“I don’t know,” she mumbled when Solise asked her how the fire started. “I was sweeping the kitchen and suddenly there were flames shooting down the staircase. All I could think of were his things. I had to get Da’s things, Petra.”
I took a long sip of my tea as she spoke, the warmth on my lips an echo of the past hour.
“You have no idea at all?” Solise asked. The tiny bit of joy I felt quickly soured as I thought of how helpless my mother had been. Once again. But if the fire came down the staircase...
“I can’t think of–”
I cut her off. “Did you say the flames came down the staircase?” I sat forward, my hands clenched on the mug.
“Yes,” she answered, confused.
“So the fire started upstairs?”
“I… I suppose so.” She narrowed her eyes as if looking for the reason I was asking.
“What could have caught fire up there?”
“Petra, what are you–”
“What would have caught fire up there, Ma? There’s nothing up there save for the mattress and the dresser! The sky was clear when the fire started, yes?” My breaths quickened, burning in my throat as I tried to catch my breath. “What the hell could have caught fire?How?”
“Petra, darling, you need to calm down,” Solise said gently from her work station on the kitchen table.
I was beginning to spiral as my vision turned crimson. Cal and I had searched the rubble but hadn’t been able to find Da’s tiny piece of lapis lazuli. My mother hadn’t carried it out. “Did you know that Da’s cloak is missing?!” I shouted.
She flinched at the question, clearly taken aback by the sudden change in subject and tone. “What?” my mother asked, the confusion on her face amplifying.
“Da’s cloak. He left for his walk that day wearing his cloak. He was found without it. I have no idea where it is.”
“What does that have to do with any of this?”
“You don’t think it’soddthat his cloak mysteriously disappeared?” I panted. My head began to spin as my breathing increased.
“I just don’t understand–”
“And that a month later our house burnsfrom the top down?Not from the kitchen, not from the hearth, but frommy bedroom?”
“Honey, I think you’ve inhaled too much smoke,” Ma interjected.
“Why was he found without his cloak? How didmyroom catch fire in the middle of a perfectly clear day? None of this makes any sense.”
“Thank the Saints for that storm,” Solise cut in nervously, attempting to diffuse the tension. The day had been clear when the alarm bells drew us from the alleyway. By the time I woke up I was lying in a deluge like I’d never seen. “I’ve never seen a storm roll in that quickly. Looks like the Blood Saints may look over you.” I didn’t know if that was supposed to make me feel better. She took a sip of her tea. “Idros put the fire right out.”
My head was swimming. Hysterics would get me nowhere. I took as deep a breath as I could manage, trying to keep my brain from spinning in circles.
Silence settled over the room as the energy shifted away from my heated rant to reflection. “Calomyr,” she tested the name on her tongue. “He said he’s a friend of yours?” my mother asked, her tone calmer. “Thank Onera. Dropped me on the ground, but if he hadn’t been there...”
“What?” I snapped.
“Well I wouldn’t have… I don’t think I could have made it.”
