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As I was singing, she leaned against my shoulder, resting her head. My heart skipped a beat, but I kept singing.
It’s what Amily would have wanted.
After a while, she said quietly, “Who could bring a baby into a world this twisted and dark, Damyn? Why would I ever do that?”
“A wild gesture of hope?”
She scoffed a laugh. “I lost two families. Suffered so much abuse I can’t even remember but sometimes I think… my body remembers. I ran and hid and suffered, always terrified… I didn’t understand any of it. Because I was just a child. How could I do that to anyone else?”
I wanted to promise her I’d protect her child if she ever had one, but once, I’d promised to protect Honor. I’d never promise to protect anyone ever again.
“I don’t know,” I admitted, and she sighed, a sigh that I felt through all my body.
Then she said quietly, “But I was lucky to have two families who loved me. And I was lucky to have you, watching over me from the shadows.”
Those words melted my heart.
I wanted to pull away, to escape her when feelings flooded me. But I couldn’t leave her alone when she was lonely and aching.
So I began to sing again.
It was all I had to offer her tonight.
* * *
Later that evening,when we had returned to the castle, I walked in on Honor only to find her with a variety of items strewn in front of her…and a ghost at her side.
For long, confused seconds, I stared at Amily’s ghost.
Honor’s gaze snapped up to mine.
My skin felt suddenly hot, my heart ached. It was so odd to see Amily again after all these years. It reminded me so much of how I’d felt when I was young.
Amily smiled at me, then turned to Honor. “Who is this?”
She didn’t remember me.
“Damyn,” I said. She hadn’t known me since I was a child; of course she wouldn’t recognize me.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said politely.
My stomach bottomed out.
“I’ll leave you to it,” I told Honor, and stepped out the door.
I walked outside and looked up at the moon.
Honor stepped outside—I knew it was her, just from the sense of her presence.
“Are you alright?” she asked me.
“Fine,” I lied to her. It was the same conversation we had when her magic was out of control, and she had lied to me and claimed to be fine.
“How is it possible that I don’t even really remember her and I miss her so much?” she asked.
Then the next second she was crying. I hesitated, then gathered her into my arms, unable to resist.
“Love’s stronger than a memory,” I reminded her. She’d certainly proven that true with Talisyn.
