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“I could ask you the same.” The Nightrender was not a warm man, at least not to others, but when Valen hooked an arm around his neck, Kase clapped my husband’s back with as much relief.
“Elise? Herja? Gods, it’s the North!” Malin’s vibrant red hair broke through the trees. Each of her hands was clasped in one of her boys’.
“Mal.” Hagen rushed for his sister and had her wrapped up in his arms in the next breath. He laughed when the twins hugged his hips.
Their brother, Bard, stepped from the shadows and clasped forearms with Hagen, a look of relief on both their faces in knowing they were all still intact.
“Look at you little creatures.” Hagen lifted each of the Eastern princes into his arms. “You’ve grown a full head since I saw you last.”
“Maybe me. Sander’s still bony,” said Jonas. His darker hair was on end, and his pale cheeks were coated in a new layer of dirt. Sander had more auburn waves, like his mother, and didn’t even attempt to argue. He merely hooked his skinny arms around Hagen’s neck, hiding his face.
“Livie!” Jonas wiggled out of Hagen’s hold and raced for Livia. “Gods, guess what? You’ll never guess. Our bleeding kingdom broke.Broke.”
“Ours too.” Livia wrung her hands together.
“Alek!” Jonas said with relief when my nephew joined them. “Oh, good, Metta, Dain, and Laila are alive. Maj was really scared they got hurt. She was scared for you, too, obviously.” Jonas gave quick embraces to his cousins from Herja and Hagen, then returned to his playmates.
Sander seemed content to hide in Hagen’s arms.
Malin came to me, quickly embraced, then pulled back. “So, the same happened to Etta, the shadows?”
“The shift?” I returned.
Malin nodded. Her shoulders slumped, weary as mine, and dirt soaked into her freckles. “Elise, everything . . . everything has changed. The Howl, it’s gone. How does a sea disappear?”
I shook my head. None of this made any sense.
“We left some folk behind,” she said. “We decided to look about, to catch our bearings. Thankfully we found you.”
“We’ve done the same. We have wounded and—”
I didn’t get a chance to explain about Lilianna’s predicament before Kase spoke.
“Safe to say we’ve all experienced something similar? The sea attacked us, said they were there because that was where their king died.”
Valen’s jaw tightened. “They should’ve come for me.”
“Sounds like you had your own worries.”
“That we have. Is Niklas with you? My mother, she has need of his skills.”
Kase shook his head. “We’ve found a few of our folk who were in other regions when the shift happened. But . . . no Falkyns yet.”
“Have you lost anyone?” I whispered, taking Malin’s hand.
Her face fell, and even not knowing the names, my heart ached for them.
“Yes,” she said. “Both . . . both Luca and Dagny. They fought for each other, died together. You?”
All gods. I closed my eyes. “Many Timorans, and warriors, and . . .” I tightened my hold on her hand. “Mattis.”
“No.”
It took a few moments for us to describe the events that took place in our kingdoms. All horrid, all strange and confusing.
“We need to be on the watch for Ari, Saga, and Calista,” Valen said at long last. “For now, I’m assuming whatever spell brought us here, brought them as well.”
“I think you’re right, Uncle Valen.” Dain swiped his dark hair out of his eyes, and sheathed a short blade, gesturing at the treetops. “Or do you suppose that bird up there looking at us is simply a normal raven?”
