“I…don’t know.” Roran took my hand and held it lightly.
“We are now,” Rilen said, tossing his twin a dirty look.
I didn’t let my smile show. They got it, and I needed them to be serious with me. For just a little while. Then they could go back to Rilen and Teabag.
They took my hands and walked quietly into the formal gardens of the temple grounds. I could see the new Masters’ Quarters being built on the grounds of the old one, and they were rising quickly. It was heading quickly toward completion, and I hoped it was a way for the people to have something to focus on rather than the hell that was at the Scar.
“What do you think is wrong with your magic, Kimber?” Roran asked.
Only the sound of our feet crunching on the gravel filled the air for a few strides. I started to ponder the question silently but realized they were here for me, to help me.
“I’m not sure.” I let out a sigh. “I know I have an amazing connection to the magic of S’Kir. That was evident in the cavern. Whatever I have now was enough to do what I was meant to do.”
I dragged in a hard deep breath. “So why does it feel like my magic is incomplete?”
Rilen twiddled his thumb with mine. “Is it the magic or the power?”
I laughed. “Hoping to share me with your brother again? No, it’s the magic. Between the three of you, I have no need of more power.” Guiding us to a bench on the side of the walk, they helped me sit while they remained standing so we could all see each other.
“Is there something in your past, perhaps?” Rilen asked.
Raising an eyebrow, I stared at him. “My past is about as boring as I am. My parents were Willow and Dixon Raven. They waited seven hundred years to have a child. They saw I wasn’t powerful, so they excused me from many classes to my detriment, and then died when I was forty-five in a boating accident. That’s about it.”
“Do you know why they waited so long to have you?” Roran asked.
“My mother was told that her daughter would be the death of her by a seer.” My eyebrows quirked up. “She was given a prophecy by a seer when she was very young.”
“Do you have that written anywhere?” Rilen asked.
“Um. It might be at the house.”
“House?”
Nodding, I pointed to the southeast. “My parents’ house. I’ve kept it all these years, thinking someday I could live there with a mate. It’s shuttered, and everything that was precious to them was stored there. I don’t go there often because it’s…lonely. I think if I live there, ever, I will need to pull down the walls and put up new.”
Roran angled his head, curious. “Why?”
“Because too many things happened there. Things that aren’t good memories. My nanny died when I was five, and my parents lived there when they died. The house still speaks of my mother’s decoration and my father’s hobbies.”
“They loved you very much, didn’t they?” Rilen’s question was quiet.
I shook my head. “In their own way, yes. But when I was young, they were not… affectionate. When I got older, it became easier to bear because I realized they didn’t know what to do with a child. They were not natural parents. As I grew, as I became my own person, it was easier for them to be my friend than my parents.”
How strange to think of all this.
Roran cleared his throat and asked the question again. “Did your mother save her prophecy?”
“Yes, I’m sure she did. It will be at the house.”
“How far from the city is the house?” Rilen asked.
“A half day by train, in the Middling Hills.”
Looking up at the sky, Roran nodded. “The raid is in two days. If we catch the next train to Middling Hills, we can be back tomorrow by noon.”
With a snap of my head, my eyes met his. “Right now?”
“Right now.” Roran offered his hand. “We need to start figuring out what is missing in your magic, and we need to start now.”
Rilen folded his arms. “Especially if you want to go on the raid.”
“I’m allowed?”
Roran looked at his brother. “Mmm. I wouldn’t say allowed, but…”
“…if you show up ready to go, I don’t think they’re going to say no to another sword.” Rilen shrugged.
The smirk slipped onto my lips. These two men were so bad for me.
I loved it.
* * *
Stepping off the train, the three of us walked down the platform to murmurs, gasps, hasty bows, and curtsies. It was strange to experience people who had been my neighbors decades ago bowing to me.
If they didn’t know I was the Breaker, they knew we were temple masters by our dress.
Rilen waved up a carriage, and we climbed in. I gave the address to the driver, and he turned to look at me.
Everett Thomson.
Elex’s father.
“Mistress Kimber?”
I came close to leaning out of the carriage and heaving my guts down the side.
“Mister Everettson,” I managed, choking on my bile.
“My dear,” he held his hand out to me, “it is so good to see you. My wife and I have been reluctant to come to you since your elevation. Would you join us for dinner? We just wish to hear of our son from you…”
Sweet Savior. Was this my punishment for his death?
“Mister Everettson,” Rilen said, “we’d be pleased to join you for the evening meal. However, we must get to Mistress Kimber’s old home as soon as possible. May we call on you after?”
“Of course, Master.” He nodded and turned back to face the front.
“Deep breath, ilati,” Roran whispered in my ear. “What do you fear from him?”
“That he is the one who brought his son into the rebels,” I hissed. “I misjudged Elex, who is to say I didn’t misjudge his father, as well.”
“Do you sense any duplicity?”
I let the magic whirl around him and felt…nothing but the sadness of a man who had lost his son. There was no malice, no duplicity, no dishonesty.
“No, nothing. He just wants to hear about his son.”
Taking my hand in his, Roran smiled. “There you go. Well done. Now calm down. You’ve had many dinners at his parents’ house, from what I understand. We will tell them what they need to hear. His death was unavoidable. He did so to save S’Kir.”
There really wasn’t much of a lie in that. He did die to save S’Kir, just not the way most people would assume.
I sat back and watched the hills roll by, remembering the landscape, flora, and fauna. There were gorgeous vistas here, open spaces, farms, and livestock.
Everett’s voice floated back to us. “It hasn’t changed much since you left, Kimber—I mean, Mistress.”
“Please, call me Kimber,” I said.
After all, shouldn’t you be on a first name basis with your son’s killers?
“Are you coming back to stay soon?”
“No, no.” I could see the primary school in the distance where Elex and I had played as small children. “I’m here to check on the house, that’s all. Just make sure that it’s in good repair and…uh, find a piece of art my mother left me.”