Seven years passed in the blink of an eye. Despite the rocky start with Neve, the trio spent the rest of their time in Zamsune in relative peace. Nessa was never able to find enjoyment in her studies, but she learned to tolerate them, becoming proficient in all areas of magic with a gift in spells. Galen was proud to see her progress and felt assured that she would be fine to explore the wider world, especially since she kicked her nasty habit of wanting to tell everyone about her being an asteris. He was unsure of his newfound place as a father-figure, yet that didn’t take away from the enjoyment of raising the young asteris. However, he was ready to return to Erasima. He hoped he would find Severin there, so he could patch their relationship. His and Severin’s friendship was a once-in-a-millennia type of friendship, and he wasn’t about to let it slip away. Galen had been itching to leave for the past couple of months, and Thuraya could tell. She had given him knowing looks this past week. Today, he would confirm her thoughts.

"Thuraya," Galen called from the kitchen.

"What?" she poked her head out of her room.

"Can you come here?"

"Alright," she said. She opened the door fully and walked out. "What is it?"

"Sit down." Galen motioned to the chair next to him.

She sat in the seat, saying, "Is this about you leaving?"

"Yes, I suspected you knew."

"You were clear about your goals from the start."

"I was, but I thought I should make a formal announcement. I plan on leaving at the end of this week."

"Well, Nessa and I will miss you. Have fun with the boy."

"It's Severin. He'll be 34 years old now."

She rolled her eyes, "Don't die on the ship."

Galen was queasy even just thinking about a ship. "Please, don't remind me about that."

"I don't know how you still get sick."

"You and me both," Galen groaned.

Thuraya laughed. She rose from her chair and clasped Galen on his shoulder. "Good luck."

Galen laid his hand over the one on his shoulder, squeezing it. "Thank you."

Thuraya removed her hand and went back to her room. Galen moved to go to his own room when Nessa entered. She had a conflicted look on her face. Galen asked, "What's wrong?"

"You're leaving," she accused.

Galen hadn’t expected Nessa to react kindly to the news. However, she would need to get used to people leaving her. Once she hit maturity, no asteris would be around to hold her hand. She would have to take the company of humans. Beings who would die much sooner than she would. Galen sighed, "Yes, Nessa, I'm leaving."

Tears welled up in her eyes, "Why?"

Galen embraced her. Although she was taller, she burrowed her head into his chest. "I was never going to stay. I have other places to be. I'm sorry."

She sniffled, lifting her head. "But you have us now. Me and Thuraya."

He hugged her tighter. "I had a wonderful time with you two, but I cannot stay. Think of this as another lesson. Asteris are a lonely people. There is no forever."

"No!" she pulled out of his arms. "I heard what you said to Thuraya. You're going to see this ‘Severin.’"

Galen blinked, "Yes, I am. What does it matter?"

"You're leaving us for him. I’ve been hearing about him all these years, but what's so great about him? Why is he better than me?" Nessa burst into tears.

Galen panicked. He didn’t know what to say. He tried to console her, but it only made her cry harder. Hearing the commotion, Thuraya entered the room with a frown. She immediately went to Nessa's side. She raised a questioning brow in Galen's direction. He gave a hopeless shrug.

"What's wrong, little star?" Thuraya asked as gently as she could.

"Galen is leaving!" she cried.

"I know. Why are you so upset about it?"

"He's leaving us for someone else! Will I never see him again?"

"Nessa," Thuraya grabbed Nessa, so she was looking her in the eyes, "Galen cares about you very much. He may have a different priority right now, but that doesn't make you any less important to him."

"Then why is he leaving?"

Thuraya gestured for Galen to speak. He said, "I made a mistake."

"A mistake?" Nessa turned to Galen. Her red-rimmed eyes tugged at his heartstrings.

"Severin was a very good friend of mine, but I hurt his feelings. Just like I hurt yours."

"You did?"

"I had to leave him, and I didn't handle it in the best way. He felt like I abandoned him. I want to make it right."

Thuraya added, "This won't be the last you see of him. He'll visit you."

Nessa went silent. Her expression turned determined. She demanded, "Take me with you."

"What?" Thuraya and Galen said at the same time.

"Take me with you," she repeated.

"Why do you want to go with me?" Galen asked.

"I don't want you to leave, but I understand why you want to. And you both have told me that it's time that I go out into the world. What better opportunity would I have? I can be with you and explore the world at the same time!"

Galen mulled that over. "I guess you could come with me."

"You guess?"

"Yes, you can come."

"Thuraya can come too!"

"No," Thuraya said, "I will not be coming."

Nessa looked upset that Thuraya wasn’t adhering to her brilliant plan. "Why not?"

"Berilo contacted me. He needs my help."

Galen frowned, "Berilo? I haven't heard from him in years. What does he need help with?"

"He's wasting away."

Galen sucked in a breath. Nessa asked, "Is it that serious?"

Although she had been taught what the wastes are, she has not fully grasped the severity of the problem. Thuraya answered, "It is that serious. More serious than you can comprehend."

Nessa sighed, "Another thing I can't comprehend. Shocker."

Thuraya carried on, pretending she didn’t hear Nessa, "I was going to tell you guys tomorrow. Actually, it's good you want to travel with Galen. You would have needed to decide whether to go with me or him anyways."

"When are you leaving?" Galen asked.

"The end of next week, so you'll be gone."

Nessa was a little down, "I wish you could come with us."

"Little star, you will see me again. Once I'm finished helping Berilo, I'll come visit you and Galen."

Nessa hugged Thuraya tightly, "You better."

Galen laughed, "We're not leaving right now. You'll have all of this week to say goodbye to Thuraya."

Nessa didn’t break the hug, "I know. Join us."

"What?"

"Galen, she wants you to join the hug," Thuraya said.

Galen shrugged and embraced Thuraya and Nessa. The insecurities and doubts that had been building up for the past months melted away. He clutched them tighter, welcoming the warmth that surrounded him.

"Galen!" Nessa yelled from the deck of the ship, "Hurry up!"

"I'm coming!" Galen yelled back. The day of their departure had arrived. Nessa, and her ship-loving self, practically ran to board the vessel. Galen wasn’t as excited.

"Just get on the boat," Thuraya said.

"Hey, I'm carrying all the luggage," Galen replied, a plethora of bags surrounded him.

"You offered to carry them."

"I'm regretting that now." Galen stacked the bags into his arms, trudging toward the ship.

"Galen," Thuraya's voice stopped him in his tracks, "Be careful with Severin."

"What do you mean?"

"I looked into your future. I saw you two arguing about a demigod."

"Why were we arguing?"

"I don't know. I only saw the tail end of the conversation, and it wasn't pretty. You know as well as I do that the future isn't set in stone but remember this and be careful."

"Severin knows better than to get involved with demigods."

"It's been seven years, Galen. He may not be the same person you knew."

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"I know."

Thuraya sighed, "I have an inkling that you won't take my words seriously, so I won't bother asking you to do more."

"Thuraya, I will remember, but I have faith in Severin."

Thuraya walked up to Galen and grabbed him by the hair. Galen hissed in pain at the motion, but he couldn’t stop her without dropping the bags. She pulled him close and whispered, "However, take heed of this. If Nessa gets embroiled in your problems, I will know, and I will be furious."

Galen nodded. The action caused Thuraya's fist to pull even more painfully at his hair. She searched her eyes and seemed satisfied by what she found as she released him with a shove. She said, "I hope you have a good trip."

Galen weakly replied, "I hope your trip goes well too."

"Thank you." Thuraya gave Nessa a final wave before heading back to her house. She needed to prepare for her own voyage.

"Bye, Thuraya!" Nessa shouted to her retreating back.

Galen lugged the bags to the ship, boarding his worst nightmare. Nessa met him and took some of the bags off his load. They placed them in the hold and the ship set sail. In anticipation of the impending nausea, he walked over to the railing. He leaned over the side and thought about what Thuraya had told him. He and Severin might argue about a demigod in the future. Whether that be near or far, he didn’t know. He also didn’t know why they were arguing, and there were too many unknowns that stood in his way of finding that out. Was it Severin who was involved with one or him?

He didn’t know much about demigods, not like Thuraya. He knew they were the product of the gods’ whims. The reluctant acceptance from humans and their creators made them disagreeable. Known to be very mischievous and downright malicious, some were even said to be man-eaters. Overall, they weren’t agreeable beings to work with.

Galen groaned and rested his head in his hands. Here he was again, thinking himself into circles. He sighed, lifting his head. He looked out to sea, watching the water. Zimachi could still be seen in the distance. Leaving Zamsune closed another chapter in his life, the latest of thousands. Galen felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and came face to face with Nessa. The young girl appeared happy. Nessa inhaled loudly, "Don't you love the smell of sea air? It's so refreshing."

"For you, maybe," Galen grumbled.

"Why are you looking so glum? I could hear you thinking all the way from the crow's nest."

"They let you up there?"

"At first, they said no, but I convinced them. Anyways, don't distract me. I asked you a question."

"I'm merely thinking about something Thuraya said to me before we left."

"What'd she say?"

"She told me my future."

"I'm guessing it was bad."

"I don't know if what she said is bad or not. I hope I don't have to find out."

"Knowing you, if I leave you here, you will think about what she said the whole trip, and we're a month away from Erasima. So, I'm going to distract you."

"And how are you going to do that?"

"By asking you what Erasima is like."

"You've already interrogated me about everything I know." Once they confirmed she was going with Galen, Nessa asked him countless questions about the country. He didn’t have anything more to say.

"What about Sunmesto?"

"Sunmesto is a medium-sized town in the northern part of Erasima." They spent the rest of the day chatting about the town. Although, they did have to accommodate vomit breaks for Galen. Nessa seemed endeared by his descriptions. Erasima, and by extension Sunmesto, was completely different to Zamsune. Galen was sure she would have fun exploring the new terrain.

Galen could put this thought to test, as a month later, they docked at the port city, Syopot. The city was 120 miles south of Sunmesto. They had a long coach ride in front of them, meaning they would have to pay a hefty fee. With their bags in hand, Galen and Nessa looked for a driver. They found one milling by a stage station.

They greeted the man and loaded the coach. Instead of going inside with Nessa, he decided to sit next to the driver. The man titled his hat to him, and Galen smiled back. Galen thought he looked familiar.

"Hello, sir. Where to?"

"Sunmesto."

The man whistled, "That's a long way from here. You got the money?"

Galen flashed the man a pouch of silver, "Is this enough?"

"Yes, sir." The man started the coach, leading them to the road that would take them north. An hour into the ride, Galen couldn’t shake the feeling he knew this man. Galen looked intently at him. Noticing his stare, the driver asked, "Is there something wrong, sir?"

"I'm sorry, but I think I recognize you. What's your name?"

"It's Phyllis Dolivo, sir. Pardon me, but I can't remember meeting you."

"Yes, we have met! You drove us from Sunmesto to Muhitpol seven years ago."

Phyllis turned to face Galen, squinting at him. Recognition entered his eyes. "You were with that fortuneteller woman. Blessed Marusei, you haven't aged a day!"

Galen laughed nervously, "Yeah."

"Where's the woman?"

"She had business elsewhere."

"Who's the girl you got with you?"

"Um, my child." Galen supposed Nessa was his child in a sense, and he did feel fatherly affections for her. He had spent the past seven years helping Thuraya raise her. Although they took on more teacher roles than parental ones, the lines blurred.

"Hmm," Phyllis said. Nessa did look a little old to be his kid, especially if the driver assumed he had her with Thuraya. Galen didn’t have anything else to say, and neither did the driver. They had a long trip ahead of them and needed to conserve energy. Galen wondered what Sunmesto would be like. He doubted the countryside town changed much in his absence, but some change must have happened. He would only know once he got to the town.

Phyllis dropped them off at the entrance of Sunmesto. Galen stretched his legs and looked around. A feeling of familiarity washed over him. The same town from seven years ago greeted him. He helped Nessa grab the bags. She was craning her head to look at everything. Throughout the trip, she asked droves of questions about the surroundings. Galen answered most of them to the best of his ability, but she was asking too many for him to answer them all.

"Galen, what's that called?" Nessa asked.

"Bougainvillea. Be careful of the sap, it can cause a skin rash."

"It's really pretty. There're so many more pretty flowers here than in Zamsune."

"Different climates breed different plants. Zamsune has its own beauty."

Nessa shrugged, "Yeah, but I'm tired of Zamsune's beauty."

"Well, you'll be able to see a lot more of Erasima's now that we're staying here."

"You got that right."

"Let's get these bags to the inn. I did have a shop with an apartment above it, but that was seven years ago. Who knows what happened to the place."

"Okay." Nessa and Galen took the bags to the inn.

The old woman at the desk looked up. She narrowed her eyes at him, "Is that who I think it is?"

Galen smiled, "Ms. Yarrow, how are you?"

The woman rounded the desk and pulled Galen into a crushing hug. "How am I? How are you, dear boy? How many years has it been?"

"I'm good. It's been seven years, Ms. Yarrow. A long time indeed."

She leaned out of the hug, keeping her hands on his shoulder. She lifted on wrinkly hand to his face. "You haven't aged a day!"

"My family has always had good skin. My mother looked a young adult when she was your age!"

Ms. Yarrow chuckled, "Come off it, boy. When you get as old as me, you won't be telling those tales."

Nessa snickered. She must have found humor in the woman thinking Galen was younger than her when he was actually at least one thousand times her age. Ms. Yarrow turned to Nessa. She asked, "And who might you be?"

Galen answered, "This is my daughter, Nessa."

"Daughter? She looks a little too old to be your daughter, dear."

Nessa replied, "He adopted me. My parents died at sea. Galen was an old family friend. I'm lucky that someone as kind as him took me in."

Ms. Yarrow smiled, looking at Galen fondly. "That sounds like Galen. Always ready to lend a helping hand."

"Thank you, Ms. Yarrow," Galen said.

"No problem, dear boy. Oh, here I am talking your head off. You must be here for a room."

"Yes, we are. Do you have any vacancies?"

"When aren't there," Ms. Yarrow complained. "Let me get you two a room key. Does a double work?"

"Yes, that would be perfect. Thank you again, Ms. Yarrow."

Ms. Yarrow grabbed a key from a drawer. She passed it to Nessa. "Have a great day!"

"You too!" Nessa replied.

Galen and Nessa took their bags to their room. Once he sat the bags down, Galen collapsed on one of the beds. Light poured in from the window. He shielded himself from the rays, holding a hand in front of his eyes. Galen heard Nessa flop onto the other bed, sighing. Galen turned his head to look at her. He said, "You tired?"

"Exhausted."

The day-long ride to Sunmesto took a lot out of him. It must have taken a lot out of Nessa as well. Although, he swore he heard Nessa snoring during the second half of the trip. Galen said, "Let's get some sleep."

"It's morning, though."

"So? There'll still be daylight when we wake up."

"But I want to see more of the town."

"Didn't you say you were exhausted?"

"I am, but I'm still ready to go out."

"What are you so excited about?"

"I'm in a town in a country I've never been to. What isn't there to be excited about? Besides, I want to know where Severin lives."

"We will not be visiting Severin."

"Why not? You wanted to make amends. We can go see him, and you can say sorry."

"We left on very bad terms, and I'm not sure he wants to see me. I need to wait for him to come to me."

"It can't hurt to try!"

Galen huffed, "Go to sleep. We'll walk around town later this afternoon."

"Fine."

Galen wiggled to get under the covers. Under the blanket's warmth, he slipped into sleep. Nessa followed him.

Galen awoke to Nessa shaking him. He sleepily asked, "What is it?"

"If you sleep anymore, all the daylight will be gone."

"What time is it?"

"7 pm. You've slept for nine hours."

Galen sighed, getting out of bed. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "When did you wake up?"

"Like three hours ago."

"What've you been doing while I was asleep?"

"I talked to Ms. Yarrow. She has a lot of stories about you."

Galen started to make the bed. "She came to the shop a lot."

"Funny she never mentioned Severin."

Galen paused with the comforter in his hands. He dropped it and faced Nessa. "I'm not surprised."

"Why not?" Nessa crossed her arms, "From what you've told me, it sounds like you spent every second with him."

"Severin was renounced a long time ago. The people in this town would rather forget he existed."

"Renounced? What does that mean?"

"When someone falls out of favor with the governor, they become renounced. Everyone in the governor's area of power will ignore the renounced. They become invisible to them."

Nessa frowned, "That sounds horrible. What did Severin do?"

"Nothing. He did absolutely nothing." Anger rushed back to Galen. He would never forgive the town for what they did to Severin. Even Ms. Yarrow, as sweet as she was, wasn’t innocent.

Nessa, sensing his burgeoning anger, changed the subject. "Can we walk around town now?"

Galen looked at his unmade bed. He lost the motivation to make it. "Yeah, let's go."

Galen led Nessa out of the inn and to the center of the town. The young girl was awed by the statue of Inoeda and Rieda. Zamsune revered the gods no less than the other countries, but worship was considered a private matter. The only public statue of the country's patron god, Nilalan, was in front of the imperial palace. And while they taught her about the gods, they didn’t go into any detail. Thuraya never like talking about them, and he only urged for a complete discussion on Irkala.

She asked, "Who are they?"

"The twin goddesses of creation. They are responsible for creating all souled creatures."

Nessa nodded. Galen's silent 'meaning not us' was left unspoken, yet she understood. Nessa knew very well that asteris and astera had no soul. Trying to explain the difference between a soul and magic was a pain, so there had been countless lessons on the fact.

She said, "They look pretty."

"None of us have any clue what they actually look like. Although, Thuraya might know. Their visage comes purely from human imagination."

"Maybe they don't even look like us."

"That could very well be the case." Done with the town center, Galen led Nessa to their next destination. Approaching his own shop, Galen was surprised to see that his sign still hung in the front. Sehrae's Apothecary, written in blocky letters, stood proud. Peering inside the front windows, Galen saw that the inside was the same as he left it. Hope filled his chest. Could Severin still be here? Did he wait for him?

Galen tugged Nessa into the shop with an excited expression on his face. He entered the store, hearing the distinctive chime of the bell. However, the man behind the counter wasn’t Severin. The bubbling hope vanished. Galen had no idea who it was.

Without tact, Nessa asked the man, "Are you Severin?"

The man, who looked at the door when the bell rang, replied, "No, I am not Severin. May I ask who you are?"

"My name is Galen. This is my daughter, Nessa."

"Galen? Please wait a moment." The man went into the storage room. Nessa and Galen could hear him rummaging through papers. He exited the room holding a piece of paper. He walked up to Galen and held it up, comparing the two. Whatever he saw seemed to please him. He sat down in the chair behind the counter and took out a writing utensil. "Galen, could I ask you a few questions?"

Galen was confused, but said, "Sure, I guess."

"What is your last name?"

"Sehrae." The man marked something on the paper.

"Seven years ago, you fought an astera in the woods. What did it look like?"

Galen grew even more confused. What was on that paper? "A bear."

"Before you departed Sunmesto, a strange woman came to this shop. What was her name?"

Whoever wrote the questions had intimate knowledge of what happened to him during his years in Sunmesto. In fact, the only other person with him during the astera attack was Severin. Did Severin give the man these questions? Galen answered, "Thuraya."

The man glanced at the paper and then at Galen before ripping the bottom off. He stashed the rest of it in his pocket. He took out the key to the shop and handed it and the bottom half of the paper to Galen. He then left the shop. Galen turned to Nessa, holding the key loosely in his hand. He asked, "What just happened?"

"Why would I have any idea? He gave you a piece of paper, didn't he? Read it."

Galen tucked the keys into his pants. He read the paper out loud, "I miss you too."

"That's it?"

Suddenly, a memory came back to Galen. Him asking Neve to tell Severin that he missed him. Galen felt lightheaded. He needed to see Severin. He ran out of the shop, ignoring Nessa's shouts to slow down. He ran all the way to Severin's house. He frantically knocked on the door and impatiently waited for him to answer. One minute passed, then five. Galen's knocking evolved to banging as he called out Severin's name. Fed up, he tried the doorknob. It was unlocked and the door opened. Galen stepped into the house, still calling Severin's name. He stopped short when he entered the living room. Despair crossed Galen's face. He checked every single room, and everything was the same.

The house was empty.