Akira inhaled a deep breath of the cold air. Even as she did that her thoughts went back to Keir and the archive room. She could feel the tears threatening again. Her heart hurt. She’d lost so much and the one thing everyone said she’d lost had never been lost. But it felt like he was further away than he’d been when he was at war.
“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?” Askel’s voice cut through the fog of her memories.
She nodded unable to find her voice because of the lump in her throat. Askel’s hand came up to her cheek.
“He didn’t deserve you,” he whispered.
Akira looked down at him in surprise.
“It’s true and you know it, Kira. Father only met him once before his stroke and hated him almost right away. Mother didn’t like him because he had no plans after he left the service.”
Akira sighed, “Father didn’t think anyone was good enough for me.”
“That’s not true.”
Akira furrowed her brow in confusion and surprise.
“You do know he and the king were quite close, right?”
“I knew father’s relationship with the king wasn’t typical for those in our profession.”
“It was more than that. They were friends, even before they went their separate ways.”
“Doesn’t surprise me. Father was a congenial man. People always liked him whereever he went.”
“He talked about arranging a marriage. I suspect that’s why the crown princes are here.”
“Good gods, that does sound like something father would do.”
“Neither wanted it to be arranged in the traditional sense. So, my guess is they engineered a meeting if not this one then one like it.”
“Jesus, Askel how do you know these things?”
“I’m very good at sneaking around, remember?”
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Akira laughed and shook her head.
“You had a wonderful teacher.”
Askel gave a short laugh before falling silent.
Akira felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder to find Thane standing behind her.
“Come,” he said. “I will take you to the house the princes spoke of.”
“Thank you, Thane,” Akira replied quietly.
Her thanks was lost in the vortex as they made their way from Greenland to the castle grounds. They landed on a cobbled pathway deep within the gardens. Akira’s knees nearly gave out on landing. If it hadn’t been for Thane she would have fallen on top of Askel, who was still cradled in her arms. Thane stepped around her and opened the door for them.
“There are rooms on both floors,” Thane told her as she crossed the threshold. “Kitchen is in the back. The princes will be along shortly to help you finish settling in.”
Akira turned to thank him again but he had already vanished. Akira turned back to the house. She was standing in the entryway facing the stairs. She debated going up them for a moment but remembering how her legs almost gave out on getting here, she didn’t think that was such a good idea. Luckily there was a large couch in the next room. She made her way to it and laid Askel down. She touched his forehead again. He was even hotter than before. She sighed. It was going to be a long night. She made her way to the kitchen and wet a rag she had found laying around. She went back to her brother and laid it on his forehead. She rummaged around for a bucket. When she finally found one she filled it full of cool water and went back to the couch. She sat by the couch carefully wiping the cool rag across his forehead. She pulled off her coat and draped it over him.
“Kira,” his voice was faint but she still heard it.
“Yes, Kel. I’m here.”
“Remember when you used to sing to me?”
“I do remember, Kel. But I haven’t sung since I was 16.”
“Will you sing for me? Just for tonight?”
Akira brushed the hair from Askel’s forehead. She knew all the songs she had sung to keep her from a lot of things when she was with the nuns but she couldn’t open her mouth. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. She could but no sound would come out.
“You were singing that Hebrew song earlier. Sing it again.”
Akira gasped. So he had heard her.
“Alright, I’ll sing it for you but let me get comfortable.”
She stripped off the rest of the warmer clothes and swung a blanket around her shoulders. She sat down next to the couch and resumed wiping cool water over Askel’s forehead.
“Shalom chaverim, shalom chaverot, l’hitra’ot, l’hitra’ot shalom.”
The song was soft almost like a lullaby but it was a farewell to friends.
How ironic she thought. I’m singing a song that is saying goodbye and we never got to say goodbye to them.
Akira continued to sing until she saw dawn breaking through the window. She rose and went to the window to watch the sun rise. She was always such a night owl that she oftentimes would end up seeing the sun rise before she went to bed. This had been a time she had often shared with her mother, who always rose early. As Akira watched the sun rise, she let the tears that she had been holding back fall. She sobbed quietly to herself. She let herself fall apart completely just this once. Just this once, she would cry while she watched the sunrise alone. She promised herself that after today she would never watch the sunrise again.