“Oh, gods, was this place in this much of a mess when we left it..?” There was something heartwarming, almost, in the way Evelina dashed from one room to another; the way she showed her happiness that the siblings decided to stay with them.

“Are we looking at the same house?” Demery asked. “This looks pretty clean to me.”

“You both deserve something better than this…”

“Evelina, I really don’t think they’ll mind.” Olle put a hand on her shoulder when she was about to pass him, and she stopped to look at him. “Look, I’ll try to get the spare room set up for them so they can put their stuff in there. Show them around, maybe? But remember we still don’t know for sure if you’ve actually lost your magic yet. You shouldn’t do too much before we have an actual answer…”

There was a pause, but she nodded. As soon as he disappeared to go upstairs, Evelina gestured around.

“This is the living room,” she explained. “Just, ah, set your bags down over there until Olle’s ready with the spare room. The kitchen’s right over there—do you want anything, by the way?—and there’s a small study across the hall. The first room upstairs is the spare room, second is Olle’s, and last is mine. If you ever need anything, just let one of us know. We’ll be more than willing to help.”

Demery looked around and, after setting his bag of things down by the door, wandered over to the couch. “What do the two of you do for a living? This looks like a pretty above-average house.”

“Olle usually helps run errands across town. I… never really had a job, exactly, but I usually volunteered around the church—they’re all nice and understanding, it’s the least I can do to repay their kindness.” She paused. “A lot of this wouldn’t have been possible without their generosity, really. But they’re all understanding of our situation and willing to do what they can to make things easier for us. I truly don’t know where we’d be without them…”

Koyana considered her words as she went to set her own bag down—and stopped when a little box poked out from the top. Instinctively, she gently took it out to open it, to find its single content still perfectly safe.

“That’s a pretty bracelet,” Evelina remarked. “Was it a gift from someone?”

Even Demery froze for a moment. Koyana knew he would’ve started trying to explain it, but she spoke first: “It was from an old friend of mine. I think… it’s about time the two of you learn about him. You’ve trusted us with the secrets of your pasts, so it’s only right I tell you what remains of ours.”

…

She couldn’t remember if she’d gone out to town without Demery, or if she just wandered that far away from him. But she had just finished talking with Ms. Siavax—not buying anything, just wishing her a good day—and walked back into the streets to hear an unfamiliar voice.

“So she does talk! Must not like strangers, then, huh? I tried getting something earlier for my mom and she practically ran away from me.” The owner of the voice showed himself: a teen around her age, or maybe Demery’s, with a playful grin.

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Koyana nodded. “Ms. Siavax doesn’t really like talking with people she doesn’t know.”

“I’m guessing you’re from around here, then?”

“I live right there.” She pointed to her grandparents’ house, then paused. “But I’ve definitely never seen you around before! Did you just move here or are you just stopping by for a little while?”

“My dad’s a merchant, and usually we travel a lot, but I don’t think we’re going anywhere for a while. They like it here, I think. Something about making friends.” He shrugged. “Right! If we’re going to be more than strangers, we’re going to need to know each other’s names. I’m Vero.”

“Koyana.”

.

“You know Demery’s not going to be happy if I’m not home by dark…”

“I’m sure he won’t mind if you’re a little late! This place is worth it, I promise.”

Vero hadn’t told her anything about where he wanted to take her, just that there was a place he wanted her to see. He’d actually made such an announcement days ago, but had been stubbornly opposed to saying anything else about it earlier that day. And, really, all that was was a simple “there’s something I want to show you” as he led her through the forest.

“I found this the first time we visited town,” he said, casually, as he slowed to a stop. “I hadn’t thought anything special about it at first, but after I met you, I just kept coming back to it. I want you to be able to see it, too.”

Then he led her into a little clearing, one where ikretta bloomed in the patches of sunlight, where the first fireflies of the night danced around. Right in the center was a picnic blanket and a basket she knew, from the moment she saw it, was full of her favorites.

Koyana looked up at him, confused yet flattered, and asked, “You did all of this?”

He laughed. “Of course I did! You’re practically the closest friend I’ve ever had. We never get a lot of time on our own, so I decided to change that. Don’t worry about the time—I know enough Light magic to keep us safe.” He guided her to the blanket. “Now come on, these sweets aren’t going to eat themselves.”

.

She didn’t know why she felt so distressed, she just did. “Do you really have to go..?”

“Hey, what are those tears for? We’ve left before, have I ever failed in coming back?”

“I just—I don’t know. I have a bad feeling about all of this…”

“Dad definitely doesn’t. If he thought that there was going to be any real danger, then none of us would be going.” Vero’s grin had already faltered at that point, but his confidence hadn’t wavered until he mumbled, “Or he thinks that the reward is worth the risk…”

That just made things so much worse. “Can you try to see if he’ll let you stay?” she asked, desperately, though really she knew what his answer was going to be.

“Believe me, I would if I could—you know I hate seeing you like this. But he said he needed me, so I’ve got to be there for him. I promise I’ll be careful, alright? And I’ll hunt down some birds to spell to send you letters. We’ll be back, safe and sound, before you even notice.” He wiped away one of her tears and gave her a kiss on the cheek, then backed away. “I’ll see you in a few weeks.”

It felt like she counted down the seconds from the moment he walked away to when she thought he’d be back. When letters stopped coming, she forced herself to believe it was because he couldn’t capture a bird to spell. When it took them longer than they should have to return, she created a story in which they’d gotten a big job on the other side of the mountains that made them late. She did all she could to hold out on any fragment of hope, until the day Demery cautiously approached her, and told her what the church had just announced.

Vero wasn’t coming back. None of them were.

They were all dead.