He bobbed his head in reply for a moment, then stepped forward and wrapped his arms around my chest. “Thank you, Lux,” he whispered. “You’re a good friend.”
“That means a lot, Miles,” I said, putting an arm over his shoulder and patting him on the back. He stepped away a moment later and composed himself, smoothing out his clothing and wiping the water from his eyes.
We’re almost back, Lia’s voice said in the back of my mind. My vision flashed away, replaced instantly with the view from her eyes: she walked at the back of a procession of two horse-drawn carts, accompanied by a group of four women in gray, hooded robes.
Thank you, I answered, switching my sense back to my own body. “Miles, you can head out to the road now. Lia will be back soon with some women from the Church.” His eyebrows shot up for a brief moment, but he shook away the surprise and made his way out to the road from our camp. I moved to where Lyn was sleeping and knelt down beside her, shaking her gently by the shoulder.
She rose with a start, blinking up at me in confusion until the memories of our night of travel returned to her. Her normally puffy chestnut hair was momentarily deflated and stuck to the side of her face, and she took a moment to right herself. “Lux, is everything all right?” she asked, concerned.
“Yes, everything’s fine,” I answered. “Lia found the two of you a room and brought back some women from the Church to take care of Layne and Josephine.”
She smiled, but the pain was clear in her eyes. “That’s very kind of you,” she said, wrapping my cloak more tightly around her shoulders as she stood up. “I’m not sure what Miles and I would have done without you.”
“It’s...best not to think about it,” I answered, unsure of what to say. “I gave Miles some money for the two of you to use while you’re here in Lienna. You can stay as long as you need.”
“Thank you for that, as well,” she said with a small nod. “I hope you won’t hold what he said last night against him.”
“Of course not. We spoke this morning and worked things out.” I looked out towards the road, watching through Lia’s eyes as he met up with her party. “He’s a good guy.”
She smiled a more genuine smile. “Yes, he’s always been a very compassionate person. Emotional, to a fault sometimes, but it’s why we love him.”
“He’s going to need your help to get through this, Lyn.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “Somehow, we’ll come out of this stronger than before. Somehow.” Her eyes fell to the shrouded sledge beside us. “I don’t know what my life will look like without Layne.”
I felt a sudden, powerful flush of emotion through my chest. “I...lost my wife, a long time ago,” I said wistfully. “It’s an ache that never goes away. But it does change, over time; that pain reminds me to never take what I have for granted. I’d miss it now, if it was gone. It’s what I have left of her.”
She tilted her head to one side as she listened to my story, and her eyes began to glisten with fresh tears. “Thank you,” she said quietly, reaching out to take my hand. “I hope you’re right.”
I gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze as I returned her smile. “Me too.” The sound of conversation drifted through our camp as Miles and Lia began to discuss Layne and Josephine’s arrangements. “We should join them,” I said, motioning to the road with my head. Lyn agreed, dropping my hand as she made her way towards the rest of our party, and I followed after her with the sledge in tow. The robed women hurried into action when we appeared at the roadside, relieving me of the sledge to transfer the bodies into shrouded caskets that were then loaded into the back of their carts. They spent a moment discussing the timeline of their work with Lyn and Miles before turning to make their way back to Lienna.
When they had disappeared from sight, Miles gave Lia and me a respectful bow. “We should go as well. We need sleep, and food, and...some other things I’m sure I’m forgetting.”
“This is where we part ways, then,” I said. “I wish there was more we could do for you, but—”
“You’ve done more than enough already,” Lyn interrupted me. “We’ll be forever in your debt.”
I moved to argue, but Lia took a step forward and spoke first. “Even so, please don’t hesitate to ask us for anything. We’ll be there for you.”
“Of course,” Miles answered. “We’ll be in touch when things...settle down.”
Lia stepped forward and wrapped Lyn in a tight embrace, and the pair shared a brief series of whispers. Despite my best attempts to give them privacy, I couldn’t help but hear the exchange through Lia’s ears. “Remember what we talked about. Primes know we could do with a bit of good news,” Lyn said.
“I will,” Lia answered. “Write me some letters when you get the chance; Miles knows where to send them. I’ll send you some back if you tell me where you’re staying.”
“I will,” Lyn echoed. “There was so much more we needed to talk about.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” They shared a final moment of silence together, then broke apart. “Primes watch over you,” Lia intoned.
“And you, together,” Miles and Lyn answered in unison. Lyn slipped her arm around Miles’ waist, and the pair turned and began their trip back to the city. Lia and I moved to the roadside and sat down in the grass, watching them together through our shared Detection. We waited until they reached the inn before
