Marten was the first to break the silence. “So,” he said, drawing out the word as he stared into his tin cup of thin ale. The clearing around us faded back into silence as he failed to finish his thought.
“You can ask me anything,” I prodded, “either of you. Rest assured, Lia already knows everything there is to know about me. She hasn’t been traveling with a stranger this whole time, I promise.” I looked between the two of them. “I’ll answer any question you ask honestly. Whether you choose to believe me is entirely up to you.”
Another moment passed as they both considered the information. “It’s been clear you aren’t actually from Doram since we first met,” Hana said eventually. “We didn’t press the issue before, but...I’d like to know now.”
“That’s right. I’m not actually from anywhere, at least in this world.” Hana and Marten’s eyebrows raised in unison. “About a week before Lia was taken, I appeared outside the walls of Yoria. I can’t explain how or why it happens exactly, apart from the fact that I have almost no control over it happening. Counting where I was born, this is the fourth world I’ve been to.”
Hana didn’t flinch at the unbelievable story. “How long will you be in our world before you leave again?”
“Using my last two experiences as a guide, I would say somewhere between seven and eighty years.”
“Eighty?” she asked, incredulously. “How old are you, Lux?”
“If I’m correct in my assumptions, I’m twenty-seven years old again. However, if you count all of the time I’ve been alive in other worlds, I’m well over one hundred by now.” The stunned silence that ensued gave me an opportunity to continue uninterrupted. “My real name isn’t Lux, by the way, although I would prefer if you continue to use it to address me. My birth name is Elden Graham, but I haven’t gone by that name for a long time.”
Hana gave me a small nod. “How did you heal Marin’s injury? Do you have a special connection to the Primes?”
“Err, no, I don’t,” I said, scratching the back of my head as an excuse to look away and plan my next words more carefully. “Every world I’ve been sent to has had magic in some form, but each one has had a different way of interacting with it. In your world, it’s through prayer to the Primes, but that isn’t the only way. My past experiences give me a...unique perspective on magic, which has allowed me to learn some incredible things.”
“Is that why the King put you in jail, and sent his men after you? Because of your abilities?”
“Yes, and no,” I said, tilting my head. “I was originally imprisoned for defending myself against a pair of robbers in the city. Between that, and the means of my escape from the dungeon, the King decided I would be a useful tool to solve problems in an ‘off the record’ capacity.” My eyes fell as I continued. “Unfortunately, his efforts to persuade me to work for him included threatening you. Which is why we’re in the situation we’re in now. Which I’m very sorry about.”
“Everything that we’ve gone through in the past month happened because you chose to save Marlia,” Hana said softly. “While it’s true that your actions brought us to this situation, our family would be much worse off without you. Given the choice, I would give up everything we own in exchange for Lia every time.”
“Thanks, Hana. That means a lot.” I coughed away the beginnings of an emotional lump in my throat, then looked at Marten. “You’ve been uncharacteristically quiet tonight, Marten. You must have something you want to know.”
“She’s the real brains of the operation,” he said, tipping his head towards Hana. “I’ve only got one question for you: what are your intentions with our daughter?”
I couldn’t help but smile; despite being told that I had amazing magical powers and had lived multiple lives, his biggest concern was still his daughter’s happiness. “I made Lia a promise that I would take her to see the world, and I plan to keep it. Wherever she wants to go, whatever will make her happy...that’s what will make me happy. For as long as she’ll have me, anyway.”
“You know, there’s a word for that,” Marten said, arching an eyebrow at me. “Marriage.”
I chuckled. “I was married once, two lifetimes ago. Amaya was a wonderful woman.” A wave of nostalgia washed over me, and I had to fight off the urge to watch my memories with her in my head for the thousandth time. “I hope she’s still out there, somewhere. I never got a chance to say goodbye before I was sent to a different world.”
Even in the silvery moonlight, I saw Marten’s face turn deathly pale. “Lux, I’m...I’m sorry. If I had known, I would never have given you such a hard time before. I’m—”
“No, wait,” I cut him off, waving my hands, “I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad! It’s just...whenever I think of her, back in her world, I just want to know that she’s happy, whatever that means. I want to know that she isn’t bitter and lonely like I was, and that she found someone that loves her.” I laughed suddenly, taken aback by how foolish I had been. “Knowing all that, I never even considered giving myself the same option. I thought it would tarnish her memory if I found my own happiness that didn’t include her. But that’s not what she would want; she would want me to be loved, too. It took me way too long to realize that.”
I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand before the tears that had formed
