Page 235 of Keldori By Daybreak

I spent most of it crying. It was difficult to find comfort. Everything about Gams’s home and shop reminded me of her. If Mom caught me crying, she’d cry too, so I took to avoiding her to spare her the extra burden. That was easy enough, as she spent most of her time watching over the Rift, making sure no one tried to enter Keldori while we were still finding our footing.

No one did. Word of the new Saergrim who was immune to Skalmagick and kept a pet rotsbane must’ve spread quick.

Fana was still mourning Tiernan and kept Jonquil close for comfort. I couldn’t stand the cat, not when every time I looked at her I thought of the way she’d padded from room to room of the apartment, chirping as she searched for Gams.

Orla was still healing upstairs in my bedroom above the shop. Iseult hadn’t left her side. Ciarán had summoned Sorcha’s Nightmare to help set Orla’s broken bones, and I’d been able to heal a severed nerve in her spine, but Orla refused to let us treat her any more than that.

And Ciarán—

Ciarán didn’t speak anymore. He stayed near, spending most of his time on the dock with Una, watching seals and avoiding human contact. I felt him flit around the tether every little bit, checking in on me, but he kept the walls up on his end.

Those walls came down when he fell asleep. His mental sleep talking was worse than ever. It was mostly screaming. A little begging. Reminders to aim for the mouth.

So I gave him space and didn’t push.

That left my father.

To his credit, he didn’t immediately leave, nor did he seem to think I’d drugged him anymore. He drove his research van to the next town over and loaded it up with groceries after we returned from Rift. He silently restocked Gams’s kitchen, made dinner, and left to make himself comfortable at the library up the hill.

He returned for every meal, silently letting himself into Gams’s apartment to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then retreated back to the library.

On the sixth day, he asked me to follow him to the research van where he’d parked outside after dinner was made.

The storm had let up when the mirroring storm in Skalterra had stopped, and the late summer air was comfortably warm without being overbearing. Crickets chirped in nearby shrubs. Gulls called to each other over the water. It wasn’t fair that the harbor should be so lovely when the world felt so hollow.

Maxwell braced his hand against the driver’s side door of his van and looked up the street with a furrowed brow.

“I left cash on the counter. Just a few hundred bucks. It should help next time you need groceries. Don’t let Eliza pay me back.”

“She doesn’t need your help.” I no longer had room left for anger towards Maxwell Brenton, PhD. I didn’t necessarily have the energy for kindness either, but my father didn’t seem to expect it anyway.

“I know. But I shot her mother, making it the second time I’ve ruined her life.”

“What was the first?” I raised an eyebrow, already knowing the answer.

“Because of—you know.” He grimaced and gave me a sweeping gesture.

“You think I ruined my mom’s life?” I asked. It was a genuine question.

“No! But—never mind. I’ll go ahead and take my foot out of my mouth. If the money isn’t enough, let me know at the end of the month. I can send more. You have my work email, I presume.”

“You’re leaving?” It wasn’t that I was going to miss him, but the open bluntness between us had become the most comfortable space available to me these last six days. No animosity, no love, just plain, cold fact and open communication. The way it should be between scientists.

The prepared meals were a nice perk too.

“I’ve been away from work too long.” He shrugged.

“Where did you tell them you went?”

He bobbled his head back and forth and blushed as he replied, “Family emergency.”

I snorted. “Family?”

“Whether we consider each other family or not doesn’t matter. You’re biologically mine, and it’s an excuse that keeps admin from asking me too many questions.”

Once again, I was struck by my resemblance to him. I wished I could’ve looked more like Gams if it meant just a little bit more of her still existed in this world.

“Sorry for accusing you of drugging me,” he continued. “And all the rest.”