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“But he lets you come into here?”
His lips twitched. “Let may be generous.”
Kitsa’s voice pulled her back. “The circle is ready.”
Ash and salt traced the floorboards, looping in a jagged spiral around where the table had been. Candles flickered along its edges, their flames guttering with each draft that slipped beneath the door. The smell of the ash bit at Idonea’s nose, mingling with the copper tang of the cuts she'd opened earlier to bleed on the Lodamante.
She lowered herself into the circle, cross-legged. The boards pressed cold against her ankles, the air bristling at the back of her neck, unseen fingers skimming across her skin.
Lysander remained by the wall, but she felt the weight of his gaze. His silence wasn’t cold; it pressed on her, steady and deliberate, a reminder that he watched every breath she took.
Kitsa hesitated, then crouched opposite. “Are you sure?” she asked again.
Idonea nodded. “We combine some of my Riven magic with your Resonance.”
Kitsa’s mouth tightened. “It will hurt.”
“I know.”
“This isn’t what I meant when I said you could reclaim memories. But if it rattles something loose…” Kitsa trailed off, her fingers twitching in her lap. “You must not fight when it begins. Promise me that.”
Idonea gave a single nod. Her palms were slick with sweat, though she pressed them against her knees to hide the tremor.
From the closed bedroom door, Lance hissed faintly, restless. She clenched her jaw. The last thing she needed was him interrupting.
Kitsa’s eyes darted to Lysander. “If she seizes, hold her steady.”
Idonea’s gut clenched at the thought, but she didn’t speak. She set her gaze on the wavering flame of the nearest candle and tried to steady her breathing.
Kitsa knelt opposite her, laying her fingertips against Idonea’s temples.
Idonea jerked at the sudden tearing sensation, her body bowing forward, but strong hands were there in an instant. Lysander’s hands pressed down on her shoulders, anchoring her against the pull.
Images split and stuttered across her mind’s eye. Colours swam and mixed behind her lids.
A memory pulled her in.
I was crouched down behind the kitchen wall. Dyota tucked in close by my side. Around the corner, Nellith and father’s voices floated. Father didn’t sound happy.
“You have to let me,” Nellith said.
“It could be dangerous,” was his reply.
Dyota pulled at the back of my dress. Idonea put her finger to her lips. Dyota grinned and mimicked the motion and kept silent.
“A daemon is loose in the north,” Nellith said, “and you worry for me? You know I either do this or put the girls’ lives at risk.”
“You’ll lock us inside,” he said, “won’t you?”
She scoffed. “Of course. I can’t trust you while I’m gone. The girls must be protected at all costs.”
I raced out behind the corner, Dyota’s surprised gasp following me.
“Take me,” I said.
Nellith smiled down at her. “Maybe in a few years.”
Dyota joined me and bounced up and down. “Me too. Me too.”
