Together, we walk out. The girls are confused by the quiet. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to explain what happened.
The door closes behind us, and more rays of pink appear over the horizon. Ra’Sa pulls me close.
“Lita no viene?”?1 Wren asks.
I shake my head.
“Mamá—”
“Did you see that bird?” Ra’Sa interjects, drawing the questions away from me. I feel his worry but have little to offer in terms of comfort.
Since I’ve known him, so much tragedy and goodness have entered my life. He walks alongside me, putting Thea and Wren down so they can hug my legs. Coco trots next to us, curious but unaffected.
It is only me who mourns silently. Perhaps it is madness to grieve a mother who was never truly mine.
But I’d sooner tame a bear than control my own heart. I let the feelings come, watching them pass like clouds in the sky.
Snow falls quietly as we walk across the yards, and Ra’Sa guides us from the carnage to another part of the broken fence. We hike past trees and parts of the unfrozen river before we reach a dilapidated cabin.
A young man appears. He is tall and toned like a worker from the lumber yards. He grins as we approach.
“Gods, it’s strange to see you like this,” he says to my mate.
He smiles as Ra’Sa says, “I need you to watch over my family. They need to eat and rest.”
He looks at me and the twins, and his eyes widen. Then he nods and races off into the house to find something.
Ra’Sa turns to look at me. "Are you all right?"
I glance between him and the young man with light brown hair.
"I am well enough to do what needs to be done," I respond.
He nods. “Stay here, Nicolás will care for you."
I swallow thickly. "You sure you cannot stay?"
Ra’Sa shakes his head. "No, but I will return later."
Then he hesitates. “Melisa, I swear upon our matehood that I will do everything in my power to return.”
My throat closes, and I barely manage to choke out, “But…”
“But if you don’t hear from me within three turns of the sun, you must leave.”
I let out a long breath, stopping the tears before they can start. “You will come back to us as soon as you can.”
Grabbing his shirt, I pull him down and kiss him again. I savor him—beg him to return.
Once finished, I kneel to scoop up Thea and Wren. So much of them is still new to me, but they lean into me. And they reach for Ra’Sa, as if eager for the connection that flows between us all.
Starlings,he murmurs in my mind.
“Papá Rasa," Thea says. She reaches into her dress and pulls out the red stone that Ra’Sa gave her for her birthday. She holds it out to him.
“For you," she says in the human tongue.
He shakes his head, eyes wide.