Together. We must stay together; it is the only way we will survive. Groups are how we survive. I’ve helped this stronghold, built on the bones of the brave. I patched the brave, stitched the brave, fed the brave. I held them while they died. Now though, they are safe. If they stay together.

Terra Guard no longer needs me, but the future does. Our children’s children need me. With my work complete, success in hand at last, we can survive. There is light on the horizon, hope in the air.

My journey will be stark, harsh, and with danger in plenty. Whatever cost there is I gladly pay, we will live on. We will survive. We will rise in peace. Someday.

-Doc Vorran dated 19 years post poisoning.

ALARIC:

She smells like the petals of a flower after a gresoch rain. Her hair, so soft, rubs against my cheek stubble. I haven’t shaved in a few days, she says it makes me look rugged and handsome; I feel like a fool with the green streaks that powder through the beard. I’ve seen many men with multi-colored bears, it’s not unusual. There’s a blacksmith not too far away with a beard of three shades of blue. But, there’s something about the black and green, I feel like a child pretending to look like an adult.

My fingers run up her flawless, glowing, copper skin. She’s soft to the touch, I don’t think anything in the world can feel softer. My hands pull with a gentle motion through her trailing fire red hair. It coils in neat, smooth, curls and bounces while she walks. A perfect pairing with her optimistic attitude, it’s as if even her hair is happy. I sigh like the lovestruck child I feel like, she isn’t perfect, but she is to me. Ilana.

I release my embrace of her and push her back a step to look at her. She takes my breath away every time I see her. She is without any doubt the most beautiful woman I have ever seen or could imagine. She tilts her head furrowing her bright red eyebrows, her shimmering aqua eyes smile like her grin. Eyes brighter than the sky. A swirling red curl falls along her round cheek, I brush it aside with my forefinger while small flakes of snow land on her long eyelashes.

She sighs, her face frowning with dissatisfaction while her lips still smile. I don’t think it’s possible for her to stop smiling. “Alaric, you’re getting distracted again. I asked you a question.” Her voice is so melodic it could lull me into a trance of obedience, maybe it already has.

I shake my head. “I’m sorry, I was thinking about how beautiful you are.”

She tries to stifle a giggle but it seeps out between her fingers. She looks up and caresses my face. “Beauty won’t find us a solution. Let’s stay on track my love, what do you want to do?”

I force my mind out of its dreamy state and command control of my senses. What did she ask? I pucker out a lost breath. “I’m sorry, say again?”

Ilana, good natured and patient, shakes her head and pokes one finger to my lips. “I asked you when you wanted to tell your parents about our plans. My mother disapproves, but I had a heart to heart talk with my father. He’s, sympathetic, but that doesn’t go far.”

I chuckle, Ilana’s mother is a strong woman to say the least. Though instead of being strong of spirit and unbreakable in will, she’s more like a boulder that crushes anything that defies her. It’s bizarre being around Ilana’s parents. My mother has always spoken her words with kindness and deference. She’s always respected my father which in turn garnered respect in return. He’s always been strong but gentle, his first priority to take care of her in any way he can. They work together as a team and always have. But Ilana’s parents have a different dynamic. Her mother runs the household without questions or consent and everyone else buckles under.

It’s been that way as far back as she can remember. When she was four years old her father lost his right leg. For once it’s not a story about nightstalkers, instead he was trampled by a zigon. Her parents are herbalists, they grow medicinal plants and sell to healers and the clinic in Gerafar. Erian is a regular of theirs; it’s a small world, and it gets smaller out here in the outlands.

The story is short and tragic. A herd of zigons went into a territorial rampage when Ilana’s twin brother wandered off and, in childish foolishness, threw a rock at a half dozen beasts grazing. Their father did what he could to save the boy, but in the process his leg was broken beyond repair. They still lost her brother.

The loss of their son brought a cloud over the family. The loss of his leg tripled the work his wife had to do. Though to be fair my father crafted him a handsome wooden one if he ever cared to learn how to use it, instead of wallowing in self-pity for two decades. A void grew between them and continued to fill with rancor and pique.

I doubt if my father had lost his leg their relationship would sour like this. Though, if they lost one of their children, I can’t say. My mother already lost a child once, my twin brother none of us knew beyond birth. Guilt forms in my chest leaving me with a hollow feeling. I love them so much, I can’t bear to bring them more pain, but I have to take care of Ilana first.

I look away from her eyes to stare at her hands while I rub another finger on her cold, soft, cheek. “You don’t regret what’s happened to us, do you? You know, leaving Cerik?”

She shakes her head and kisses my finger. “He understood. We’re bondmates. As soon as we met, that engagement was broken anyway.”

More pain caused for our happiness. “You didn’t have to bond with me, you could have ignored it and gone one with your life.”

Ilana presses a finger to my lips as another flake of snow falls atop it. “You are my husband now.” She steps up on her tip toes to peck me on the cheek. “Now, it’s time to stop dawdling. We’ve been together for five months. We can’t continue living apart, are we following through with the plan?”

I gulp down a stone of nervousness that threatens to choke me. “Yes. We’ll tell my family tonight. They’re dying to meet you. Discretion went out the window once Zoey found out.”

She giggles a girlish laugh that sounds like music. “They sound so lively. I’m excited.”

I roll my eyes. “I’ll check with you again after they’ve swarmed you.”

She nods and joins me in the wagon. Tonight, my family will meet my wife, my amazing woman I was given by Father Sky himself I’m sure. I confessed to going through with the Sky ceremony in private to them. Ilana insisted we keep things proper, though I don’t think it mattered all that much. But it was important to her. They’re confused by our secrecy, but they won’t be for long. Tonight, I tell them that Ilana and I are leaving for Gerafar. One year there and I’ll be able to buy a place in Evos, eventually we might even be able to live above ground there.

I knew from the beginning I wouldn’t stay here in the outlands with her. I’ll give her the life she deserves. I knew from the beginning; this will only take me away from my family. I knew, this would only cause them pain. But I’ve put this off for long enough, there’s no more hiding from it. All I can do is face this and hope it doesn’t crush them.

✽✽✽

LESEDI:

We settle in for our final meal with our family, Trigan insisted that Alaric bring Ilana to join us. At least we’ll get to meet her before we leave. A minor consolation is that as Wren loses us, she gains a new daughter. Perhaps with Ilana living here it’ll soften the pain. I’m grateful for that, I need to focus on the days ahead not the family we leave behind us.

We sit around the table waiting for our honored guest. My uncle’s thick fingers tap on the table in rhythmic patterns. There’s a thick tension in the air, even Echo and Zoey can feel it though they don’t know what’s coming.

Echo moves to grab a bread roll; Wren slaps her wrist. Echo grunts and glares. “I’m hungry! Come on, I’m supposed to starve while Alaric is out thracking his bondmate?”

Wren gasps and takes another slap at her hand. Echo pulls away in a flash, much faster than before. She could have gotten that bread roll if she wanted to. She’s toying with her mother. We all deal with stress in different ways, Echo chooses to cause more of it.

Zoey scrunches her eyebrows. “What’s thracking?”

Deep chuckles emanate from Echo’s chest and Wren blushes. She shoots an angry glare at the obstinate girl. “It’s a bad word for a wonderful thing.”

Echo sticks out her tongue and places her hands in her lap. A wry smile creeps onto her face and she leans over to whisper something in Zoey’s ear. Wren stiffens preparing herself.

The little orange haired child looks up and says “Thrack Alaric! I’m thracking hungry! Thrack thrack thrack!”

My aunt sighs and rests an elbow on the table rubbing her forehead with her right hand. She pulls the hand away and smacks her palm down to the abused table. “If either of you says that word again, I’ll stuff your mouths with snow and spice I swear to Father Sky.”

They quiet down, she may be soft and sweet but Wren doesn’t bluff. Echo’s been on the end of the spice and snow punishment, it never licked her propensity towards profanity though. I’m not sure why she loves it so much. As the dining room falls silent and Wren relaxes in her victory, footsteps come down the stairs.

Zoey wiggles in her seat and calls out. “They’re here!”

Alaric enters the dining room; he’s beaming with pride. That face is the expression of blissful contentment. He steps to the side making space to his left. “Are you ready to meet her?” We nod with eager excitement staring with intensity bursting from our eyes. “My family, I would like to introduce you to, Ilana.”

A gorgeous woman steps into the archway, she has the brightest red hair I’ve ever seen, well taken care of too. Talea could learn a thing or two, I’ve never seen her hair that smooth and have accepted I never will. I understand why Alaric is so smitten, Ilana is the golden standard of skysinger beauty. Round face, curvy body, softness in every feature with large oval shaped eyes. But that’s not why Alaric feels so proud, nor why we gasped when she entered the room.

Ilana is pregnant. Our life sense triggered immediately and we can all feel the presence of two tiny lives faint and new. Wren claps her hands together and tears drip down her cheeks. “Oh Alaric!”

Echo frowns in her seat and shrugs. “What? She’s pretty, big deal.”

Talea reaches across the table and smacks her in the back of the head. “She’s stacked you simp!”

Wren rushes towards her son and forces him into a tight hug. She lays dozens of kisses on his cheeks as if he’s five years old again. Breaking away she turns to Ilana and puts a gentle hand on each shoulder. “Welcome to our family Ilana. We love you already.”

I sigh with relief. Wren needs the good news; she needs something else to add to her life not take away from it. There’s going to be new babies, their first grandchildren. A room that was sharp with anxiety a few minutes ago now is bright with overwhelming joy. Ilana blushes and shifts her feet, a smile bright as the suns beams from her.

Zoey breaks the silence. “Can we can eat now?”

Wren wipes her eyes and sniffs with a laugh. “Yes, we can eat now.”

Ilana and Alaric join the table with Wren and Trigan at the ends, Ilana sits by me, and Talea sits by Echo and Zoey. A dinner full of joy and laughing proceeds as if nothing looms on our horizon. No perilous journey ahead, no abandoning our family, no world resting on our shoulders. Right now, in this moment, the world is bright and happy. I focus on that and push back the fear that it won’t be again.

Jokes roll by and Zoey’s giggle pierces our ears, though when she really starts laughing, she snorts. Echo’s rude remarks go unchallenged, even when she tries to rile Ilana who’s not used to her particular sense of humor.

Echo points a fork at the newest member of our family. “So, are you really bondmates or is it a cover for Alaric stacking you?”

Ilanna looks at her husband with scrunched confused eyes. Alaric smiles and refuses to let the joy leave him. “We only began sensing the babies a few weeks ago which means she’s only two months pregnant; we were married almost five months ago.”

Echo rolls her eyes. “Fantastic, you can do math. Can she?”

Alaric shakes off her mood and turns his attention to Talea. When those two are together they revert to children. They fashion their spoons into catapults, using grilled vegetables as ammo, to lay siege to each other’s piece of pie. Alaric builds a wall around his plate with scraps of bread and Talea steals more spoons to make a triple slinger. These two have always had problems with table manners, but today Wren doesn’t say a thing about the mess.

Trigan possesses the temper, but Wren is the one who enforces meal time behavior. Today, she lets loose with the rules and it shows. After several minutes of Zoey poking Echo with a fork her sister responds with a frenzied battle cry and initiates a fencing battle with cutlery. Echo dives off the table pulling Zoey to the ground tumbling across the floor grunting. With the much smaller child beneath her she raises a butter knife to pin her shirt to the floor and cry victory.

Trigan leaps in and pulls them apart. “Echo relax! It’s a game!” Zoey spends the rest of the dinner on his lap.

Echo visibly tenses her whole body over, a shudder flows through her and she takes in a deep breath. Her emotions retreat and nothing is left on her face but a glare. She does this once in a while. It’s like she bottles up all of her emotions, keeps them locked down until she snaps before pulling all of her pieces together again. I’ve tried to teach her ways to cool her temper without repressing, she’ll have none of it.

Echo pulls herself to her feet and points a finger at Zoey. “For the record, I won.” Zoey nods in scared silence.

A veil of silence falls over the family, stunned eyes stare into Echo. We’re all thinking the same thing but never dare say it. Something is wrong with her, but we have no idea what. I’ve read books on psychology and disorders in attempts to find something that explains Echo. But I’ve come up empty. There’s something beneath the sarcastic remarks and hostility, something dark and afraid. She exhibits symptoms of over a dozen different conditions, but doesn’t fit into any singular one.

This may be a result of whatever happened to her before she came to us. In order to repress the first seven years of your life into nothingness she would have to have faced severe trauma. My best theory is that she suffers from a kind of trauma disorder. Something happened to kill her family, I think she saw it and it was too incomprehensible to process so she stuffed it away. Her hostility, anger, and sarcasm are her mind’s way of dealing with whatever she’s seen. She stuffs the emotions down far away from herself to avoid dealing with the pain. Though I can’t understand why Zoey seems to be such a trigger for her.

Noticing our stares, Echo shoots everyone in the room a solid glare and then storms back to her room. Ilana takes in an audible breath and sighs. “That’s my sister-in law?”

Trigan picks up Zoey and sits her down at the end of the table, with Echo gone Wren and Trigan resituate to sit next to each other.

Zoey shrugs with a smile. “Yeah, she’s awful.”

Wren pinches her and shakes her head. “We don’t say that about Echo. She’s your sister, we love her.”

Alaric places an arm around Ilana’s shoulders. “She’s, difficult, but she’s still family. Plus, she’s been an excellent tool to teach all of us patience.” Trigan nods with wide eyes. Alaric chuckles and gestures to Zoey. “On the bright side, Zoey is your sister-in-law also.”

She smiles with her pale gold eyes beaming and blows a tuft of orange hair from her eyes. “And I’m amazing.”

Ilana giggles softly. “That you are.” She leans forward on the table and rests her chin on her interlaced fingers. “So, Alaric tells me you’re bondmates.”

Wren blushes and looks up at Trigan. “We are. We’ve been together for forty-three years.”

“Wow.” Ilana sighs with a soft smile. “I would love to hear your story.”

Wren’s eyes light up, it’s good to see her happy. “Trigan and I actually grew up in Gerafar together. I was born there, but-” She pauses and looks at her husband with unsure eyes.

Trigan nods. “My sister and I had just moved there to be taken care of after our parents passed.”

Ilana gasps. “Oh, I’m sorry!”

He shakes his head. “It was a long time ago. It’s alright. We were too old for Gardenya to take us in, so the chancellor of Gerafar found us a family that was willing to take care of us.”

Wren smiles and takes his hand. Ilana smiles. “You?”

My aunt nods. “My father owned a successful tavern. We had plenty of space and he hated to leave them to the orphanage of Thraz. It’s basically a recruitment center for gangs. So, they came to live with us at the age of eleven. We were immediately drawn to each other and became the best of friends, inseparable.”

Trigan squeezes her hand and gives her a loving glance. “One day we were laying on the ground outside the tavern between chores. Looking at the clouds, we were sixteen I think.”

“Seventeen Dear.” Wren pats his back.

He nods. “Yes, seventeen. She was trying to cheer me up over a girl that turned me down. We sat up and looked at each other and all of the sudden it happened. The world flashed and we saw all these colors shaped like flowers fall around us. In that instant we knew, and I don’t even remember that girl’s name.”

Wren purses her lips. “Tessi.” Trigan lets out a deep barrel laugh while Wren frowns. “I only had eyes for Trigan. He came around. Our sky ceremony was a few months later at eighteen.”

“So young! My mother gave me an earful because I’m only twenty-one.” Ilanna smiles and lets out a dreamy eyed breath. “That’s so sweet. No wonder you two are so close! But if you were together all that time why did the bond wait so long to spark?”

My family turns to look at me waiting for an answer. I sigh. “The bond is complicated, like anything with the mind. Each person develops at a different pace, we’re individuals. At some point during adolescence our minds create a psionic signal that pings from our brains. That signal carries a neural map of our minds and when it finds another signal that’s compatible the symptoms of the bonding occur. It’s possible that one of them began to broadcast the signal while the other took a bit longer. Since they were in proximity at the time they must have bonded as soon as the second signal pinged.”

Ilana frowns. “That sounds a bit less romantic.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Does it? What do you prefer? That fate pulled you two together by the will of Father Sky?”

She nods. “Yes, I think Alaric and I are fated to be together. The bond is magical, Father Sky matches us up to bring us what happiness he can.”

I shake my head. “It’s not magic, it’s science. It’s related to our inborn life sense; our minds form a connective web of neuro links-”

As if falling from the sky Talea wraps her arms around my shoulder. “Woah! Enough brain girl, the kids are in love that’s good enough.”

I pause to look around the table. I collect myself and nod. “Yes, they are. I suppose it doesn’t matter much how.”

I get what Talea is trying to say, hush. Let it be, now isn’t the time to debate science and tear down the romanticizing of bond mates. Her and I made a pact about tonight, no ruining the mood. We will do everything in our power to make tonight a perfect family meal with no disturbances or unpleasantness. Aside from the Echo and Zoey battle, it’s been just that.

My stomach lurches and I have to speak. I have to clarify one last thing. “To be clear, statistics show there are a possible handful of potential bondmates in the world for you. It’s still exceedingly rare to find them, but you could just as easily bonded with some other man in Safehaven or Evos.”

For some reason Ilana winces. I need to stop, right. But there’s just something about all that superstitious nonsense that sets me off. “Of course, the simpler of a mind you have the greater your chances are. Everyone is unique, but some people might find a higher number of comparable minds than others. I see you didn’t have to look far for Alaric.”

Talea bites her fist and mutters in a quiet voice. “Suns Les.”

Alaric glares at me but doesn’t address it. Right, we’re supposed to be nice tonight. Talea isn’t the only one that struggles with pleasantness.

Wren changes the topic to a happier tone. “I remember the first time we had to be apart, a whole week. He went on a trade mission from Gerafar to Tera Guard, we had only been married one year. Oh, I felt like I would die without him. I couldn’t eat or sleep. To this day I still lose a size around the middle every time he goes on a trip to the Gerafar market.”

Ilana smiles and looks at Alaric with adoring eyes. “I know the feeling. We’ve been together for three months and I can’t abide being apart from him any longer.”

I feel like gagging, why does this bother me so much? I turn to Talea who’s mocking Ilana’s doe eyed expression, I can’t help but laugh. My laughter lurches to a halt as Echo enters the room sliding along the wall towards the kitchen. I realize I’m holding my breath and let it out. Her presence is noticed but ignored by everyone else.

Trigan strokes his chin. “Ilana is welcome to move in here with us. At least, until you build your own house. Son, we don’t mind. We’ll uh-” He pauses to look at Talea with a flash of hurt in his eyes. “We’ll have plenty of room.”

Alaric rubs the back of his neck with anxiety riddled all over his face. “Yeah. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

We hear loud obnoxious sipping sounds and turn to see Echo leaning against the wall with a glass of water. “What?” She sips again as we look at her. She frowns. “Oh, come on, keep talking. The conversation was just getting good. Say your horrible news Alaric.”

Wren’s fingers are trembling. She pulls her hands into fists on the table to steady herself. “Echo, you can only stay in here if you’re quiet and polite.”

Echo glares and pushes away from the wall taking her glass of water with her. She leaves the room without pulling her glare from us until disappearing down the hall. I guarantee she’s eavesdropping. Talea starts giggling, she’s never been one to take Echo’s personality problems seriously.

Alaric grips Ilana’s hand tighter and his face creases with fear. Oh no, he has bad news. No Alaric, not tonight, Wren and Trigan can’t handle any more bad news. Not today. I wish there’s a way I can stop him, find a way to change the subject. Something, anything. I feel powerless against the tidal wave of change crashing toward us.

Alaric’s voice is shaky. “Actually, father, we won’t be moving in here.”

Trigan pops a final piece of bread into his mouth. “Oh? Are you moving in with Ilana’s parents then?”

My cousin shakes his head and Trigan scrunches his brow. I look at Wren whose face is plagued with fear. She can sense it too. Alaric takes a deep breath and we all seem to take it with him. “We’re moving to Gerafar.”

My uncle freezes in place and struggles to choke down his bite of food. His voice is cold and quiet. “What?”

Alaric leans forward. “It’s not that we don’t want to be with our family. I want to give Ilana a good life that she really deserves.”

Trigan sits back and crosses his arms, not a good sign. Oh no, I look over at Talea, she locks eyes with me. A moment passes between us and we’re both thinking the same thing. What can we do to stop this? The answer is, nothing.

Trigan speaks with quiet venom in his voice. “You think this isn’t a good life? A life of freedom?”

“A life of danger.” Alaric clenches one fist on the table with the other gripping Ilana’s hand.

My uncle tries to cool his anger with a deep breath. “Danger? Gerafar, that is a life of danger. The mines collapse, food isn’t consistent. The nightstalkers barricade the doors and kill merchants. Doctors are hard to find, harder than food. It’s a withering place that only stays alive because of the constant stream of desperate people.”

Alaric’s resolve shows in his face. “We will do better.”

Trigan slams a fist down. “Everyone thinks they’ll do better!” A piece of wood breaks from the table and flicks up bouncing across the top. “I taught you carpentry so you wouldn’t have to mine!”

Alaric lets go of Ilana and slams his fists down into the table, another piece breaks away. “We’re moving to Gerafar! Accept it.”

“By Scliras’ own hide you are!” Trigan slams another fist and I hear a moaning crack. He stands up and walks away from the table.

A tense silence falls over the dining room, no one dares to say a word. The temples beneath my uncle’s green and gold hair throb with heartbreak and anger. He turns his back to the table and crosses his arms for a quiet couple minutes. We give him the silence and space he needs. I see Talea open her mouth and I quiet her with a single look. She shrinks back into her chair, she’s spoken little tonight, I think that’s why it’s gone so well.

Trigan comes back to the table, his hands are crumpled into white knuckled fists but he’s containing himself. “What makes you think you alone can do better than so many who perish?”

Alaric’s eyes refuse to break away. “Because you made it.”

“We left.” Trigan breaths out.

Wren reaches forward tapping her husband’s hands and looks at her son who’s as stubborn as his father. Her voice is soft and acts like the water to this growing fire. “My father owned a tavern. We stayed afloat because that place is so hopeless people want a drink more than food. Your father learned carpentry fixing up the woodwork and furniture at the age of twelve, but it was his partnership with my father in the tavern that kept us fed. In Gerafar, the collective does not care about you. You are nothing to them but a pick to mine hardstone.” Tears well up in her eyes. “If you go, prepare to be hungry. Prepare to be hopeless. Prepare to be swallowed by that hollow town.”

Her words render Alaric speechless and bring tears to his eyes. He chokes down his emotions and nods. “I know. But if I work for one year, save every coin, I can make enough to buy a house in Evos. Evos. With my carpentry skill they’ll accept me, I only need to save the money. One year is all it takes.”

Trigan clasps his hands together, calmer now. “Exactly, one year is all it takes son.”

Another blanket of silence falls, but is broken at once by Talea. I cringe with the unknown of what she’ll say, she’s always an unpredictable variable. “I think it’s a fine idea.” Trigan shoots her a glare that she ignores. “I hear the nightstalker attacks are dropping off. They’ve got other things to do I guess than attack silly skysingers and their rocks. Who knows, with the way things are going, maybe Gerafar will be a safe place for them to be.”

Trigan grunts and waves his hand at her, he turns to look at poor Ilana who’s scared stiff. “Ilana, we welcome you to our family. I only ask that you take care of my grandchildren, and my son. Sometimes he needs saving from himself.”

Ilana smiles with quiet sweetness. “If you ever tire of farm life, you’re welcome to join us in Evos.”

I give her a faint smile. “Perhaps.”

Trigan cracks his fingers and stretches his neck. “When would you leave for Gerafar?”

Alaric shrugs. “We don’t know, it’s dangerous travelling in lune. But if we leave for Gerafar soon then we can begin saving and be in Evos as soon as Ilana recovers from the births.”

Talea’s eyes widen and she blurts out with such sudden intensity she slams her palms against the table top. Another crack. “They can go with us!”

My chest tightens, just as things were settling down Talea hits us with a thunderclap of ill-timed blurting. I sigh as I see Trigan’s rage begin to boil again. Oh Talea, do you ever think before you speak?

My dear sister ignores all warning signs and keeps talking. She’s excited to be contributing. “We’ll be passing right by Gerafar. We can escort Alaric and Ilana so they’ll make it there safe. And of course since we’re travelling with-“

Trigan cuts her off and slams another fist into the table. “Enough!”

Another crack moans from the table and right before our eyes the masterpiece breaks apart. The cracks can bear no further weight and splits down the middle breaking in half lengthwise and collapsing in on itself. The four legs snap and crack as they drop and two break off to roll across the floor.

Wren snaps her fingers. “Echo! I know you’re listening. Take Zoey and get her ready for bed.”

Echo steps into the dining room and crosses her arms. She eyes the sad broken table and shakes her head. “So dramatic.”

Trigan points to the hall. “Go.”

Zoey sticks out her tongue and smiles. “Tonight, is bath night.”

Echo flicks her in the forehead and waves for her little sister to follow. “The things these people do to spare you trauma.” She rolls her eyes. “Father Sky forbid you hear something upsetting, but they can smash a table in front of you all they want.”

Zoey shrugs. “It’s ok. I knew nobody was mad at me.”

Echo gives her an approving smile. “That’s all that matters right?”

Zoey grins and saunters off. “Yup, everybody loves me.” We hear Zoey’s voice travel from the hall. “What’s trauma?”

Wren yells down the hall before Echo can reply. “Echo! Don’t you dare give that girl nightmares!” Her demand is met by Echo cackling. She turns around and straightens her hair giving the family a once over. “Alright, I think it’s time to talk. Let’s go to the sitting room.”

We file from the dining room walking around the remains of the family table. We’ve had that piece as long as I can remember. It was one of the first things zXTrgian made for us. He said every solid family needs a solid dining table. Now, it’s reduced to broken shards. Just like our family, nothing left but pieces.