Becky


    Meanwhile, back at the manor…


    de was alive.


    But he was hurt. And unconscious.


    Hey in the healer’s quarters. Nura Sage had offered to keep watch over him while Becky mustered the courage to do what needed to be done. The starlight magic hadn’t killed him, but no matter what they attempted, he would not awaken. Tatianna was gone, as was re, and the only other person Becky was certain could help her in treating him was someone she was not eager to see.


    But Becky was not a coward, and she would do anything for those she cared for.


    Even this.


    It was why she found herself in the dungeons, staring down her brother, who was looking at her with hurt and confusion. “Bex!” Rnd scrambled to his feet, running for the bars. “Thank gods. I need to exin the memory nt. Please.”


    “de is hurt. By the nt you brought.” Becky sneered. “I would exin quickly.”


    Rnd looked mortified, and Becky tookfort in it, knowing her brother was a terrible actor and therefore his difort was genuine. “Mother thought Evie should have it. Since it was the final piece of Nura… She still thinks Nura is dead, if you recall?”


    Becky said nothing, and Rnd fiddled with his sses—a nervous gesture he’d always done. One that sucked the air from her lungs.


    “And it wouldn’t stop screaming. Every hour on the hour, like a clock, the screaming would begin again. She thought if I brought it to Evie, whatever unsettled part of Nura was living within the flower would settle in her children’s presence. That is the only reason I have it—I swear to you. When I found out Nura was alive, I held on to it, hoping not to cause an upset. I was going to give it to you. I was.”


    Becky sighed, pulled the keys from her pocket, and unlocked the door, motioning with her head for Rnd to escape. “I know. The guards found the correspondence with Mother in your rooms.”


    Rnd shook out his neck as he exited the cell, frowning. “Of course, you wouldn’t trust me on the merit of my word.”


    Becky responded coolly, “I proceed with you cautiously or not at all.”


    Rnd looked properly chastised. “I suppose that’s fair. I apologize. How is de?”


    Becky continued. “He’s been burned by starlight magic. I know that, when used correctly, starlight magic is meant to heal people, isn’t it?”


    Rnd nodded. “That’s what legend says.”


    “Then I need you to figure out how we can use the nt to heal his head and wake him up.”


    Rnd’s eyes widened. “I—I will try.”


    Becky shoved a finger into his chest. “You will seed.”


    Rnd nodded, head snapping toward footsteps now echoing down the stairs. The dim torchlight revealed a winded Marv, hands on his knees, wild hair going in every direction. “Ms. Erring! Ms. Erring, I must tell— Are you freeing the prisoner?” Marv halted, fiddling with his fingers.


    Rnd took one of Marv’s hands and bowed over it, causing the entry guard’s cheeks to pinken under the force of Rnd’s half smile. “Rnd Fortis, prisoner, at your service.”


    Marv chuckled nervously, stumbling back until he knocked into an empty water pail atop a rickety table, causing it to crash to the floor. “Marvin Handsome, front door guard.”


    Becky corrected him, exasperated. “Handson, Marv. Your surname is Handson.”


    Rnd, ever the charmer, leaned his elbow against the stone wall, standing just a few inches taller than Marv. “‘Handsome’ would apply as well, surely.” He grinned wide, and Marv looked on the verge of melting into a puddle.


    “Rnd! Cease flirting with office personnel on the job.”


    Rnd saluted. “Apologies, Bex. When do you get off work, Marv?”


    “For the love of— Go to the healer’s quarters before I make you sleep down here.”


    Her brother leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Is he single?”


    “Office rtionships are strictly forbidden,” she hissed back.


    Rnd looked side to side. “But I don’t work here.”


    “You’re in the office. No romantic rtionships.” Blowing a gasket is unprofessional. Blowing a gasket is unprofessional. Blowing a gasket is unprofessional. “Go, Rnd, or get back in the cell.”


    Rnd mouthedter at Marv, and the guard turned crimson as Rnd put his hands in his pockets and strutted up the stairs.


    Brothers are a punishment from the gods to test one’s patience.


    “Marv,” Becky snapped. “When you’re done inspecting my brother’s hindquarters, might you tell me what was so urgent?”


    Marv jumped, sputtering as he addressed her. “It’s F-Fluffy, Ms. Erring.” He shook his head.


    Her stomach sank to the vicinity of her toes. “What do you mean? What about Fluffy?”


    “The dragon is restless like we’ve never seen. He ate Morey!”


    Becky’s lip curled in disgust. “Uck. The new raven mail clerk?” He’d been horrid, handsy, and rude, looking about the office as if everyone was below him. “No ounting for taste. The poor animal will have an unsettled stomach.”


    He shook his head quickly. “No, Ms. Erring, you don’t understand. The animal’s acting out and—”


    “Enough!” Becky yelled. “I do not have time for these petty problems. Tell the Malevolent Guards to sort it. Or for once, instead of screaming problems about the office, you might try solving one for yourself!”


    His eyes went ssy, and Becky felt a bit like she’d just kicked a puppy.


    “Marv, I’m—”


    The guard wrung his hands, not looking away from his boots. “You’re right, Ms. Erring. I will solve this problem myself. I promise.”


    “Marv!” Becky called after him, but he was gone by the time she had followed him up the stairs.


    Her shoulders wouldn’t stop shaking despite the immediate heat she felt when she closed the cer door. She stumbled toward the kitchen half in a daze, vision blurred by the tears forming in her eyes. She flopped down at the kitchen table and did something she vowed to never do at work.


    Sheid her head on the table and began to cry.


    So distraught was she, she didn’t notice Lyssa slipping in and cing something in herp, and when Becky looked down, she choked on a sob. Her knit dragon from childhood that de had pilfered from her desk, albeit unintentionally, and given to Lyssa, sat there, tattered and alone.


    Just like her.


    She rubbed her eyes, pressing her palms into them, trying to stop it. “I’m sorry. I can’t seem to keep myself together today.”


    Lyssa whispered, as if imparting some great secret Becky was unaware of, “You don’t have to, Ms. Erring. Crying means you’re brave.”


    Becky removed her hands and angled her watery gaze down at the little girl who seemed youthful and wise all at once. “Who told you that?”


    Lyssa shrugged, taking one of Becky’s hands and squeezing gently. “No one. It just seems to me that someone who feels their feelings out in the open is braver than someone who hides them.”


    Becky squeezed her hand back, smiling through her tears. “Well, I can’t argue with you there.”


    “Good. Now you may be alone if you wish, or I’ll just sit right here in case you change your mind.”


    They sat there silently while Becky worried over de while doing the bravest thing any person could do.


    She cried.


    And cried.


    And cried.