“I know you were betrayed,” Mom said, mouth in a thin line. “And I know you have every right to be angry. But so do we. Your father and me. Gary. Tiggy. Justin. And Ryan. You were hurt. Your heart had been broken. We know how much Morgan meant to you. What the weight of all of this must have felt like. But that doesn’t excuse you from sneaking off in the middle of the night. In not trusting us enough to tell us what was going on. What you were going to do. We all lost someone that day, Sam. Not just you. And then you made it worse by leaving with Kevin.”
“He followed me,” I muttered, unable to look her in the eyes. “I didn’t ask—”
“You don’t have to ask,” she retorted. “Because we would follow you anywhere. But we can’t unless you tell us. Do you know how devastated Tiggy and Gary were? Sam, they looked for you. For months. Longer than even we did.”
“I don’t—”
“And Ryan. Don’t even get me started on Ryan. He woke days after you left, and the first thing he said was your name.”
I hung my head, my heart sore, my eyes burning.
“You were betrayed. But so were we. We watched as Mashallaha fell. As Meridian City fell. As the walls of the City of Lockes were breached. As we realized we couldn’t win. As the King was taken prisoner. As Myrin sat upon his throne and laughed. As we were forced from our homes. All the while not knowing where you were or when you’d come home. We had faith in you, Sam, even if we didn’t know where you were.” She paused, staring at me.
I fidgeted.
“This is the part where you tell us where you were,” Dad whispered. “Just in case you didn’t know.”
“I—can’t. Not yet. I know it’s—just. Not yet.”
Mom shook her head, but she didn’t press. “We have done what we could while waiting for you. And during that time, we’ve made choices that you might not agree with. But that’s on you, not us. You were hurt. I get that. I love you, Sam, I really do, but I need you to get over yourself and face this reality. Vadoma is here because she has nowhere else to go. Lady Tina is here because she has sinned and now seeks repentance. I know you don’t trust them. I’m asking you to trust me.”
“That was terrible and manipulative,” I said in awe. “And I can’t believe I’m falling for the entire thing. Who knew you could be so calculating?”
She looked rather pleased with herself. “Where do you think you got it from?”
“It certainly wasn’t me,” Dad said. “I was innocent before I met your mother. The Northern people tend to be as pure as the snow upon which we lived.”
“You’re welcome,” Mom said, kissing his cheek.
“I missed you guys,” I said hoarsely. “Just so you know. I thought of you every day. You were always with me.”
They both opened their arms for me.
And if I ran toward them, it was nobody’s business but our own.
I WALKED out the front door of the house, meaning to go check on Kevin and all his perversities, when I found Vadoma on the porch, sitting in a chair. Her teeth were clenched around an ornate wooden pipe, thick blue smoke curling up around her head like a heavy fog. I thought about ignoring her and continuing on my way, but of course, she wouldn’t let the moment pass her by.
“I was wrong.”
I sighed as I stopped. “So you said. Is that an apology?”
“I have nothing to apologize for.”
“Well, I don’t know if that’s true.”
“You need a haircut. You look like a sickly, mangy dog.”
“Gee. Thanks.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Some things change. It appears that others do not. You are different, yes, but you are still Sam.”
“Very astute of you. Now, if there’s nothing else, I need to—”
“My home is gone. My people have been taken from me.”
Godsdammit. “Mom and Dad told me.”
She frowned, sucking on her pipe before blowing out even more smoke. “I did not know about Ruv. He… bewitched me. Made me believe things I did not.”