Broken Boulder no children

at least the children seem relatively unaffected by their mother's absence, he thinks, watching solomon greet alarian with a soft, strained smile. brilliance squirms out of his attempt to regrasp her and he lets her go, watching her spotted form settle near her brother before he brings himself to look at the govenor, feeling his belly clench anxiously. 

"i think," delight starts, carefully, before abandoning that track. he doesn't think, he knows. he clears his throat, shakes his head, and tries again: "i can't find queenie. she's left the sanctuary." there's no emotional resonance to the words -- he can't emote, not about this, not right now. the way he's phrased it leaves ambiguity -- she could be coming back -- but he suspects alarian is smart enough to figure out what he means, the way he was smart enough to figure it out when delight asked-without-asking to join him at the sanctuary.