Ankyra Sound that it has returned to dust

rusalka was changing, and velen did not like it. he had never met the woman called caiaphas. it sounded as if her children had once been in charge, only to be routed.
he kept to himself and to dalia. to their children, wary. whatever small bit of trust was still left to velen he guarded jealously, keeping it close to his bosom. no one here had earned it. 
presently he dropped down into the grotto, enjoying the cool touch of the shadowed place. why had his wife not been brought here, he wondered, and set about exploring with a child’s enthusiasm.