Moonspear The painful tears of goodbye

;-;

The force of Rodyn's voice woke Sialuk from a feverish dream, one she could remember nothing about except that it pierced her spirit and left her empty. For him to be here so soon before Samani's birth-giving day—but Sialuk's stomach dropped when she realized that was likely his reason for coming here. Something had happened, and it was not a good thing. Sialuk kissed the two children atop their heads, then Elentari and Argent, and merged her path with Njord in silence as they answered the call side-by-side.

Rodyn and—to her surprise—Ariadne stood with two small bundles. Sistraa was nowhere in sight, and Sialuk felt her heart searing with pain. She had sung the songs for her father and brother all those many months ago, and now she knew she would sing them for her sister. Her chest tightened and her legs felt as though they had been replaced with solid rock. Njord was the only one brave enough to break the silence, and Sialuk thanked him with her pained eyes. Without their mother, the new children would need nourishment from elsewhere, and the moonwoman realized now that this was why the spirits had blessed Elentari and herself with only one child each.

Jaw set, Sialuk began leading the them toward the ulaq where the two children slept soundly.