Talia stood on the edge of the shrine, where bone crown cast long shadows across the broken stone of the altar.

Her gown waved in the air, yet her body stood still.

She was waiting.

Leon stepped to my side, his voice low. “Let me go first.”

I touched his arm. “No. This is mine.”

He didn’t argue. He merely nodded,--and he had confidence in me, as no one ever had before.

I went forward, the Bone Relic hanging heavy and thick against my satchel, the weight of the unborn child against my spine all soft.

Every step echoed like thunder.

Talia’s smile widened. “You really came.”

“I always do,”...