“It’s a good thing you have such a thick skull,” Ryne teased.

“Avry wouldn’t want it named after her,” Kerrick said in a low voice. “She never liked that type of attention. She’d argue to name it after her sister, Noelle, or... What was that one sergeant’s name that you hunted the dead with?”

“Ursan,” Belen said.

“Ursan, or her teacher, Tara.”

“You can only name the realm if you take the job,” Ryne said.

Kerrick stared at him.

“That doesn’t work on me. I know you too well.”

“Avry would have wanted to build a place for healers to learn,” Belen said. “Maybe you could build another guild for Zila and Danny in the new realm.”

Now Kerrick turned his ire on Belen.

Unimpressed, the big man smiled. “You can call it the Realm of Healing, or the Healer’s Realm.... No, I like the first one better.”

Ryne stood. “Think about it. I know you need time to... We all do. You’re not the only one missing her. And you know she’d be furious at you if you did anything stupid. Just think of what you’d want her to do if your roles were reversed.”

He fisted his hands, but kept them pressed to his legs. “Our roles were reversed. I was presumed dead and she refused to believe it. She didn’t give up.”

“But she did move on.” Ryne gazed at the fire for a moment. “I’ll be at the old Healer’s Guild for the next couple days. Then I’m traveling to Mengels to meet with the other realm leaders. It’s a central location and Mom offered to lodge and feed us. For a fee, of course.”

“It’ll be worth every coin,” Belen said.

Ryne patted his stomach. “And every pound, I’m sure.” Then he said goodbye and left.

Belen grew unusually quiet.

Kerrick cursed Ryne under his breath because he knew exactly what his friend was thinking. “No. I’m not going to do anything...rash.”

“But you were considering it?” Belen asked.

“Yes.”

“Did Ryne change your mind?”

“No.”

Belen waited. He’d learned that trick from Kerrick, which made it even more infuriating.

Kerrick stabbed the fire with a stick. Sparks flew into the air. “Avry did. By her own actions. She refused to give up on me, so I won’t give up on her. Happy?”

“Happier. But not happy.”

Belen’s comment pierced his hard shell of grief. They all suffered.

Loren and Quain returned to the campfire and soon Flea joined them. He’d just gotten back from a dead sweep in Vyg. They noticed a shift in mood right away. Flea gave Belen a questioning look, but Poppa Bear shook his head. Belen would tell them everything later.