What could she say to the girl that Phalue couldn’t? Ayesh had taken to Phalue like she was a treasured auntie. Ranami just felt strange and awkward around her. She’d been a child, once. Strange, how she no longer knew how to talk to them.

She took a step forward before she could convince herself otherwise. She came at the girl a little sideways, her gaze only glancing off of Ayesh’s face, as though she were approaching a skittish cat.

“Where are you going?” Ayesh asked when Ranami was close enough.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Ranami said. “But Phalue is going to help fight off the construct army at Gaelung. Surely you’ve heard?”

Ayesh pressed her lips together. “I don’t always talk to the other orphans. I keep to myself. It’s not that I don’t like them, it’s just—” She stopped herself, her hand tightening around the bag. Of course. Why hadn’t Ranami considered this before? Ayesh was from Unta, had left any friends she’d had there to die so she could save herself. The same guilt that plagued Ranami had found its hooks in another orphan. Ayesh had lived. Ayesh had access to a palace. But she’d done things she regretted to get here.

“Phalue is sorry she tried to take your bag.”

Ayesh only nodded. She peered around Ranami. “No more lessons?”

“One of the guards can teach you if you’d like.”

Ayesh screwed up her face and Ranami laughed. For the first time, she felt a kinship with the girl. She could see a future where Ayesh came to live with them, where she became a mother to her. Not just another item added to a list, but a growing, changing person – one who needed both Phalue and Ranami. If she could learn to forgive herself for the things she’d done in the past, she could forgive Ayesh. Yes, the girl might be hiding things; yes, she might be a bit odd, but Ranami was no better. It had taken for ever for her to confess to Phalue what life had been like for her on the streets. She’d wanted to move past it by forgetting it. Instead it had lingered like a bandaged wound she’d never cleaned. Airing out her troubles had made them feel a little less painful.

This was something she could teach Ayesh.

The girl’s stomach growled. Ayesh didn’t seem to notice. Her hair had begun to grow longer, and her hollow cheeks had filled in a bit, but there was still a way to go before she would stop looking like she was on death’s doorstep.

Ranami leaned down. “You know, you don’t have to live on the streets if you don’t want to. You can come live with us if you’ll have us.”