“And Jasmine and Hera,” she continued.

At that, those eyes rolled.

“And Serena,” her hand shook mine, “and don’t pretend you do not have love in your heart for your sister. I know you do.”

“This makes what I feel for Cassius sound less dramatic than it actually is,” I complained.

“This is the problem of the world,” my mother declared grandly, her voice stronger than it had been our entire conversation, as it always became when she was offering wisdom. “There is this idea that love has limits. You can love many with all of your heart, Elena. It does not come in pieces. It is not a well you dip into and deplete. It is not a sword you wield to give and then take away to cause injury. It is a muscle that, the more you use it, the stronger it gets.”

“I am now torn between annoyance that you are always so very right, and agony, knowing…”

I did not complete my thought.

I did not need to.

“You will have Melisse,” she said gently. “You will have my lieutenants. Cassius. You will find strength. You will gain wisdom. You, my Ellie,” her eyes began to shine brightly, and at seeing this, I again had to swallow, “will be all right.”

“Yes, I will,” I assured.

It was a lie in that moment.

But it was a lie that needed to be spoken.

“Do you need water?” I asked. “Some broth?”

“I need to rest,” she replied. “Perhaps you can read to me?”

I looked to the floor where her book lay.

I put her hand to her chest, took up the book, opened it at the ribbon and began reading.

I continued to do so when I sensed she was asleep.

I only stopped when there was a quiet knock on the door.

Whoever was behind it did not wait for me to open it.

It opened, albeit slowly, and I saw Cassius’s head come around its edge.

I opened my mouth to tell him Mother was asleep, but he looked to me and to her too quickly.

Thus, he fully opened the door and came in as I stood from my seat.

And then I froze when, from behind him, came Serena, then Melisse, and after, a Go’Doan priest. The one I had met some time ago in Firenze who had given me tinctures to offer Mother.

I did not like the priest being there, but I had no time for that.

I went directly to Melisse.

But it was she who pulled me in her arms.

“You look robust,” I said into her ear.

“You lie. I need meat on my bones and the ride to this place was more than I was ready for, so I also need a nap.”

I leaned away from her, still in her arms, as she was in mine, and I looked down at her.

“But I am here,” she finished.

She was there. Pale. Worn.

But alive.