A shiver ran down her spine. ‘Go on.’

‘There’s a hole, in here.’ He touched his chest. ‘I can’t think of another word to describe it. It moves sometimes and I … I need to find it. I can’t explain how I know that, but I do.’

Words hovered on the tip of Pari’s tongue but she couldn’t quite find them. I feel like I’ve been here before. Like I know what he’s talking about. ‘When you cut your arm, the first time. Was that to find the hole?’

‘Yes.’

‘And what happens if you find it?’

‘I’d …’ he looked up at her, stricken. ‘I don’t know.’

‘Perhaps you should figure that out first before you do any more digging.’

‘You’re right. It’s so much easier when you’re here Pari. My thoughts jump less, and they’re quieter.’

She smiled at him. ‘I don’t have any more side trips planned. From now on I’ll be at your side for as long as you need me.’

‘Good.’

‘What was it like when you were with our High Lord?’

‘Awful.’ Then he started talking so fast it was hard for Pari to keep up. ‘She likes me but she’s so loud I can’t find myself and I get this pressure in my head to do something to be someone and I don’t know who-what that is and it makes me scared and I try so hard not to embarrass her and in the end I don’t do anything and I don’t say anything and I’m not anyone.’ He took a breath. ‘And I get so tired, Pari.’

‘It’s alright. I’m here now. We’ll find a way through this.’ I feel like I’m missing a piece of the puzzle. Yes! That’s almost it. She allowed her thoughts to unfurl naturally, letting intuition guide them. Arkav is looking for a hole. He cuts himself. The hole is inside him. The hole is inside him because … something is missing! A part of him is missing. And with a sudden jerk she knew what it was: a part of his soul.

She had seen it when she was between lives. His face in the void calling my name. I remember! A piece of Arkav’s very essence, trapped in that other place, unable to return to Arkav’s body with the rest of him.

She allowed herself a moment of despair – if her brother’s soul was torn, there was little hope for him – and then she rallied. I saw it. It remains out there, beyond this world, intact. That means I can find it. Doubts about this being true were brushed aside, questions about how she would do this were left to address later. I will seek it out, and I will bring it back, and I will find a way to make my brother whole again.