You can let it go
You can throw a party full of everyone you know
You can start a family who will always show you love
You don't have to be sorry for doin' it on your own
We haven’t seen each other in two years. Don’t you think that’s worth staying up a little past your bedtime? I’m tired. [A look of disappointment crosses Rayla’s face.] Fine. What do you want to talk about?
Rayla felt a great many things, and all of them hurt. She thought of the Silvergrove. Ethari at his workbench, metal marvels at his fingertips. Mushcup and moonberry surprise. And beyond the Border, a warm castle, and a mage—
—but Redfeather peered at her, waiting for an answer.
Rayla made herself strong. “I’m looking for a dark mage.”