Virelya moved through the main living area in the shadows to the room she had been given all those years ago. She quietly shut the door and turned to the room. It smelled of her and of cold stone. When she was young, the tiny room had seem so big, and the small rickety bed was a dream compared to where she had slept. Now, though, the walls felt tight and closed. She removed her cloak and set it carefully over the back of the chair, each movement precise, everything in its particular place. The rune on her wrist was silent now, but it had done its job to remind her. In the distance, the city laughed. Somewhere closer, footsteps paused outside her door.

  She felt the tightness in her chest as the door creaked open and grey eyes looked in at her.

  “Hello, my little shadow,” Aethryn said with a casual smile. “You stayed out much later than usual. I felt the kill and you didn’t return straight to me.”

  Virelya felt the tingle in the rune at her wrist as he stepped fully into the room, shutting the door behind him, his large frame making the room feel even smaller.

  Aethryn reached out and tucked a stray curl behind her ear, the touch soft, caring. Virelya pulled back slightly on an instinct. In a movement too quick to anticipate, he reached out to grab her left wrist pulling it up between them, closing the space between them. His fingers closed tightly around the bones of her wrist, a sharp pain flaring.

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  “You are bound to me, my little shadow, I feel the questions in your mind. I loved and cared for you when you were nothing…I can make you nothing again.”

  She flinched at the sudden shift from softness, at the sharpness suddenly in his eyes.

  Just as quickly as the sharpness had come, his eyes softened again and he ran his thumb gently over the rune.

  “You did good work tonight. I want to reward you.”

  From under his thumb the rune spread out a gentle warmth up her arm, urging her to calm.

  Her body softened and she felt her muscles relax even as her mind still screamed at the cruelty. He released her wrist only when her whole body had become neutral despite herself.

  He walked the few short steps to her desk and pulled a worn book from his cloak pocket, setting it gently among the others there. Then crossed back to the door.

  “Don’t stay up too late reading. I have a new assignment for you in the morning. Sleep well, my little shadow.”

  The door shut behind him, and Virelya stood in the same spot for a beat, listening to his footsteps cross the hall and the click of his own door shutting. She moved slowly to the bed and pulled her knees to her chest, as she sat making herself as small as she could. The rune was quiet now, and she found herself absently rubbing circles over it as she stared at the book with quiet sadness.