Silver: The Lost Royal

34 | A Mystery Unsolved

"And if they're dangerous, what are you going to do?" She argued back. "You're bleeding, you can't—"

"I'm not leaving you alone for a second, damn it!"

The intensity of his gaze left her feeling bare and vulnerable, burning through her and the words she had intended to speak. In that moment, she couldn't tear her gaze away from his, frozen by the raw emotions raging within. It was as if the world had paused around them, leaving only the two of them locked in this charged exchange with the threader standing solely between them.

Until Salome's soft voice cut through the tense atmosphere like a knife. "Don't worry, Karyn, we can manage. What's important now is getting Loralai safe."

Karyn let out a sigh of resignation. "Fine."

She cast her eyes away from Zack, yet she walked around to help him. When she took his hand, he stopped her.

"I can—"

The withering look she gave him shut him into silence and, without a word, she took his hand over her shoulder and took on some of his weight.

"How does she even know which is which?" Jamie wondered as they neared Loralai, who hadn't ventured far.

They remained on the path, following Loralai's slower lead until they heard a sound. A door to a house on their right opened and a girl holding a basket stepped out. The silence helped the tune she hummed to reach them.

When the girl saw the group, her eyes moved over all of them but did a double take on Loralai. The basket dropped before the girl's scream pierced the silence. In the next moment, the two girls ran towards each other and when they met, they greeted themselves in a flurry of hugs and kisses on the cheek.

"Oh, Lora. Mama! Lora is back! Aunt Heloisa, your daughter is back!"

Doors flung open, curtains pulled aside, and people erupted from houses as if the words were a switch that sent life sparking through the street. Soon, a crowd surrounded them, their voices blending into a cacophony of excitement and bewilderment.

From within the throng, a woman appeared, her hurried steps causing her long chestnut hair to sway. Her nose, slightly rounded, mirrored the little girl's. Bursting with emotion, she rushed forward, her lips parting in a scream of joy as she enveloped Loralai in a tight embrace.

Amidst the sea of faces, a man emerged, his eyes welling up with tears when they landed on the woman and Loralai. The woman released Loralai, who closed her eyes for the woman to peck both of them.

With a tender smile, Loralai disentangled herself from the woman and wrapped her small arms around the man's leg. He responded by patting her head affectionately before lifting her into his firm embrace. He did the same gesture as the woman, but also pecked Loralai's ears, eliciting a giggle from the little girl. Finally, he planted a long, lingering kiss on her forehead.

"They brought me back, father. She helped me," Loralai said, and all eyes fell on them.

"Can we get some help? Our friends—"

"Of course, of course," the man said.

Two men approached Zack, one on each side, guiding him out. A woman gently grasped Salome's hand, sharing a warm smile before joining the men who escorted Zack.

"Thank you," said the woman who Karyn assumed to be Loralai's mother. "Please let us host you all."

♛ ♛ ♛

FOR the first time since the Mansion, Karyn stood in front of a mirror. They had accepted the offer from the woman who introduced herself as Heloisa and the man whom Loralai had hugged, Kael. The couple escorted her and Jamie to their house while Salome and Zack headed to the local infirmary.