HAVEN ✓

Thirteen

Just when I thought I was becoming numb to shock, Sol's revelation throws me. Sons? She has sons who live in Keir, while she lives in a village a whole day's travel from here?

What exactly happened to make her leave half of her family behind?

Not many people are outside their homes after dark, but the few who are stare as we make our way down the cobblestoned street, their eyes scorching like the torchlight flickering in the sconces along the street. My steps threaten to falter at the whispers we are getting from the sparse on-lookers. Lucinda and her gossiping daughter work fast.

I desperately want to ask Sol what is going on, and what we'd be doing with her sons, but the far-away look on her face gives me pause. I'll find out soon, either way.

Sol turns down a narrow street housing large bricked houses. She walks up to the first door on the left, and it opens before she can even knock.

A tall man a few years older than me sporting a head of dark brown hair pulls Sol into a fierce hug. This seems to wake her up, and after she exchanges a few words with the man, she turns to me.

"This is Sophie," she introduces me, motioning me forward. I step up next to her in the doorway and the man smiles softly. It's a smile just like Sol's, and it immediately puts me at ease.

"I'm Coen," the man nods at me. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Sophie." Behind him, a nearly identical head pops over his shoulder. Ah. Twins.

"Clive," the second man says, a grin stretching his face. "If you are the one who has brought our mother here, you must be something special."

I don't know why I blush at his words, so similar to what Sol said to me just last night.

"Come inside, night has fallen," Coen says, stepping aside to let us through the threshold of their home. Sol may have been the clan mother in her village, but her accommodations are meager compared to these quarters. There is enough space to fit two of her living rooms in theirs, along with a stone fireplace on the far wall.

"Word out there is that you're in Keir to see the Summus," Clive says, pulling out a chair at the long wooden dining table. We all sit. It has the same rough texture of the one in Sol's kitchen, and I run my fingers along the grain.

"Yes," Sol replies. "It's regarding the girl that was brought in from the walled city." The boys exchange a look.

"So you're concerned about what the Summus is doing all of a sudden? We thought you wanted to escape all of that," Coen points out. "What is so important about the girl that you came back?"

Sol's gaze slides over to me, and the twin's eyes follow. Despite the heat creeping up my collar, I tell them about Sol's offer to help me find Markee. If I'm going to be spending the night in this foreign house, I want to be honest with them. I'd owe them at least that.

"Do you know what Summus Aspen wants with Markee?" I ask. "What makes him think she knows anything about those Skinwalker people?" Simultaneously, all three of them go rigid.

"They are not people," Clive spits. Clearly, I hit a nerve. Not wanting them to dislike me, I pivot the conversation.

"We're meeting with the Summus tomorrow. Is there anything I need to know before I walk into the lion's den?" I ask. The Summus is practically royalty to the villagers. This much, I know. How could I possibly prepare myself to meet someone who holds such a high rank? In Herald, I'd never met any of the Council members. None of my friends or their parents have either. The thought makes me nervous, and I don't want to mess up some Outlander custom by doing or saying the wrong thing.

"Whatever you do, don't take a page from her book," Clive says, motioning to Sol. She frowns.

"Before she left, she nearly set half of his chambers on fire with her voice alone," he continues, chuckling. Sol gives him a look that ceases his laughter. I don't want to pry, but my curiosity is tired of taking the backseat.