I watched Ami carefully, remembering the first few days after Kathera’s death, how Ami had cried long hours into the night, completely inconsolable.
Then, as the days passed and time refused to move, she became consumed by a single purpose: finding a way to bring Kathera back. She wouldn't stop until Kathera was alive again.
As we walked through the Forest of the Forgotten, I tried to gauge whether Ami was reaching another breaking point. If she needed someone to catch her, I wanted to be there.
She seemed calmer today than she had yesterday.
‘I am fine.’ Ami’s voice flooded the bond.
‘Are you sure?’ I sent back to her.
She had a look in her eyes, a quiet determination that squared her shoulders.
‘Yes. We are getting Kathera back, and I get to go home for a while. What more could I want?’ she told me as we lingered behind the others. The trees towered above us, making me feel small against the wilderness.
Yet through the bond, I could feel her lingering anxiety. She was worried about seeing her parents again, unsure of what awaited them in Calin, and terrified of whether retrieving the Stone of Ilina would actually work to bring Kathera back. But I also knew Ami wouldn't tell me any of that, because that would mean admitting she had worries in the first place.
I reached out, grabbed her shoulder, and gently pulled her to a stop.
“Ami, we will get Kathera back. Whatever waits for us in Calin, we can handle it. We’ve been through worse, right?” I smiled, trying to offer her comfort.
The shadows from the canopy caught her golden eyes. No piece of lore had ever made me feel the way her eyes did, I could get caught up looking into those liquid gold caverns for days.
She offered a small, genuine smile and nodded. “Yes, we have.”
I blinked, shaking off the spell, and smiled. “We are getting left behind.”
She slipped her hand into mine as we walked to catch up to the others.
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