I. God, so did I.
A few minutes later, Brittany left, and I told her I’d be in touch with arrangements for Dylan.
My chest ached, my heart was heavy, and even though I’d barely eaten, I had no appetite. I missed Soren desperately. In fact, the need to be with him was so strong that I physically felt the pain of his absence.
How was I going to handle being away from him for a whole year if I couldn’t even stand being away from him for a couple days? I’d resigned myself to the fact that I might not make it back at all, that I might not be successful in my mission. I wanted to believe I would, but there was no way to know for sure. The thought of never seeing Soren again was enough to crush me, but I had to push through. I had to go. June’s life might very well depend on it.
I straightened up things around the house, putting off the inevitable, but just before dinnertime, I knew I couldn’t hold off any longer.
“Dylan,” I called out. “Can you please come here for a moment?”
I heard his door swing open, then his feet padding down the hallway.
“What’s up, Aunt Maya?”
I fought hard to keep the sadness from my face and gave him a smile, but he must have sensed something was wrong because he frowned deeply.
“What’s wrong?”
“Come sit with me.” I moved to the couch and patted the seat next to me. “I need to tell you something.”
He waited patiently, and it only made what I had to say harder.
“I’m going to have to go away for a little while,” I began, and his eyes widened, his lips parting. “I wish more than anything that I could stay here, but it’s really important that I go. I know that’s probably hard to understand. But I will be back.”
I didn’t want to promise him something like that when I couldn’t absolutely guarantee it, but looking at him now, my resolve strengthened. Somehow, some way, I would find my way back here. To him, to Soren. And hopefully find a way to pick up the pieces of the life we’d only just begun to build.
“I’ll be gone a year, Dylan,” I told him, my voice wavering at the look of sadness that washed over him. I almost didn’t want to go on, hating that I was the reason for it. But in the end, it would all be worth it. Without getting his hopes up too much, I added, “When I come back, hopefully I’ll be able to bring you a surprise.”
“Can I go too?” His eyes lit up, and my heart hurt at the innocence there. “I’ve only ever been on Tracorox and here, but I’ve heard so much about the other planets, and I want to go all over the entire galax—”
“Dylan.” I rested my hand on his shoulder, stopping him before he could get too excited. This was going to be even harder than I expected. I swallowed against the tightness in my throat, barely keeping the stinging tears at bay. “I’m so sorry, buddy, but I can’t take you with me. I wish I could—I wish I didn’t even have to go—but I must, and I have to go alone.”
It was all I could do to keep the tears from spilling now, and I tried to memorize Dylan’s sweet face.
“It will be okay,” I promised him through my tears. “Brittany has offered to let you stay with her and Niall and the baby. They’ll take wonderful care of you while I’m away…” And then I could no longer speak, my voice choked with emotion.
“I don’t want you to leave, Aunt Maya,” he said, throwing his arms around me and hugging me tightly. I hugged him back, holding him close, breathing in the smell of his hair. “I love you. I don’t want to be here without you.”
I could hear him fighting his own tears, struggling to be strong, pretending he was okay when it was obvious he wasn’t. It made my chest squeeze painfully.
“Hold on,” he whispered, his voice strained. “I’ll be right back.”
Dylan raced out of the room, and I could hear him rummaging in his bedroom. In less than a minute, he was back, holding a tiny silver charm—the wings made of Soldering that Dordus’ daughter, Gulray, had made him.
He unfastened the pair of wings, separating them into two pieces, keeping one in his palm and then handing the other one