well.
“Perhaps it will be the other child,” she suggested.
“Perhaps. But her parents will suffer just as much.”
“Are you trying to make me feel guilty for wanting my child back?”
“Of course not.” For the first time since the previous day, he didn’t pull his tail back when it reached out to her, curving comfortingly around her wrist. “No one is at fault here, except the Vedeckians, of course. It is just a difficult situation.”
Her anger faded away, leaving only sadness behind. She turned to look out of the window and he returned to the controls, but his tail remained encircled around her wrist.
When they finally landed, she had a vague impression of rustic, colorful houses with open porches and thatched roofs and neat fields stretching out from a small village, but all she could focus on was the thought that she would soon be reunited with her daughter. Inzen escorted her through the village and she caught a glimpse of more of the colorful Trevelorians, as well as a variety of other aliens, before he came to a halt in front of a larger house overlooking a sparkling river.
Inzen knocked, and a moment later, a human woman answered the door. An attractive woman with dark hair and a warm smile, she looked to be about Jade’s age, but she was heavily pregnant. Her throat swelled with familiar envy.
“Hi. I’m Abby, and I’m so, so sorry for what you’ve been through.” Abby’s gaze traveled to Inzen. “I’m sorry for both of you.”
“Where is she?” She knew she was being impolite, but she didn’t care.
“All of the children are out back.” Abby’s eyes were sorrowful as she studied Jade’s face. “Do you think you will be able to recognize her after all this time?”
The question had haunted her throughout their trip, but she refused to acknowledge it. “Of course I will.”
Abby opened her mouth as if she was about to say something but simply shook her head and led them through the house. A wide porch ran along the entire back of the building and another Cire warrior was seated there, watching children playing on a big blanket.
“Elaina couldn’t stand to be here,” Abby said softly. “I promised to let her know.”
Jade heard the words, but they didn’t mean anything. She was too focused on the children. With the exception of a blonde little girl, perhaps five or six, all of the children looked to be the right age. A little boy and a redheaded girl were bent over a toy, but she passed over both of them immediately. Another little girl was handing a block to a small Cire girl, but she looked up as they came out of the house.
Jade’s heart skipped a beat.
Big brown eyes and brown curls—she looked so much like her husband that she knew she had finally found her daughter. The world started to spin around her, and Inzen’s tail circled her waist as his arm went around her shoulders.
“It is all right, letari.”
She clung to him, tears pouring down her cheeks, as the little girl—as Hana—climbed to her feet and toddled towards them, shrieking with joy.
“Dada! Dada!” She threw herself at Inzen. With an uncertain look at Jade, he scooped her up. The little girl gave him a big kiss and then scowled at him. “Dada gone.”
“I know, little one. But I brought someone back to meet you.”
He turned her to face Jade, but Hana refused to look at her and buried her face in Inzen’s neck. His face was agonized, but she forced herself to ignore it as she reached for her daughter.
“Hana? It’s me—your mama.”
Hana only clung tighter to Inzen.
“She’s used to being Lily now,” Abby said gently.
Her heart breaking, Jade put a cautious hand on her daughter’s back—so small and fragile and yet so much larger than it had been the last time she had touched her. Of course her daughter didn’t know her anymore. Along with the sadness, anger burned within her. She had missed so much. First smiles, first steps, first words. Even though it wasn’t Inzen’s fault, he had been there for all of them, and she glared at him. The tail that had still been around her waist dropped away as he looked from her to the child still clinging to him, despair in every line of his body.
What on Earth—or on Trevelor—was she going to do now?
Chapter Fourteen
Inzen’s chest ached. As happy as he was to have Lily back in his arms, he couldn’t stand the devastation on