Loma half-collapsed on top of Rowan, cocooning him in her arms while she sobbed for them both.
Ciprian watched silently from where he'd backed into the stretch of wildflowers, poised to flee after the mention of Alaric, yet frozen in place as if he were reluctant to actually go.
Something about him seemed broken by the sound of Loma's despair, but Rowan didn't care. He deserved to be broken.
Maybe Ciprian was still there because he'd finally realized it.
Rowan pushed aside his grief one more time along with his thoughts about his father, unable to give either the attention they deserved right now. He was trying his hardest to hold on like his sister had asked him to, but in the few moments that had passed since she said Alaric was on his way, Rowan's lungs had begun to resist the energy Ciprian had put inside him.
