Finn had closed her eyes, weary of looking into the fire. Her body was shutting down, unable to keep functioning under the grief of her loss.
But it couldn't. She had to keep going. Her babies needed her. She had to keep herself together.
Breath in, breath out. One breath. Two breaths.
The babies finished eating, and she loaded them into their basket and took them into the great room. Everyone would be less on edge if they could see that she was all right.
And she had to be all right.
She sat down, and a knock at the door drew her attention. Had Ashley been about to say something?
Finn bolted up from her seat and went to answer the door by force of habit. Only, when she arrived… there was nothing. Except a glimpse of a sparkle darting away over the snow, leaving no footprints.
Without hesitating, she took off after the sight, closing the door behind her so that the babies wouldn't catch a chill. Her father would watch them for a few minutes.
She ran as the elusive glimmer flew ahead. Was she hallucinating? She wouldn't find out until she caught it. If she could catch it.
Her breath heaved in the chilly air. Thankfully, the blizzard had passed. The atmosphere was clear, and the sun was sinking low on its way to the Western horizon. A light around the corner made her desperate to catch up.
"Gwen!" She called. "Gwen, wait for me!"
She was sure it was the Fae. It had to be. She'd been mentally crying out for help through the night and most of the day. Surely, surely they could help.
"Please," She panted, beginning to sweat in spite of the fact that she'd forgotten her coat.
She paused to catch her breath as her eyes searched for the next clue as to where she was headed.
There, in the shadows of the lane between houses, stood…
"Roland?" Finn asked, afraid.
The man looked up from where he'd been staring at the ground, in a daze. "Serafina?"
"Roland, are you…" She wanted to ask if he were a hallucination, or a dream, but what would he answer, if he were either? It was a silly question.
"I'm here," He pressed his hands to his own chest, as if to double check the statement as he made it.
Finn swallowed.
"Gwen, is he real?" She asked into the air.
A slight giggle on the wind was all the encouragement she needed to run forward and throw her arms around her husband, tackling him into a snowbank.
He was firm, and real, and here.
"Riley told me you died!" She exclaimed.
"I think I did," Roland mumbled. "I'm not sure. I… I can't remember."
Finn pulled back to look at his face. It was difficult through the tears that flowed freely from her eyes.
"What do you remember?" Finn asked seriously. Maybe she was dreaming. If she was, she didn't really want it to stop.
"I… the box. I threw myself over the box, and a sword–" He put his hand to his chest again, "but I'm not wounded now. How is that possible? I found myself at the edge of the City Square a few moments ago. I was on my way home." His words were halting, perplexed.
"There was a knock at the door. I thought I saw Gwen, and ran after her, and found you. The Fae must have brought you back. Healed you." She guessed.
"No… I don't think… but the memory. I can't grasp it. Like a dream I can't get my hands on. Slippery." Roland put a hand to his forehead and then shivered in the snowbank.
"You don't have a coat!" Finn said suddenly. She noticed his ever-present necklace was missing as well. The portal-maker to the Darkness.
"Niether do you!" He replied. "And right after I worked so hard getting you warm last night!" He paused. "Last night?"
She blinked at him. The gap in his memory was concerning, but perhaps it would come with time.
"Yes, last night." She scrambled up from lying atop him in the snow and helped him to stand.
He blinked, finally seeming to come to his senses as her hand gripped his. He pulled her into his arms, and kissed her eagerly.
"That will warm me up just fine," She murmured.
The sound of running feet followed by a startled gasp drew their attention. Riley stood, agape, in the snow, holding Finn's coat in his hand.
"Roland?" Riley's voice cracked with disbelief. "How…" He shook his head roughly and stared once more. "How??"
"I'm not sure of that, myself," Roland admitted.
"Are we sure… I mean, how do I say this," Riley flinched. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but remember how the Void could make people look like other people? I saw you die."
Roland stared at him blankly. "I remember dying."
"And?" The soldier's face was a war of hope and skepticism. Finn swallowed, understanding his trepidation.
"I saw Gwen. She led me to him. I don't think she would do that for an imposter." She squeezed her husband's hand.
"Could you make him tell us something only he would know?" Riley prompted.
"If it would make you feel better," Finn sighed.
"It would, thank you." The soldier gave her a lopsided smile, while still eyeing the other man warily. Finn glanced at Roland, who looked thoughtful.
After a moment, he ducked his head to Finn's ear and whispered furiously into it. Riley blinked in confusion until Finn's face began to flame red.
"It's definitely him," She pressed her lips together. "Nobody else has any reason to know that."
"I want to know absolutely nothing about what was just said," Riley held his hands up in surrender. "I'm convinced. Let's get you both home, and warm."
__________
It took several days for Klain to piece together everything that had happened, identify all the bodies excavated from their temporary snowy graves, and begin to allay the fears that some new threat was imminent.
Cora arrived to receive her husband's body, and comfort her son. There was no word on Edmar or what had happened to him. Roland stood by their sides as the funeral procession took Haf's embalmed body to the wagon that would take it home.
The riverbed around the city was barely a stream, and a frozen one at that. It was unlikely the lake would rise enough to fill it to navigable levels again until the spring thaw when the mountain glaciers began to give off their summer melt.
Roland hugged his aunt, who clung to him. Caspian stood to the side, bandages still across half of his face. A private conversation with Lysander had apprised the trio of Haf's last words.
The Rhone prince had steadfastly refused leadership when Haf was alive, but his words in the jungle, the last words he'd spoken to Roland, stuck with him.
But King Duncan had been grievously wounded in the battle, and needed Roland's aid to organize and comfort the Rhone. It was impossible for him to go to Ceto. It was eventually decided that Cora would rule on a temporary basis, at least until Caspian and Duncan were healed, before any final decisions were made.
The goodbyes were short. Finn and Mayra hugged Naomi tightly, promising visits back and forth when the river made travel easier. Naomi wished she could stay for Mayra's wedding, but her father-in-law's funeral took precedence.
Cora moved on to Finn, cupping her face in her hands.
"Come visit us at the sea, you and your sweet children. Bring your husband along if you can," She sent a brief, fond smile to Roland.
Finn nodded solemnly and hugged the woman. She didn't know what the future held, but regardless, she would want her children to get to know their grandmother's family.
For her own sake, she was determined to learn as much as she could about Cetoan culture. She would have to ask Mayra for a lot of it, though her best friend was currently incredibly busy between continuing her nursing work for the wounded soldiers and planning her wedding to one of them in the background.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Finn whispered to Roland, taking his hand. "I know you'd just barely met your uncle…"
"He was a good man. I'm blessed to have known him at all." Roland replied quietly. "Blessed in all ways, really."
"Some would call you too blessed." Finn nudged him as the Cetoan delegation departed. "We'd better get home to our babies."
"And responsibilities," Roland hung his head. "There is much to be done."
"Some of that can wait." Finn assured him. "You just recently came back to life, after all."
"I still can't remember," He searched her eyes with concern. "What does it mean? I can't remember anything, yet, I know that whatever it was is important."
"There is time." She wrapped her arms around his waist, listening to his anxious heartbeat through his chest. "And we are together. We will face all of it, together."