On our journey, I realized I hadn't asked Ember for any sort of evidence that my elder brother had indeed sent him searching for me. Other than the fact that he knew I practiced medicine, I had nothing else to go one. And how unnerving it was that I could have trusted him so easily after all that had happened. I'd been so eager to return to my family that falling into another trap would have been as easy as a baby bird falling from its nest.
This was why Hael looked out for me.
A herd of guilt and grief skittered down my spine from having left him when he'd needed me, and ignoring the aches felt like ignoring the urge to breathe. Breathe. I took a much-needed breath, although it was more like a sharp inhale and made my eyes glassen.
