Brooke smiles back at me ruefully, but it slips from her face as she looks back at Becky. "Ondine, go get her some clothing." She squats down in front of the short brunette, and I see sadness enter her eyes. "I'm sorry for the way we treated you. It shouldn't have taken Lyden's words to get me to see reason, but I guess. . . . No, there is no excuse. I hope one day you'll forgive us."
Becky looks fearfully at Brooke for a moment, before looking my way, and I see some of the tension leach out of her. "Lyden, I'm so sorry," she pleads with me. "I-I don't know what happened. I couldn't control myself, and then those words I spoke. . . . I don't understand where they came from."
Carefully I regain my feet and shuffle over to her. I collapse more than squat, on the floor and pull her into my arms.
"What's with all the racket?" A bleary-eyed Areth asks, fluttering out of Lisa's room.
