Finally, Wano was done. She stepped back. The man shuddered and came awake again, blinking up at the ceiling in confusion before he lifted his head as much as the brace would allow and looked at the people surrounding him. "What?"

"Leon!"

"Daddy!"

The family piled on the bed, screaming and crying while they hugged him. The queen stood back, smiling brilliantly, as did the battler. He only watched the reunion, letting the others display their ecstatic joy first.

"You saved him."

Wano turned. Gabralina stood in the doorway with Iyala, both women having come up the stairs while she was working. The blonde woman had tears streaming out of her eyes. Her pain was still there-if anything, it was worse than before-but there was something else, too: a regret and a longing. A deep loneliness worse than Wano herself had ever felt.

She nodded. "I did."

Gabralina's lips quivered. "What about . . . what about a battle sylph? He . . . They told me he was dead, but can you bring him back?"

Wano looked helplessly toward the queen, not sure what her master meant.

"He was torn apart," Solie whispered. "There's nothing left."

Gabralina started whimpering. Wano glanced back at her, knowing there was nothing she could do. There was an old sylph pattern inside her, one she hadn't noticed before, but the edge was frayed and torn. Gabralina's last sylph was definitely dead. Now Wano knew the origin of the girl's broken heart.

"I wish I could," she said.

Gabralina buried her face in her hands, weeping again. Iyala put arms around her. Wano reached for her, too, tentatively, not to heal what she couldn't, but to comfort. Like her master's friend was comforting.

She touched her master's arm, and the girl looked up, lip trembling. For a moment Wano felt a terror that her master would turn away again, and her insides itched, twisting her in the direction of becoming a queen; but then Gabralina stepped forward and threw her arms around Wano's neck. The itching stopped.

Queen Solie watched them both, clearly pleased, and then she turned toward the happy family. The gaggle of women and the half-smothered man were all giggling and talking at once, trying to get the casts off his arms and legs, as well as the heavy brace from around his neck.

"Leon," she said suddenly, her emotions shifting. Her voice was cold. The family quieted, and the healed man nodded. "Who attacked you?"

The man regarded her evenly, but Wano could see the lines of energy that ran from him to the battler and from the battler to the queen, and all of them could feel the same thing: a tremendous uncertainty underlain with a genuine fear.

His answer was shocking.

Chapter Twenty-three.

Claw perched atop a roof overlooking the market and tried to hide the growing tempest within him. He'd thought all would be found out, that this horrible nightmare would finally be done. That Sala would be recognized as the soulless creature she was, that Leon would wake and remember her as his a.s.sailant. Claw would have died defending her, but it would have been over.

It wasn't. For Leon, the twenty-four hours preceding the attack were gone. His family was happy to have him back, but he was clearly consternated. He had no idea of who'd attacked him, or why he'd ordered Ril to change shape on the other side of the town. He didn't even remember his epiphany about Justin's innocence. The new healer could do nothing about his memory loss, either. So, Sala was still unrecognized for what she was. She was still free and confident.

Remembering Rachel wasn't working as well as it had been. Already unbalanced before he was given his freedom, Claw could now feel madness digging its claws into him, that insanity gaining a stronger hold each day, like a hunter reaching inside a hive to eat everything it touched. He didn't want to fight it anymore. Wat was dead; poor, innocent Wat, who hadn't understood what was being done to him. In a very real way, he'd been the only friend Claw had. In those brief moments when Wat was allowed to remember what was going on, he'd known. He'd commiserated. He'd shared.

Now Claw was alone again, bound and gagged by commands that kept him from revealing or acting on anything. Sala never touched him, so he ached, but he was glad of that, too-and horrified, and he just wanted it all to stop.

He crouched on the rooftop and watched the marketplace, all of the ordinary people making their way back and forth, dealing with their lives, their various personal issues. Their emotions were varied, unthreatening, nothing he had to worry about. All his enemies were internal.

He had no way to win. The insanity Sala wanted for him was bearing down on his soul, and the peace that Rachel had worked so hard to instill was silently crumbling. Claw shuddered and gave up the fight.

Gabralina eyed the wide bed that took up most of the sleeping room and swallowed heavily, wondering if the pain in her heart was ever going to cease. She didn't think it could. Wat's death had left a ma.s.sive hole in her, and she couldn't imagine it ever being filled. Even with a healer, she didn't think such a thing was possible.

Sniffling again, wiping her eyes, she peered toward the other room that was the rest of her tiny home. She could feel Wano there, waiting. Wano. Her new sylph.

The only thing that kept this from feeling like a betrayal was that Wano was different than Wat. Wat had been lighthearted and amorous, l.u.s.tful and true. Wano was reflective and quiet, unsure of herself in the exact same way Gabralina was unsure of herself-and just as lonely. She felt something like a sister.

Gabralina clung to that idea. Wano wasn't taking Wat's place. She was creating a new place, becoming a sister instead of a lover. Gabralina could accept a sister and not feel like she was letting Wat down. Except for one thing.

She shoved the few dresses she owned into a sack and cinched it shut, dragging it off the bed and across the floor into the other room. The healer watched her evenly, that bizarrely short hair, soft as fuzz, gleaming darkly in the lamplight.

"Do I have to call you Wano?"

The sylph blinked. "I don't think so. But, what's wrong with being called Wano?"

Gabralina shrugged in embarra.s.sment. "Well, I didn't think it out. I mean, I didn't know you were coming or that I'd be your master and all." She looked down at her feet. "I . . . I thought you were Wat at first, coming back to me, and I started to call his name. I . . . I didn't m-mean to." Her eyes returned to the healer. "I don't want to call you by his name."

The last words came out on a sob, and Wano sighed and stood, walking toward her master. She hadn't been long in this world, but she had seen how the humans trying to comfort Gabralina did so, and so she stepped forward and put her arms around the girl, holding her while she cried. It was a slow and different kind of healing, but sure.

"You can call me whatever you want," she said. "I don't mind. I just like having a name."

Gabralina wept in Wano's arms for a while, and then they left the apartment, the blonde girl blowing out the lamp and closing the door for the last time. She knew she couldn't come back here, not with all the memories of Wat. Her heart ached as she turned and exited the hall, Wano carrying the bag of her possessions.

They went up the same stairs where Leon had almost died and emerged into late afternoon light. It was chill, late autumn, with the bushes mostly bare, the younger trees holding a few remaining red and yellow leaves. The sun was low on the horizon, and there weren't many people out. It was a beautiful day, crisp and fresh.

Gabralina had always liked autumn best of all the seasons, when most of the farm work was done for the year but snow hadn't yet fallen. Back in Yed it had always been too hot for snow, and she hadn't actually seen it until she first came here. She hadn't seen fall colors on the trees before, either, and she'd been awed by those-in a way she hadn't been by the freezing snow. Wat hadn't really understood that, she remembered with a familiar pain. Not once he discovered s...o...b..a.l.l.s.

"Can I call you Autumn?" she asked Wano a little shyly.

"Yes," the sylph replied.

Gabralina smiled, and she felt Autumn's happiness. It bolstered her spirits. "Thank you."

They walked across town, talking quietly. Gabralina related her childhood on the farm in Yed, where they'd harvested stones more often than crops, and Autumn talked about the hive where she'd been hatched, serving as just another healer until her mother decided that she was different and had to be driven away.

"It sounds like you had a worse time than I did," Gabralina realized, "and I was nearly sacrificed!"

"I was, too, when you think about it."

Gabralina frowned. "I guess so. We both had to leave."

"That we did. And then things got better."

"Yes," Gabralina agreed. Then she looked away. "Does it get better?" she whimpered.

"The pain?"

"Yes. I just . . . It hurts so much that he's gone. He can't be."

Autumn frowned, thinking. "He's only gone from this place. Part of him still exists-his energy, if in a different pattern-and it'll be reborn someplace else as someone new."

Gabralina gaped. She hadn't thought of that. Suddenly, she felt a tiny bit better.

They reached their destination, a rambling, organic-looking house that was clearly the work of sylph imaginations. A little nervous about being there, even with the almost commanding invite she'd received, Gabralina went up to the door and knocked.

It opened so quickly they had to have been waiting for her. Nelson smiled, reaching out immediately to take her bag. Autumn handed it over without comment.

"Welcome home," the young man said. "Mom's going to be thrilled."

Gabralina blushed and stepped into the house. "It's really okay that I stay here?"

"Sure. We've got fourteen bedrooms! Stria went a little crazy making the place."

He led the way through a maze that Gabralina was pretty sure she would forget right away. She stayed close to Nelson, while Autumn trailed along behind, eyeing the walls and floors as well as the furniture that seemed to flow in and out of them. Gabralina mused distantly that, if they ever wanted to move a chair, they'd have to call Stria. The place was bizarrely homey. Relaxing.

They went into the kitchen with its huge harvest table, and the children called out greetings. Iyala, too, greeted them warmly.

"Welcome," she said, rising to hug both sylph and master. "Welcome!"

"Thanks for letting us stay," Gabralina replied.

"Say nothing of it, my duck. I'm glad you can stay and help out. It always feels like there should be more people here now that my husband is gone." Brief pain filled her eyes; then she turned to Autumn. "How are you settling in? I hear Fhranke is doing quite well."

"He is?" Gabralina said, remembering uncertainly the new battler and how poorly he'd reacted to Cherry. Autumn looked curious, too.

Iyala grinned. "I don't know all the details"-the twinkle in her eye showed that she could guess-"but it seems Cherry took him to her room and convinced him of the benefits of staying. I understand they were quite noisy. They could hear them downstairs in the tavern."

Gabralina giggled, her hands rising to cover her blushing face. Nelson shook his head ruefully and headed to the table.

Autumn smiled. "Good," she said. "Now that I'm here, I won't be able to give him what he wants. I'm glad it turned out well for him, like it has for me."

Gabralina eyed her uncertainly. "This place is good for you?" She wasn't sure how she felt about that. Pleased, she supposed. Wat's death was still hard, but having Autumn around was helping. And the guilt was dwindling. Yes, Autumn was a sylph as much as Wat, but she was a healer not a battler, and their personalities were hugely different. Autumn wasn't in compet.i.tion the way Fhranke would have been. That, she didn't think she'd ever be able to handle. She felt no l.u.s.t for Autumn, just friendship, and she was able to make the distinction between their relationships.

She'd never have to be alone again. That was all Gabralina ever wanted in life, at least at the start. Autumn's calm acceptance of everything helped as well.

A distant chime sounded, echoing through the house. The children started shouting, and several of them bolted out of the room. Gabralina glanced around in curiosity.

"Company," Nelson explained.

"How odd," Iyala murmured. She didn't look alarmed-not until the children came back, still shouting.

Gabralina stared in horror. Sala was there, leaning heavily against Claw and holding a cloth wrapped around her outstretched hand. Her face was tight with pain, and the cloth red with blood.

She hadn't seen Sala since Wat died. She'd been hurt by that, by the feeling of abandonment and betrayal, but she tempered that with fairness. How hard would it have been to go see Sala if it were Claw who'd been lost? What would she have said to her friend, how could she possibly console her? Gabralina tried hard to remember that and not think badly of her friend, and succeeding she hurried over, her hands fluttering before her in fright.

"You're hurt! What happened?"

"I was cutting food and the knife slipped," Sala gasped. When Iyala pressed a fresh cloth over the old one, she winced in pain. "Claw said that the healer was here?"

Gabralina started, and Iyala tapped her shoulder. "Let your sylph help her," she murmured.

Oh. "Autumn?" Gabralina turned.

Autumn stepped forward. Both she and Claw were unruffled, even as the humans in the room were frantic. She reached forward and laid her hands gently over Sala's wound, pulling the blood-soaked cloths off and trailing her fingers down the length of the wound. The long knife cut closed.

Sala relaxed as the bleeding stopped, still leaning back against Claw. Gabralina watched curiously while Autumn finished and carefully turned Sala's hand over, examining it. The sylph looked up at Claw, who stood quietly behind her, and reached out to lay a hand against his cheek. The battler's eyelids fluttered shut.

Sala straightened, stumbled a step, and forced Claw to move back, breaking the contact between the two. "Thank you!" she enthused. "Lucky for me you're here." She addressed Gabralina. "You must feel so grateful."

"I suppose," Gabralina said. "I . . . I didn't know if I'd ever see you again."

Sala hesitated. Then she stepped forward and gave Gabralina an awkward hug. "I'm sorry. I just didn't know what to say."

It was embarra.s.sing, somehow, and still neither of them knew what to say. Gabralina cast about, trying desperately to think of a new topic of conversation.

"Claw looks good," she said at last. "He seems a lot calmer." The battler wasn't fidgeting the way he used to, instead standing motionless behind his master, staring over her shoulder at the wall.

"Yes." Sala smiled. "I've been working quite hard with him."

"Can you stay and visit for a while?" Iyala asked.

Sala shook her head. "Oh, I'd love to, but I was thinking while I came over here." She eyed Gabralina again. "How would you feel about taking-Autumn is it?-over to see Leon? Just for a checkup. I know that poor dear Betha has been worried sick about him, even with everything that's already been done. I thought it would be a nice gesture."

"Oh!" Gabralina started. She hadn't thought of that. How selfish! "Do you mind?" she asked Autumn.

"No," the sylph replied. "Of course not."

"I'll come with you," Sala said. "I'm quite eager to see how he's doing myself."

Leon slowly made his way down the stairs, one hand on the railing and Nali at his side trying to help but mostly getting in his way. Mia went ahead of them, sliding down the steps on her backside and looking back constantly.

"Don't fall," he cautioned her.

"Not gonna," she replied. "Nope. Mama said to bring you to dinner."

"I know," he said. They reached the bottom of the stairs, and he straightened wearily. "Thanks, Nali."

She beamed.

Cara stuck her head out of the kitchen doorway. "He's here!" she screamed.

"I'm not deaf, Cara," Betha protested.