Since Esmera was abandoned on a stranger's doorstep as a baby, the only person who has looked out for her is herself.
Until a lark starts visiting her, leaving behind exotic flowers and iridescent pebbles that the internet doesn't recognise.
Esmera...
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A pair of solid, familiar arms closed around Esmera while she rocked on her knees, trapped in the agony of a moment she had no power to escape from. The sound of Tauram's life beating in her ears slowly drowned out the sound of Yandriya's death.
He rested his chin on Esmera's head, steadying her while forcing Jammas to forsake his favourite perch. The lark fluttered around Esmera's head, frantic with worry despite being indignant at his eviction.
Esmera knew it was Tauram she rested her cheek against without him needing to speak because she smelt his cool, icy pine scent, because she recognised the racing rhythm of his heart that seemed so at odds with his languorous movements.
"It's okay, Esmera. You're okay," he murmured, his voice alone enough to soothe her terror, her devastation, even if it didn't quell it.
Esmera opened her eyes with a gasp, like a person who had just surfaced from under water. She looked up at Tauram, who was watching her with a soft, gentle gaze. Even Lundas rubbed against her side, purring consolations she couldn't understand.
"You're safe now." Tauram's fingers brushed against Esmera's cheek as if going to cradle it, but then he pulled his hand back as if thinking better of it.
Everything became too much, overburdening a moment that wasn't built for it. Esmera's eyes blurred, and then she was sobbing. Despite himself, Tauram's arms tightened around her, and despite herself, she pressed herself against his chest.
It was only right that Esmera crumble. She shouldn't even exist, not anymore. She had been meant to die here with her family, and she might've if her mother hadn't thought so quickly.
Yandriya wasn't going to die. Ruagu had no intention of killing her, if he had even been honest, but she had given up her life for her child's. It was that life Esmera couldn't waste.
No more crying. No more working dead-end jobs with unreasonable hours. No more searching for love in people who had none to give. No more faltering uncertainty or cowardly cowering.
Esmera was going to kill Ruagu, whether or not she had the Finnaaz army at her disposal, and she would look him in the eye when she did it, just as he had done to every member of her family.
Esmera took a deep breath, giving her goal a moment to settle into her mind. When she had the composure to look beyond herself, she saw Lady Varali lying curled on the floor while Belaren and Anjarah knelt beside her, both frowning their concern.
"Lady Varali! Are you okay?" Not yet steady enough to leave Tauram's arms, Esmera reached out and took the other woman's feeble hand in hers.
"I am. Memory-walking drains away a lot of one's energy, that is all." Lady Varali gave Esmera a wan smile. "I hope you got whatever you needed from exploring your past."
Esmera hadn't gotten the closure she had hoped for or the method of activation for the weapon she had expected, but she did know what it was, and she understood why Ruagu was afraid of it.
