The carriage stopped at the hospital gate.
Kaelen stepped out first, his legs were steady now, the mana poisoning had dropped to 18% overnight. The amber on his chest had cooled to a dull warmth. But the image of the women in the cages had not left him, the ones with the clear eyes, the ones who had stared at the sky like they had forgotten it existed.
Rina climbed out behind him, then Markus, then a young woman Kaelen had sent for three days ago, Her name was Rein, Rina's sister. She was nineteen, small boned, with the same brown hair and grey eyes as Rina. But where Rina was steady, Reina was not. She stood with her arms wrapped around her own ribs. Her fingers twisted in the hem of her sleeve.
"Let's go," Kaelen said.
Rein shook her head at the voice and she pulled at a strand of her hair. Wrapped it around her finger. Pulled again.
Kaelen moved. He had asked Rina to bring her here.
