"You knew her," he said. "You knew Ilyra."
"I knew her whole life. I was there when she was born." The woman's eyes closed briefly, fresh tears escaping. "I was there, too, the day they took us. I couldn't save her. I've carried that every day since."
"You didn't fail her," Valen said, though the words cost him something enormous to speak aloud, given how close he'd come to killing Doran over the very same guilt. "None of us could have stopped what happened that day."
The woman studied him for a long moment, something searching in her gaze. "You've grown so much. Your mother would be proud, seeing what you've become. Seeing you come back for us, after everything."
Valen's throat tightened. "My mother," he said carefully. "Do you know—after I left. What happened to her?"
