Inked

25

Dusk was swiftly approaching the robbers' camp. It had been almost a week since the men -- since Mo -- had left. Resa was trying her hardest not to worry, busying herself with the cooking and cleaning, though there was hardly any of it to be done since the sloppiest and most voracious of the men were away. Valor became her main focus. Mo wanted to run off and leave her with their child again? So be it. She would not let his absence affect her parenting.

During the day she tried to keep him entertained with walks in the woods, careful not to let the faeries get too close to him. Most nights she would take him on flights over Ombra. They were not always guaranteed because Valor was still too young to control his transformation, but they were frequent enough to accomplish her actual task. These trips were an excuse to get a closer look at Ombra Castle, to check on Mo. No one ever paid attention to a couple of swifts gliding by overhead. However, these visits rarely produced any reward. The people inside were always preparing for bed, thick curtains drawn and lamps extinguishing, one by one as night grew deeper.

All Resa needed was once glimpse of Mo, just one, and as the nights wore on with no sign, not even a suggestion, of him, worry blossomed in her chest. She had suspected as much, but to have it confirmed was something else entirely. He was not in Ombra. He had most likely gone to Argenta, for what purpose she couldn't decide, and if he was there, so was Dustfinger. Resa didn't plan on delivering this news to Roxane -- although perhaps she already knew, just as Resa had had an idea. You spend so much time with someone and you start to develop an extra sense, an awareness of their proximity...

Just as she sensed Meggie was not in the robbers' camp like she was supposed to be. Resa hadn't seen her all day, neither had she seen Farid or the other girl -- what was her name? Sonya? Solidad? Soleil. Yes, Soleil. Resa had thought her sudden appearance at the camp odd, and if it had anything to do with her daughter's disappearance, the foreign girl would most definitely pay.