The morning of departure arrived wrapped in mist. I stood at the threshold of the packhouse, holding Lydia’s traveling cloak with hands that did not tremble. I had learned, in the dark hours between discovery and dawn, how to wear obedience like a second skin."Mother, you’re creasing the silk." Lydia snatched the garment from my grasp, her nose wrinkling in that gesture she had learned from Marga. I released the fabric. "Forgive me."Shawn emerged from the study, his ceremonial leathers gleaming, every buckle polished to a mirror sheen by my own hands. He did not look at me. Marga swept through the doorway, pristine, luminous, her white-blonde hair catching the weak morning light like spun starlight. She took Lydia’s hand naturally, the way a mother takes her daughter’s, and Lydia leaned into her side with a familiarity that lacerated."There, there, little swan," Marga cooed, adjusting Lydia’s collar with tender precision. "We shall see such wonders. The crystalline waters, the gar
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