Morrense touched me gently on the shoulder, but I pulled away from it. I could not look into those eyes right now.
I found myself in my room again, this time digging through the abundance of forgotten items on the floor of my closet. I was not quite crying, but tears kept leaking out and they blurred my vision terribly. It took me much longer than it should have to find the large, brown sack I had used to carry my belongings when I arrived in Readimina twenty-four years ago.
I sat there for a moment just running my fingers over it. It was faun-made, of course, completely woven out of plant fibers. Dirty and quite ugly, it held a lot of sentimental value, and having to use it again punctuated the gravity of what was happening.
My ears caught the sound of an intruder, and I turned to glare at Levent standing awkwardly in the doorway. He obviously found it improper to enter a female’s bedroom, but did not have a problem with interrupting my thoughts.
“Yes?” I growled.
He stood there for a moment, choosing his words carefully. When he spoke, he was back to his normal gruff speech. “I wanted to apologize for…” He paused. “Getting you exiled.”
I frowned. “It was bound to happen eventually. I was never really welcome here; I guess I just never realized it until now.” I stood, my hands that gripped the old sack shaking. This was completely my fault, but I could not help but feel some anger toward the kin, for without his existence I never would have been put in this situation. He was quiet, but strangely sincere in his own way.
“It’s my fault. My choices led me here,” I grumbled, resisting the urge to throw something. I had to keep myself in check for a while longer. “I’d like to finish packing now. You’re free to leave whenever you wish.”
He stood there for a moment in aggravating silence, and then spoke again. “If you want.” He definitely sounded as though he had never had to endure polite language for so long. “I could escort you to the port.”
I did not answer. Right now I kind of wanted to throttle him in frustration. He was obviously doing this out of guilt, but I did not know whether that made it worth more or less to me.
“I will give you time.” With that, he retreated down the stairs. Something about