They greeted me with hugs, kindness, softness I really didn't deserve. Jabuticabron looked so hurt and lost I finally hugged him back. Sequoia wept as she kissed my cheek, even Zinnia's pain clear on her face. The only one who didn't show worry was Bakari, but I didn't expect it from him.
Mabel's embrace swallowed me, the heat of her and the surge of her magic making me feel safe enough to cling to her like a child. When she released me, a single sparkling tear tracked from her diamond eyes.
"Forgive me," she said. "I have failed you, Meira."
"You have not," I said, turning to face them all, still at her side. Max stood behind Syd, Pagomaris hugging herself next to Sequoia who cradled Sassafras in her arms. "No one was at fault. Except." I shuddered, teeth clenched against my need to ru
