 Arcana doesn't need to say the words; Evren picks up on her meaning easily enough - their mother is dead, or as good as dead. The thought burrows like a worm into her heart. Their father's death - and Koray's - are still fresh memories in Evren's head, and though she has thus far held herself together, for a moment she is nearly overwhelmed. Her head swims and her limbs go cold. It is all too much.
Then Indira begins to cry, and suddenly Evren knows she cannot lose control now - not now, not when her sister needs her.
She sucks in a breath and pushes past the barrier of unfamiliarity that time and distance have built between them. She presses herself against her sister, shushing her gently. "Don't say that. We don't know that. Maybe she is still looking for you. Maybe she is searching the entire world and just needs more time to find her way back."
Evren pulls back and looks her sister in the face, her expression firm yet kind. "What's important is that you're here, and you're safe now. Mom would want that more than anything." Her eyes drift down to the dark little colt. She wonders about his father - had it been the stallion who had claimed Indira? Had he raped her?
Evren's heart suddenly flares with anger and passion. "If there's one thing I know about our family, it's that we are fighters. You've proven that by winning your freedom, Indira. And I did the same a few months ago. I went searching the crossing island for herd members, and some asshole forced me back to his herd. I got the better of him eventually. And now here we both are."
She flashes her sister an encouraging smile.
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