A sharp cough broke the air.
Sett stiffened. He turned his head, annoyance flashing in his eyes.
Standing a few paces away, arms crossed and eyebrows raised, was Zainah.
She tapped her foot against the stone floor, the sound loud in the hush.
Sett sighed heavily but didn't move away. His body remained braced against Ismera's, protective, possessive.
Ismera tilted her head back against the wall, looking up at her grandson through half-lidded eyes.
How quickly the boy is growing up.
She did not like the passage of time. She hated it. Especially when that lost time was spend without her family around her. It felt like missed life.
She hated the way that relationships subtly changed due to age. It hurt her.
Every time she met Sett, that was what relieved her the most. He never seemed to really change—but there were changes now.
I missed his growing years again.
