"M-missing?"
"Yes. Ronan came looking for you."
"Ronan?"
"Yes."
He did not elaborate. The silence after the confirmation had the energy of a door being closed on a room she wasn't invited into yet.
She swallowed. The gold magic was still working through her ribs, knitting things she'd torn open in Viremont, and the warmth of it made it hard to think clearly, but guilt was cutting through regardless.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause you to worry," she managed.
Dexmon's arms tightened around her. She felt him inhale against her hair, deep and slow, the way someone breathes in a scent they've been missing for longer than a single lifetime.
"Natalia was my name in a past life. Wasn't it?" Serena asked.
She didn't know how she knew. The knowledge was just there, sitting in her chest like a coin she'd found in a pocket she didn't remember filling. She wanted him to say it. Needed the confirmation from a voice that had no reason to lie.
"Yes."
