Page 57 of Stitches
It was memories for Levi now, not daydreams, for when something came back to him, he remained aware of his surroundings. He thought he remembered his mother—no, his father—trying to train him to better understand what he was doing wrong with the bow. He couldn’t picture his father’s face, but maybe because it had been so long since even Leander had seen him.
“Can we play yet, Mother?” Kenner called from the back stoop.
Yentriss had told him he couldn’t come into the yard until she and Levi were finished, since he was likely to distract Levi—especially since he held their young rollhound puppy in his lap, who was also eager to play. The boy had been watching them with impressive patience for near an hour now.
“Just a moment,” Yentriss called to him without looking back. “If Levi can hit the center, you can play with him all you like.”
It was a challenge, but also motivation, because Levi was sore but determined, both to show Yentriss he could learn as he had never been able to show his father, and to spend time with the boy who had befriended him and reminded him of his brother.
“Take a moment to relax,” Yentriss said before Levi could lift the bow again. “Loosen your muscles. Roll your shoulders. Breathe.”
Levi did all of it, even closed his eyes as he took in several breaths. When he opened his eyes again, he could see Kenner in his periphery, literally bouncing on the stoop in anticipation while the rollhound licked his face. He was one of the youngest members of the kingdom, from one of the oldest couples, a pair who had been married before the curse.
It made Levi wonder.
“May I ask… what made you and Grillo wait so long to have Kenner? I know many couples have done the same, but you’re both so natural and tender with him, it seems something you would have wanted sooner.”
As Yentriss glanced at her son, Grillo came out the back door with a tray of mugs. He handed one to Kenner, sat beside him on the stoop to wait, and petted the rollhound’s floppy ears. There was that secretive smile again that Levi saw so rarely on Yentriss’s stern face.
“Who says we didn’t?” she answered. “But want isn’t the same as function. We literally couldn’t have a child in the beginning. After that, given my station among the people, allowing others to grow their families first seemed the more honorable choice. After a time, I… started doubting I would be a fitting mother. Grillo fought a very long time to rid me of those fears.
“He said our love was so overflowing that spilling over into something new could never diminish it, and if I could love him so potently, I should never doubt I would be just as adept at loving a child.” Her eyes, green and gold like her scales, shimmered as she looked back at Levi. “Don’t get me wrong, parenting is not easy, but with patience and practice, like anything else, as long as you want to succeed, you can find a way.”
She faced Levi squarely, putting her family at her back, and was once again a coolly collected soldier. “Now, what do you think the problem is?”
For years Leander hadn’t known the answer, because his father left before he could finish teaching him, and though he’d known the basics, he could never figure out what he was doing wrong.
Without picking up a new arrow, Levi reset his stance and mimicked loosing one once more, watchful of his posture and hold on the bow. When he released the string, he tilted slightly to the left.
“I’m not keeping the bow vertical.”
“Very good. So, fix it.”
Easier said than done, but even if Levi failed this attempt, he knew he could try again. He nocked another arrow, steadied his breathing and his aim, and focused the brunt of his efforts on not tilting the bowwhen he released.
The arrow arched from him with that same audible slice, and this time, while not perfectly center, it struck just inside the red.
“You did it!” Kenner cried, proclaiming Levi’s jubilant satisfaction before it fully registered.
Levi turned with a wide smile, watching a twitch of that same satisfaction on Yentriss and rich excitement from both Kenner and Grillo, who left the stoop to join them. Kenner practically flew across the yard with the rollhound bounding after him, while Grillo, carrying the tray of drinks, moved more slowly.
Kenner threw his arms around Levi’s legs with the usual enthusiasm, and when he next hugged his mother, praising her for being such a good teacher, Yentriss ruffled his hair with affection only so many got to see.
“Well done!” Grillo added as he reached them, looking first to Levi and then to his wife, whom he leaned toward to give a congratulatory kiss. The rollhound darted all around their feet, leaping and occasionally tightening into an armadillo-like ball, unsure of why everyone was so happy but uncaringly blissful to be part of it.
Witnessing it all brought forth an equal sting of yearning and a pleasant warmth. Levi missed his family, and he knew he always would, but he was comforted in knowing he had another one here with many new friends.
And a flourishing love all his own.
Ashmedai
In truth, it was rare for Ashmedai to walk from the castle to wherever he needed to go. There were enough familiar, constant shadows in the Dark Kingdom that he could simply jump from one to the next, avoiding his citizens whenever he wasn’t in the mood to offer a mustered smile or chat about the mundane.
He felt guilty for thinking of time with his people like that—like a chore—but whereas they had all grown accustomed to this life and thrived over the centuries, the passing years had made Ashmedai more ashamed of what had brought it about.
This was the first morning in so very long that he wanted to walk.
He had gotten into the habit of walking Levi home but yesterday had been the first time when Ashmedai began to do so starting from the castle steps. They hadn’t made it far before Dreya appeared as though she was the one with shadow magic and whisked Ashmedai away, but at the start of the walk, Ashmedai had seen his kingdom with clearer eyes, and he wanted that feeling again.
