Kanushin (Starweaver's Tapestry #1)

Chapter 26: Invisible

Diah, shaken to her core by her mother's unexpected embrace, felt time come to a standstill. Wyrna's frigid exterior seemed to melt away. For the briefest of moments, Diah questioned her own reality.

'Surely, I must be dreaming,' She thought and awaited a response from the mental version of her mother that had plagued her for days. There wasn't one. The silence was an additional dose of unexpected bliss in the situation that developed around her.

"I'm so thankful you're here safely," Wyrna said quietly between them. Her grip tightened. "I genuinely thought I had lost you forever, and now here you are."

Diah fought the urge to settle into Wyrna's embrace. It was too sudden to believe that any of it was real. A part of her hoped it was, though. No matter how many horrid things Wyrna did, Diah's heart stubbornly refused to give up on her mother.

Diah pulled away from Wyrna and extended an arm out to her friends. "Mother, this is Sky and Balakus. They're just two of the group that worked to get me back home safely. The others are headed to Flightline Omega."

Wyrna's eyes widened as she took in what Diah had said. She gave a pleasant smile to her companions and offered a formal bow. "My many thanks to my daughter's helpers. I owe you two, and the rest, the absolute best the Chyl can offer." Wyrna inspected Balakus from top to bottom. "Especially you, who so bravely betrayed his own kind."

Balakus met Wyrna's eyes and stood his ground as she approached, the first time Diah had witnessed such an act. She struggled to read his face. It was stone-like in more ways than one.

"Hm, indeed," Balakus grumbled in response. "You know, they say Kunar loyalty is much like the Chyl's - we just follow whoever lives at the highest elevation."

Wyrna let out a forced laugh and a beaming smile, then turned back to Diah. "I look forward to hearing more about your journey, so let's head up to the suite. The Alis are scheduled to convene tonight and I'm sure you could use a rest before then."

"Food and rest sound ideal, mother," She agreed.

"It's settled then!" Wyrna shouted with a wave of her arms. The guards shuffled around her. "Your friends can join us as well."

"And the Aurora?" Sky questioned.

"I'll see that it's heavily guarded," Wyrna answered.

She rotated on the balls of her feet, the most energetic Diah had ever seen her, and led the way up the familiar capitol steps. Diah noticed the eyes of the capitol staff affixed to them as they ascended. It was different, to say the least. She reflected on when she had run down the steps, invisible to those around her, in order to find and save herself. Now, seen by all, she ran up them in an attempt to save Vensha.

"Is everything here so posh?" Sky wondered aloud as she took in the interior of the capitol.

"It's a far cry from what Yara looks like," Balakus added. "Well, except for Regal's chambers. That would fit in with everything here, no problem."

"Maybe your Lord Regal took inspiration from our architecture and refused to make it public knowledge," Wyrna offered. Balakus didn't respond.

Diah looked down the hallway that led to Wyrna's office. "Are we not using your office, mother?"

"No, my dear. We're going home," Wyrna stated.

'Home,' Diah repeated to herself. 'It's so strange to think of that awful penthouse as such.'

The group collected onto one of the capitol's central lifts before Wyrna waved her palm across the buttons. It hummed then shot into the bronze tunnel above as it ascended to the top. Sky wobbled slightly from the speed. The lift dinged and its doors slid open to the boxed entryway of the Nollak's suite. As they entered, Diah was greeted by the abhorrent sight of overwhelmingly white and yellow furniture.