Page 177 - DivineSparkRising II-TheMirrorofSilenceFinal

Nicholas Boothman
Sera didn’t speak at all. She pressed her palm to
Henry’s forearm where the burn lived and
transferred heat. Hold, the touch said again, and
his ribs obeyed.
Sofia tested edges.
“You are tired,” she said, almost kind. “There is
no shame in rest.”
“We will rest when we’re done,” Henry said.
“You will never be done,” Sofia said, for once
simply telling the truth. “That is why mercy exists.”
Carolina grinned, sudden and fierce. “Then
mercy isn’t silence,” she rasped. “It’s help.”
For a breath that was longer than a breath, the
inversion field missed its mark. The engine’s lights
climbed and miscounted. The tower acted like a
dancer who knew the choreography too well to
improvise and was being asked to.
Sofia spoke low, more to herself than to them.
“This is the problem with loving humans. They
keep moving.”
Henry lifted the mug and tucked it back into the
box with Serpa’s journals. “Good,” he said, and
didn’t bother to be eloquent.
5. The Anchor Sentence
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