Void Domain, Book 06 полностью

Eva winced at both the formal greeting and the use of her last name. She had certainly never mentioned it to anyone. It was something of a shock to see it here.

Your letter has been received. My wife and daughter are well for the most part. Genoa is still bedridden, though conscious for a majority of every day’s hours. She has become somewhat stir crazy as of late.

Juli has been… closed off. She meets with Ylva far too much for my desires. Worse still, she hasn’t told me what they meet about. I know that the ring she still wears ties Juliana to Ylva, but it still weighs on a father’s mind.

Not once has she returned with the slightest scratch. Ylva has assured me that no harm will come to Juliana in her presence. Given my experiences with Ylva in her domain, I’ve no real reason to distrust her.

Eva blinked. She hadn’t been aware of any meetings between Juliana and Ylva. Though Ylva had been missing from her domain on occasion, taking Alicia and leaving only Nel behind. And she mentioned being taken away from something important after Eva returned to her domain from Hell.

An inkling of curiosity welled within her. What could they be doing together?

Along with the feeling of curiosity, a surge of elation flooded through her. If Juliana was associating with Ylva still, maybe she wouldn’t keep her distance from Eva.

Eva had been exceedingly concerned that Juliana blamed both Eva and Arachne for her mother’s current state. Between Arachne’s self-imposed solitude, Juliana being away, and Shalise’s inability to leave Hell, Eva was missing the early days of her schooling.

With what was in the letter, she was wondering if it was a mistake to have not written to Juliana after all. She stayed her hand under the assumption that Juliana would want a little space. Juliana was still quite far ahead of the current curriculum in school, so it wouldn’t be a troublesome thing for her to return even as late as the start of next year.

By then, Eva planned to have Sawyer dealt with. She didn’t know what to do about the Hell thing, but that would affect Juliana whether or not she was at Brakket.

Eva’s elation crashed down around her as she thought more about the implications. Juliana was meeting with Ylva, but neither had mentioned a thing to Eva.

Maybe she didn’t want to meet at all.

Shaking her head, Eva turned back to the rest of the letter.

As for me, I suppose I am well enough. I am merely grateful that none of my family was taken from me. Thank you for asking.

The rest of your letter, I will not lie, has caught my interest. However, I will mention that I find myself conflicted in my interactions with you. Between the scare of losing my daughter and my wife’s injury, and your associates’ proximity to those events, you somewhat frighten me. Though I know, intellectually, that you had little to do with causing those incidents.

On the other hand, you have allowed me to witness a great many things I never imagined the possibility of interacting with. Gargoyles, for instance. A species thought to be all but extinct. And I witnessed the birth of a new member of their species. Truly a magical event if ever there was one.