Goodbye
The sobbing quieted as Nya walked into the room. Gavin had his arms around his mother, her head on his shoulder. His father was standing with his hand on his wife’s back, patting her, tears streaking his face. Gavin was the only one whose face was free of tears.
Nya wasn’t sure what to do or what to say. She took a few steps into the room but then stopped. She knew his parents had to be mad at her because she was part of the royal family that had just sentenced their only child to death, but she prayed they’d understand that it wasn’t her fault.
“Nya,” Gavin said with a smile, raising a hand to beckon her over. His mother raised her head and glared in Nya’s direction, her eyes swollen and red already but so small in the shadow of Gavin’s embrace.
“I don’t want to intrude,” Nya
