Dorian's pov
I should have gone with her.
That thought looped through my head the entire time I stood at that window, watching Elara cross the frozen clearing toward a sister I'd buried in my heart thirty years ago. Selene's hand found mine, small and cold, and I forced myself to look down at her instead of the glass.
"Papa," she whispered. "You're shaking."
"I'm fine."
"You're not."
I almost laughed. Seven years old and already sharper than half my council.
"Watch your sister," I said. "I need to be closer."
"Mama said stay."
"Mama said stay with you. I'm not leaving this room. I'm just leaving this window." I crouched to her level, cupping her small face the way Elara had done moments before. "Can you still hear the thread? What she's saying?"
Selene's eyes went distant again,
