THE LAST TIME THEY’D parted, he’d been in shock about his unexpected fate and he hadn’t been able to explain himself properly. Now he knew better what damage he’d done and he was not going to make it worse. He had postponed his conversation with Milthu for as long as he could possibly justify it. It had just been so nice to have him back, to have him here with the freedom, the time and the food—for once without the constant worry.
But now time had run out. “Hey,” he whispered, squeezing his brother’s little shoulder—he’d grown so much stronger in the last couple of weeks. Aalyan just hoped he was strong enough to confront this. The boy blinked, grunting a little in complaint. “Hey, sleepy head.”
“Where...?” He glanced around, frowning a little. “Where’s everyone?”
“I asked them to leave
