Back Where 101
It feels unreal. To be inside Ash Pack. Standing in the garden, staring up at the night sky where there is nothing. No stars. No moon. Just wide darkness.

I lower my gaze when I hear movement from behind me, and his scent comes before his voice. Jurrek.

Inside the Ashmere Garden, where no one dares enter except by invitation, I have called upon him after dinner. After the declaration that my brother’s name is to be off–limits on every lip.

That’s a lie. An order that shatters my heart, but it is necessary. Not when I can’t tell who wishes his return and who didn’t.

I turn to see Jurrek standing before me with a low bow. When he straightens, it’s a stare of confusion and wonder that he renders me.

“You want to give up the search for your brother?” he asks in awe, unable to stop himself, and I go mute, reading his face. “Why would you want to?”

Again, I am silent. My heart heaving as I see a frown crease his brow, then horror replaces it. Never have I seen him so pale, so shocked, and so scared.