The first day's travel retraced the ridge path in reverse, Drevash receding in the morning light as the carriages picked their way back toward the main road. Rex spent it watching the terrain and thinking.
The document from Kregg was memorized.
The relay structure was mapped in his head.
The name "Celestina Von Starlight" sat where it had been sitting since the canyon, waiting for the right context.
Aurelia was in his carriage for part of the first day and said, in the loose stretch before the ridge descent, "You remind me of someone."
"The version of you they remind me of made worse choices with what he had."
"Who?" Rex said.
"My son," Aurelia said. "The similarities represent the best aspects of what he could have become."
She paused. "I don't say that as a compliment. I say it as context."
Rex held her gaze for a moment. "I'll take it as context," he said.
"That's the right way to take it," she said.
