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“I need to make a few calls.”

“I’m going to check the spell around the perimeter.”

She knew he had no calls to make, and that the spell held up fine.

“He goes inward when he’s having a hard time,” Yuki informed her one night, finishing Naia’s checkup—monitoring vitals and blood pressure to ensure the potion was doing its job. “Just talk to him. Don’t let the broody bastard run away from his problems.”

Naia chewed on the inside of her cheek, considering. The last thing she wanted was to pry at him and push him away.

“Thank you for the advice,” Naia told Yuki, unstrapping the blood pressure monitor from her bicep. “And for the potion.”

“As much as I’d love to take credit, Aviel is more of an alchemist than me. He stayed up all night perfecting the recipe.”

Naia smiled at her tone around Avi’s name. “It seems like you’ve known him for a while.”

“Since he started stalking my brother.” Yuki smirked. “I used to visit Ronin a lot in the city, before I had Akane.”

Naia would be lying if she didn’t admit how curious she was about Yuki’s life and Akane’s father. For instance, what had happened to him? Was he dead? Did he abandon them? She hesitated to ask those types of personal questions, though.

“I figured you would have treated me with animosity,” Naia confessed instead, shifting her weight on Ronin’s bed. “Considering all the hardships your family has endured from the gods.”

Yuki looked up, pausing her movements while stuffing the blood pressure monitor in her leather bag. “Did you personally have anything to do with my clan’s massacre?”

Naia fidgeted with her fingernails in her lap. “I was not alive at the time.”

Yuki cocked a brow. “Well then, why would I hate you for something you had no part in?”

Naia stared at her, not sure how to reply.

“Our mom and extremely grouchy aunt did everything to instill their hatred towards the gods into Ronin and me. Both of them chose not to practice bloodletting. It was their way of solidarity, sticking it to the gods, and their demise.” She punctuated this by mockingly thrusting her fist in the air and rolling her eyes. “It’s why they died at such an early age.”

“Was your father from the island?” Naia asked, siphoning out as many details of their family as she could.

“No, he was from the mainland. Moved here when he was a kid, his father started a fishing business. Which was why he was so adamant about Ronin staying on the island and working for him.” A laugh spluttered out of her, nostalgia shining in her eyes. “Ronin hated it, but he loved our dad. Mom put high expectations on Ronin once she realized how gifted in magic he was. She always said he would be the one to restore our clan’s power. It was a lot for Ronin and it put a strain on their relationship.”

Naia’s chest squeezed, understanding Ronin’s upbringing a bit more.

Yuki zipped up her bag and let out a breath, the movement drooping her shoulders. “Look, I trust my brother and his judgment. If he says you’re good, I’ll go with it. Besides, Akane approves of you. That’s all that matters to me.”

Naia lifted her chin to meet Yuki’s eyes, as fervent and intimidating as Ronin’s. “I appreciate everything you are doing for me. Really. Thank you for your kindness.”

“I’ll come check on you in the morning.” Yuki started towards the door. “Oh, I forgot!” She reached into her bag and pulled out bright, sparkly purple slippers. “Akane picked them out.”

She set them on the floor at Naia’s bedside.

“Welcome to the family.” She winked and spun to leave the room.

Naia’s heart swelled.

They matched Ronin’s.

A toothy grin stretched across her face and tears stung her eyes.

Placing her feet into the slippers, she savored the feeling of being fully embraced by the Kahale family, wiggling her toes to revel in the plush comfort.

Naia waited until she heard Yuki, Avi, and Akane depart to do their weekly foraging. When Theon transported away to check in with things in Hollow City, she made her way across the house, scuffing her new slippers across the hardwood planks. With him gone, she knew Ronin was nearby.

Paprika and garlic still lingered in the air from dinner. The house was old, and its walls regularly moaned. Half of the windows required a jiggle when opening them. The lilac paint was scuffed off in the corners near the baseboards, and the weathered, mismatched furniture looked as if it had been painted over numerous times. The amalgam of smells greeting her when she first walked through the door were her favorite touch. A musky jasmine belonging to Ronin. A sweet, candied fragrance when Akane approached, reminding Naia of the sea berry marmalade she loved. The residual, pungent whiff of the various herbs and tinctures stocking in the kitchen cabinets.