He’d grown used to the hostility and apprehension that seemed to follow them wherever they went… the air that replaced any casualness with something suffocating at the mere mention of their names. Maybe that’s why he didn’t notice a difference immediately.

  He still wondered, sometimes, if anything would’ve changed if he’d sensed something and spoke up about it.

  But he also knew they wouldn’t want him dwelling on it.

  Instead, he thought about something different: how absolutely mundane the turn of events started out as.

  Evelina’s face had been red for the better half of dinner, after Olle’s father had prompted her about the boy that had walked her home the day before. She was mostly embarrassed, but Olle could tell there were hints of something else, too. “A-and then he realized I’d stayed home on my birthday. He offered to walk me home and promised he’d get me a late birthday present during Light’s Call.”

  Olle, knowing full well what the comment would do, smirked and remarked, “Well, I think he’s a pretty nice guy. Never seemed as hostile as the others—especially around you.”

  “Y-yeah,” Evelina said, blushing more.

  Olle’s mother smiled. “Why don’t you see if he’d like to come over for dinner?”

  Olle’s father nodded. “They might want to make enemies of us, but we don’t need to make enemies out of them. Orestis teaches treating each other with kindness—so long as you’re careful, there’s no harm in it.”

  A sudden bang on the door disrupted the normalcy of the situation—reminded them of what being normal for them really meant. Like always, there was a moment when they all felt panicked; Olle’s parents quickly calmed themselves down, though, to match the expressions that never faltered. Evelina never quite got the hang of beating down her emotions that quickly, though perhaps that was for the better.

  “I’ll see who it is,” Olle’s father said. He gave them a smile but they all knew that it was fake.

  His mother, meanwhile, tried to start a casual conversation as if there wasn’t an argument and very angry people at the door. “We’ve been considering taking a trip outside of town tomorrow as a family. We’ve seen how the people here hold up Danai—we thought it would be interesting to see how others celebrate. Does that interfere with any of your other plans?”

  Evelina’s anxieties seemed to quell then, replaced by an air of excitement. “No, I said I’d be spending the festival with my family. Where do you think we’ll go?”

  “I don’t know.” His mother’s smile faltered. “Just away from here.”

  …

  If there was one thing his parents couldn’t do, it was tricking him into thinking everything was alright. His “sense” assured that—as much as he sometimes wished for Evelina’s ignorance.

  When he woke up the next morning, he could tell that things were very wrong. Hearing his parents mumbling about something, he went down to warn them, but…

  His mother just looked up at him. She didn’t mask any emotions—her fear and her sadness was impossible to deny. “We might not be able to come with you, but the two of you should still go on that trip. Lunch is in the kitchen, and if you go to our room you’ll find some spare coins for souvenirs.”

  “Mom, what are you talking about?” Olle knew he didn’t want to know the answer. He looked to his father. “D-Dad, it’s not—-“

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  “Keep an eye on Evelina, alright?” His father walked towards the door. “Neither of you are a part of this. If they acknowledge that, then they’ll leave you alone.”

  Then Evelina must’ve woken up and heard them all talking, because she came down, too. She glanced at the three of them, and then at the window—it looked like nearly the whole town was outside, the priest and a few others nearly to the door. The moment she pieced it together was obvious; the fear, the confusion… the guilt.

  “What’s going to happen to you?” she dared to whisper.

  A forceful knock on the door—soon followed by an attempt to enter regardless—was enough of an answer. Olle’s father went to get it, while his mother gestured Evelina closer.

  His mother pulled them both into a hug, her soft voice contrasting the accusations made at the front door. “Take care of each other. Get what you need here and find somewhere safe. Never feel like this was because of the two of you. I speak for us both that we’ve cherished every moment with you. The only thing we regret is that we couldn’t see who you became—that we didn’t leave this place sooner.” She pulled them back to look at them for, what they all knew to be, the last time. “Please, don’t let this be the end. Let it be a new chapter—one we’ll hear all about, when you’ve lived your lives and it’s finally time for us to be reunited.”

  At the door, there was a different conversation:

  “We’re giving you one last chance. This is a matter of life or death for you. Prove that you are not like them.”

  Calmly, Olle’s father answered, “We both know, even if I gave you proof, you would find another reason to condemn me.”

  “I don’t want to do this, you know.”

  “That’s a little hard to believe. You’ve seemed desperate to do this for the past thirteen years.”

  “Just show us. Then no family has to be torn apart.”

  “I have nothing to show.”

  Olle often wondered, looking back, what they’d talked about. It wasn’t until after Tandi had talked to them about Feldr’s curse that he had a guess. They’d been talking about his father’s magic. To them, not having it would prove the gods had forsaken him—that he and his line deserved the fate of those who defied the gods. And who knows how long it had been since he’d lost that ability.

  “Let’s hope your souls will find redemption in the flames.” The priest then shouted to the spectators, “Today, we honor Danai by fulfilling the will of her father, Orestis! The cursed line of Feldr ends here!”

  A cheer erupted—so happy, despite what it meant what they’d be doing—until Olle’s mother stepped closer to the door.

  “Leave Olle and Evelina out of this,” she said firmly. “We’re the ones you want. Let them go.”

  The priest, for a moment, looked like he was going to object. But he glanced at the crowd—and they faltered. After all… it was effortless to find fault in adults but what, truly, could they say the children had done? They’d watched the two grow up… they knew their only “sins” came from their bloodline, and not themselves.

  So instead, he glared right at the two of them and declared, “They have ten minutes to get out. This home was a resting place for the condemned, so it too shall be burned—with or without anyone in it. And if they dare come here again… we will give them the fate they deserve.”

  A moment was given to let it all sink in, then the countdown started. Everyone aside from Olle and Evelina, including his parents, went to the town square. Meanwhile, the two of them gathered what they couldn’t bear to leave behind.

  It turns out, those “packed lunches” were enough to keep four people satisfied for three days. The “souvenir money” was a handful of gold and silver coins, and… his parents had already packed their valuables, with a note about each item’s price, should they need to be sold. His parents’ engagement rings were included… he put them both into a separate bag, and promised himself to keep them despite whatever happened. Olle took to carrying all of it, since it was the most important. Evelina gathered their clothes, one of his mother’s coats, and four mugs—the “special” mug for each member of the family. She had to have known there was no coming back, and soon there’d be no more traces of the family at all.

  They left then, Olle desperately trying to remember where the next nearest town was. He figured, though, that anything was better than there.

  It wasn’t until the shouts and cheers faded, and the smell of smoke no longer felt like a threat, that it sunk in completely. Evelina stopped, her breath becoming shaky as she tried to fight back tears.

  And Olle, knowing that saying a word would ruin his own attempt at stability, just opened up his arms. She hugged him—tighter than he’d ever known her to hug—and cried into his shoulder. All he could think of was a promise—to himself, to her, to his parents.

  We’re going to find where we belong… a new home, where our blood and our past means nothing.