Sanria laid there beside Gilean, staring up at the ceiling. She had come back from "talking" to Colin, who seemed beside himself with the knowledge that during his memory lapse, time moved on. His wife moved on. His friend gained his wife. He was never expected to return to himself, and it made Sanria hate Velentham for being so cruel. He knew the pain it would cause and the accusations that would surface. It also made Sanria feel guilty. She made the choice to leave Colin, to involve herself with others, to remarry and plant herself in a family without fully getting over Colin. She had time, lots of it she assumed, because the Colin she knew was permanently gone. It was a horribly wrong assumption to make, apparently.
No Matter. She told Colin she had decided to stay with Gilean and the family they were building. The family that needed her most. She and Gilean to raise Matinus- son of Gilean and Claire, Nioma- daughter of Sanria and Thasmudyan, and the new soul that stirred within her - son of Velentham and Sanria. She let out a long sigh. After everything, her personal life was right where it always was: two streets down from a mess.
Her mind drifted to Kaliadra's words. Velentham's spell he had placed on her to keep her from dying so he could brutalize her and how it meant the never ending pain. A leap of shame bounded over her heart. The "talk" with Colin certainly wasn't felt only by herself. She thought of Leandra and what Colin had said about her anger management issues. Sanria's answer to both was the Rilmani. They knew so much...just not everything.
With yet another sigh, Sanria laid on her side. She'd told Gilean without telling him about the "talk." She'd told him she could no longer go alone to Colin. If she obeyed her own rule, the rest would work itself out with time. Everything would work itself out in time.
Sanria drifted to sleep at last, her mind looking forward. She'd do it right from here on out. Tomorrow began the new path and she'd start it on the floating island in the company of Fenlauch and Enmach. Removing eternity from her shared future was the first priority.
