The Suncrest Invitation
"Son, why do you stand there so silently?" His mother's voice drifted across the room, airy and teasing, but drawn with real curiosity. She pointed to the chair next to her, her fingers as light as a breeze. "Come sit with us for a moment."
Victor gave himself a small, secret smile, the edges of his lips curving just enough to reveal the relief in his chest. He moved nearer and eased himself down beside her, measured, cautious, but with an accompanying familiarity that only family could permit. Ania's head came up to meet him, smiling politely, almost formally, yet still laced with recognition. She did not lean into his arms as she used to do with childlike desperation. She looked at him now with dignified grace, a young woman schooled in the art of nobility, sensitive to appearances and decorum.
