The next day, Ember left. He left without saying goodbye to me. Romina came to me, weeping that her brother was gone again. Even with Anthony close, her pain echoed inside my chest.

Knowing that in a year or two he would be gone for good made me want to weep for the girl. She didn't deserve this. No one did.

She fell asleep, clutching me as if concerned that I would disappear, too.

One day I would.

Anthony and I talked. I heard about his family and the dangers he faced. How he had almost given up his cover. How he seized the opportunity to talk with Ember. He talked about what happened when he was taken. They took him to a back room while I was negotiating. I wept knowing that I was so close to finding him. I should have searched harder.

I had a nightmare last night. It wasn't horrible. It was a good dream. Anthony's family moved in. The war was over. Most importantly, Ember didn't have a stone in his chest. He was healed. We were together. It was a beautiful dream.

The nightmare was waking up.

"Naomi?" Amarilla asked. "Are you even listening?"

I shook my head. "No. No, I wasn't."

She smiled. "Courageous idiot." I smiled softly.

"I'll take it. At least I'm not afraid."

She shook her head and lifted the two fabrics. I pointed at the pale pink. She nodded and set it aside. "You know, I was afraid. I was terrified."

I stared at her. "On the farm?"

She nodded.

"You were the courageous one."

She nodded. "I was. But I was still afraid."

I rolled my eyes as she eyed a new piece of pink fabric. She picked it up.

"How can you be afraid and courageous at the same time?" I asked skeptically. "I like the first pink one."

"Well, I was. I was courageous, but I was terrified. It is something Eli is showing me. He says that the opposite of fear is not courage."

"Then what is? What does the wise Eli say?" I half-joked.

She stared at me for a moment and then smiled lowly. "Well, courage is what you do. Courage depends on fear. You can't be courageous if there is nothing to fear. It's not courageous to pick flowers...unless those flowers have thorns."

I leaned back in the chair and played with my lilac tunic.

"Eli says that fear isn't always bad. Fear can be good sometimes. Without fear, you could never be courageous, and courage is a virtue. But you can't go through life afraid."

"I beg to differ," I joked.

"The opposite of fear is trust," Amarilla finally said, playing with a bright red ribbon. "Eli is the first man I've been around in a long time that I'm not afraid of. I could be courageous around anyone—my dad was a brute of a man, but I could be courageous. He hated me for it," she said. "The foremen—I could be courageous. But Eli's the first one I didn't have to be afraid around. I just trust him."

I nodded. "That sounds...lovely."

She nodded. "It is."

The door opened and Romina popped her head in. "Naomi, your family is here."

I shot up. "My family?"

She nodded. "Your sister and nephew."

Anthony's family. I jumped up and Amarilla followed suite. I glanced at her.

"You think I'm not going to meet them? You're the worst," she rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm going to meet them."

My heart was pounding. What if they didn't like me?

I quickly followed Romina out the door and did a double take on her little guard. Iric stood there, ever attentive. Romina gestured for me to go first, and I hurried down the hall. I could hear Anthony's excited cries outside.

I raced down the stairs and headed straight for the front door. I pushed it open, and the bright sun met me. I blinked, searching for my sister-in-law and nephew.

My eyes landed on Anthony, who was embracing a woman. I licked my lips nervously. She was beaming, tears of joy running down her face. Anthony grabbed the small child from her arms. He looked like Anthony did as a kid.

Sadness crept up inside me as I watched them reunite.

A small part of me was sad. I had missed their wedding. The birth. Anthony had a family. In some ways, now that he had a family, I was alone again.

I wiped away my selfish sadness. He had a family. I should have been overjoyed.

I stood there awkwardly. They were a family. I was just a person.