"I don't feel like I have role anymore," Valyn admitted. "I know I have to be strong for my cousin, but..." Shadow had grown and matured so much since they left the Hernalth Manor. Did he truly need Valyn the way he used to? Not for protection, that was certain. Shadow could protect himself here. And they had more than just each other now.

"It is all going to fall apart, isn't it? For some of us, it already is. How long can it hold the way it has?"