The Final Key: Part Two of Triad Read Online Free PDF Page A

its archway, Soz thought about how she would apologize to Eldrin. She should confess she had demerit duty. It would be mortifying, since he would ask why, but better he knew the truth than he thought she had been ignoring him.
    They entered a wood-paneled room. Eldrin was standing on the other side, dressed in a white shirt and blue pants, with dark knee-boots. He was studying a portrait of their grandfather. Soz hesitated. Had he lost weight? He seemed ... odd. She recalled his shoulders as broader and his legs as longer. It worried her how tired he looked. His wine red hair was longer, almost to his shoulders. It had a streak of gray she didn't remember. And why was he wearing spectacles—
    Soz drew in a sharp breath. It wasn't her brother.
    It was her father.
    Lord Valdoria, the Bard, a leader among his people and the consort of a Ruby Dynasty heir, turned around—and froze. Soz felt as if her world stopped. His voice caught. "My greetings, Soshoni."
    She wanted to answer, but the words caught in her throat. He leaned forward as if to take a step, but then hesitated and looked from her to her mother, his forehead furrowed.
    The dam within Soz broke open. "Father! You're—you're standing."
    He didn't answer. Instead he leaned on his cane, a staff of blue glasswood with an animal head at the top. Then he stepped toward her. Soz held her breath. He walked with such care, she feared he might fall. But he was walking.
    "Hoshpa." For the second time this afternoon, she wanted to cry. "You can see, too."
    Still he made no response. His concentration seemed absorbed in his walk, and he leaned heavily on his cane. She waited while he took step after resolute step, resting between each with his weight on the staff. Finally he reached her and regarded her with an uncertain expression. She wanted to throw her arms around him, but she wasn't certain how he would respond.
    He took an audible breath. "I practiced what I would say to you for many hours during the trip here. Now it seems I have forgotten everything." He hesitated. "If you will forgive my clumsy words, which lurch and stumble as much as my legs—I—I hope—you will always want to come home." He reached out his free hand to her. "You are always welcome, Soshoni."
    Soz felt as if a wind blew through her heart, cleaning out the debris of the last year. She took his hand and he pulled her into a hug, dropping his cane. A sob caught in her throat.
    "Always welcome," he whispered.
    It was a while before she drew back, slowly, so he wouldn't fall. She picked up his cane and handed it to him. "How?" she asked. 'The last I heard, you would never walk or see again."
    "Ah, well." He shifted his grip on the cane from hand to hand. "It seems my mind is rather strange. It doesn't respond the way these ISC healers expect. Their healing didn't work. Not at first. Or at second or third, either." He smiled ruefully. "But I'm a stubborn old barbarian. Eventually it worked."
    "I'm so glad." Soz rubbed tears off her cheek. "And you aren't a barbarian."
    Roca spoke to Soz. "You look as if you've had a long day. Perhaps we should sit down."
    Soz knew her mother wanted her father to rest. But Roca wouldn't hurt his pride by suggesting he was too tired to stand.
    "I've been cleaning robots," Soz admitted. Her father frowned. "What for? You came here to be a warrior."
    Embarrassed, she said, "Ah, Hoshpa, they think I misbehave. Can you imagine such a thing? Me, misbehave."
    "Quite a concept, eh?" He laughed, a deep sound with a musical quality. "Cleaning robots is good for the character, I've heard."
    "Then I must have great character," Soz grumbled. For some reason, that made him smile. She would have glared at him, as she had often done as a child, except she was so glad to see him that she simply couldn't.
    They went to a sofa against the wall, taking it slow. As they settled on the couch, it adjusted its cushions beneath them, easing tension it detected in their muscles. Her father sagged against