Swamped

You feel angry, but remembering where you are, you try to keep your voice down.

"Why didn't he tell me any of this?"

"I can't claim to know exactly what went through his head. But... he vanished seven years ago. He probably thought you weren't old enough yet."

"Henry could have said something! Or at the least, Father could have said goodbye!"

"I need to be clear on one thing. For whatever reason, Kandria took a sudden interest in Christopher seven years ago, and they started moving to track him very fast. We were lucky to catch wind of the scheme in time to get him first. We couldn't risk a crow being intercepted, so Rider rushed out. Your father didn't know until that very night, and there wasn't a lot of time to talk it over."

"But Henry could have still said something to me!"

"He didn't see it that way. His main concern was seeing to it that you grew up safely. He stayed behind to raise you, rather than fleeing with Christopher. Neither of your parents wanted you involved in this whole mess. But of course, it's too late for that now, even if I weren't telling you this."

You're still angry. And you can't even storm away in disgust, not while you're in the Marsh Fortress.

You're trying to think of what to say next when Rivers punches you hard in the shoulder.

"You think you're mad?" she shouts. "You don't know what I had to put up with. Maybe you thought you knew me three years ago, but you didn't. You just knew the face I put on for the world. I'd be glad to have parents who hid things from me because they cared, would have been a damn sight better than what I got."

Suddenly, you hear a knock at the door. Corvus groans.

"Rivers, you really need to keep it down," he sighs. "I'll go take care of whoever that is. Marshall, back in the closet for now."

You're now Corvus. Who's at the door?