“You stare at my mother every night,” Kur said.

Unerringly Ruby looked up to where the star should have shone and frowned when all she saw was brick. His name and words meant something to her, or they should have. She stared at the wall searching for a memory she didn’t remember losing and was startled by a flicker of an image.

Lapis beads, polished to a high shine and strung together in a necklace of extraordinary beauty.

Ruby gasped as the image once again disappeared into a mind dulled by years of drugs and emotional abuse. She turned to Kur, tears welling in her eyes. He studied her intently, emotions chasing across his features too fast for her to name. Then he moved toward her, slowly, calmly, as if trying not to startle her.

Instead of tensing, her body relaxed and some portion of her mind tried to panic at the unfamiliar sensation. But his hand was on her cheek, his thumb wiping a tear she hadn’t known she cried, and all she knew was that she wanted.

“Perhaps there is hope,” he said softly.