Page 76 of My Salvation

Priest glared at the Elder. “Look what you did!”

Gaius’ head came down in shock. “What I did?” he demanded, in a nasally tone, still pinching his nose.

Cas pulled away from Priest and whirled to face the Elder. “He is my mate! How many have you sentenced to a half-life? Forced to live alone because their mates were left for dead?”

Gaius’ hand dropped. “They were too weak to live! They never would have had mates.”

“Priest did! I am proof of that.”

Gaius could not look her in the eye. “We…”

“We were wrong,” the melodic voice behind him had everyone turning. Vesta’s eyes were streaming with tears. “We were wrong when we abandoned Priest. Every other egg hatched with no problems, yet his wobbled around frantically. We knew he lived and was struggling, but our hands were tied.”

Cas stared. There was so much pain in this woman. “Gods above, you’re his mother,” she whispered.

Vesta shook her head. “I do not deserve to be called his mother.”

Gaius went to support his mate, but she shook her head, denying herself the comfort he offered. “The only thing that kept me going is ensuring that the queen’s decree was followed to the letter of the law.” She met Cas’ gaze. “No other that should have lived was lost, this I promise.”

Priest’s knees gave out. Instantly Ari and Gage supported him on either side.

Ari snarled. “He was your son?” he asked of Gaius.

Gaius looked away. “He ceased being my son when the fae carried him away.”

Cas poked the man in the chest. He looked down at her, shocked. “You don’t mean that!” she pointed to him. “You are nothing but red pain. If you truly didn’t care, you’d be grey or apathetic. Is there no small part of you that is glad he lived?”

“Of course, I’m happy he lived!” the man exploded. “He’s my son!”

Silence filled the courtyard.

That was when she finally saw it. For both of them, behind the pain and guilt was endless love and pride.

Turning her back to them, she walked up to Priest and helped steady him on his feet. Looking into his face, she mouthed the words. ‘They love you so much.’ Out loud, she added. “It’s beautiful.”

Priest regarded the man. “I have parents. They’re the ones who changed my diaper, fed me, and tended to me when I scraped my knee. I have a father that loved me so much he gave me his name,” he added bitterly.

Cas watched as a deep burgundy covered Gaius’ aura. Burgundy, the color of a pain that has lasted years.

Just as Priest would not allow her to hate, neither would she allow him to hang on to this pain when he could let it go.

Stepping away from her mate, she looked at the two broken shifters. “Just as a fae couple adopted Priest, a shifter, maybe the two of you being shifters could look after me, a fae? I lost my parents young in life, and if I am to have an… egg. I will need guidance.”

“Cas!” Priest yelled, spinning her around. “You don’t know them, they…”

“That’s the thing, Priest, neither do you. It won’t be easy, but together we can bridge this gap.” She moved his hand to her lower abdomen. “Someday we’ll have an eagle… fae mix. I don’t want to deny them family if we can help it.” She looked over her shoulder.

Vesta and Gaius’ auras held nothing but hope. Their expressions made it clear they were clinging to it desperately.

She stood on tip-toe and whispered in his ear. “How much of the pain between the three of you is really about you being an unbroken egg? Instead of hurt pride and the loss of a child?”

Priest pulled back to look at her. “I don’t know if I can…”

Exhaling loudly, she pointed to Vesta. “If I have to lay a fucking egg, Priest, I need help, or don’t you care about that?”

Priest waved his hands in front of him. “Of course I do!”

“Am I saying we’ll all be hunky dory tomorrow? Of course not, but I want you to at least try.” Without waiting for him to respond, she faced Gaius and stuck her finger in his face. “And you! Be honest about how you feel for once. A lot of the heartache the three of you have endured is because you didn’t say anything.”

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