Page 284 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
“She’s staying with us,” Lange replied. “We swore it to Eviana, and even if we hadn’t, we’d do the same.”
“Corbin?” Tessa asked, looking at the male. “You are fine with this? With essentially adopting her?”
Corbin nodded, pulling the sleeping child a little more into his chest. “Yeah, Tessa. We’re fine with this.”
Tessa nodded, getting to her feet. “We’ll make sure you have everything you need for her. Make lists. We’ll get it sorted.”
They rose too, heading for the lift to go down a floor to the apartment they’d been staying in. Stopping at her side, Corbin said, “Thank you, Tessa.”
“You made the deal with Eviana. Not me.”
“But you sent us to her.”
And then they were gone, Xan, Razik, and Eliza following.
Without looking at the others, she said, “I’m going to bed.”
Minutes later, she was sliding between the sheets. Luka and Theon would be up at some point. They’d stayed to visit more with Caris, and as she lay in the dark, all she could think about were the Priyas and Maddoxes who didn’t have anyone to fight for them. The Fae children alone at the Estates. Those with mixed bloodlines born for the single purpose of power. Those forced to bring children into a broken world. The unplanned babes who may be loved but still subject to the wickedness Devram bathed in.
The forgotten children.
The suffering mothers.
The fathers who didn’t know.
She sighed, rolling onto her side as she pictured Theon’s face when he saw his mother. She could feel him down the bond. Luka too. They adored Caris. Everything a mother was supposed to be, ripped from them before they’d even lived a full decade. Even then, that trauma was used to manipulate them.
And tomorrow she would have to face her own mother. They looked at Caris with adoration and grieved lost time. And she…
Tessa heard the door open. Not both of them. Only Luka.
Her back was to him, and she didn’t acknowledge him while he shuffled around the room. A few minutes later, the beddipped, and an arm looped around her waist, pulling her back against his warm body.
“Time to talk about it, baby girl,” Luka murmured, pressing a soft kiss to her neck. “You’ve been tossing and turning for the last hour.”
“You were so relieved to see your father again,” she whispered, a part of her sighing in relief at having someone to listen. Something she’d never thought she’d feel if she was being honest.
Luka was quiet for a few seconds before he said tentatively, “I was. I thought he was dead. Then I learned he was alive, and when I found him again… Yeah, I was relieved.”
“And Theon is in awe of seeing his mother once more. Not relieved like you were, but…something similar.”
“The three of us are all shocked at the way this day has gone. Caris was beloved by us.”
She nodded, falling silent. Luka’s hand came up, smoothing her hair back. “Keep going, Tessa,” he said gently, urging her to keep talking. Knowing this was foreign to her. To have someone listen and not try to manipulate her based on what she said. Someone who was listening because they cared and not because they were trying to figure out how to use her to their advantage.
Still, she hesitated because saying this aloud was…
“You are all so grateful to be reunited with a father or mother, and I don’t think I want to see mine,” she whispered.
“Because of who they are to us,” Luka said. “None of us would feel this way if we discovered Valter still lived. There would be little feeling if Cressida was gone.”
“But you wish to see your mother? Xan told you she still lives in the Anala Kingdom.”
“Yes, Tessa. I still wish to see my mother, but you not wishing to see yours is understandable. There is no right way to feel about this.”
“But once again, I do not have a choice.”
“You do,” Luka said simply. “You are choosing the good of the realm over your own comfort. It’s a noble choice. Even so, your feelings are valid.”
