I desperately wanted to argue back. Demand more answers. But, the more I considered Althea's words I realised they had done nothing more because of me. My mother was doing what any mother would do, and she was trying to protect her daughter. Seemingly, just as Althea had done. Only Althea had failed. And now, somewhere beneath us, lay my mother, dying a slow and painful death...
My body wracked with agony. Grief for a woman I never had the chance to meet... or, if I did, I was too young to ever recall. I felt myself weakening at the thought. Had they snatched me from her the moment I was born? Or allowed me some time with her? A newborn needed their mother... The pain of everything was becoming too much. Tears filled my eyes and I felt Kael's arms wrap around me, holding me tight against his chest.
