Chapter 105: Children Of Magic

I stood there, staring at the place where my husband had been, hands still grasping the empty air, heart collapsed in my chest. It wasn't until something nudged my hip I looked down, breaking the spell I'd created around myself, a moment in which I could believe what happened hadn't just.

Galleytrot's dark eyes burned with red fire as he growled softly. "Syd," he said. "How could you?" And padded away toward the kid's rooms, leaving me to crumple, at last, under the weight of all of my grief.

But Mom was there to catch me. Her arms around me, guiding me to the sofa, her hands stroking my hair, rubbing my back, voice whispering kindly, the scent of lilacs taking me back in time to when I was a girl and everything was easier, simpler.

Before I ruined the lives of those I loved.

I finally pulled myself together, wiping tears from my face. "Mom," I said, voice cracking. "How could I have messed this up so badly?"