Perhaps it is bias, but she would freely admit to pride in her grandson. And she thinks her son would have done the same, had it been in him to do so. But with herself and Wyrm as parent’s, Longclaw had never had much of a chance. She has discovered of late how woefully underprepared she is for expressing emotion of any sort. They had never been the most emotive parents. And perhaps that had played its part in her son’s demise. Certainly she knows it has in her daughter’s estrangement.
And of course, it is only natural for Wolfbane to wonder if she has any other children. Rapture had distanced herself from the family, refusing to follow in her mother’s footsteps. And she had never been a warrior, never had a strength that would’ve enticed Wyrm to train her in the same way he had Longclaw. She knows her daughter has never felt quite as if she belonged, and Heartfire had never known how to handle such a thing. Perhaps she should have tried harder. With both of her children.
After a contemplative silence, Heartfire shifts her gaze to Wolfbane, a soft sigh escaping her lips. “Your father has a twin,” she admits quietly. “Rapture.” She pauses, gaze flitting briefly, absently, across the landscape. “She seems to currently be staying in Tephra.” For the time, at least. Rapture had never settled in one place too long before.
His next question surprises her, her blue eyes swinging back to him as one equine brow arches slightly. A faint smile curls her lips, a rare and genuine warmth briefly touching her features. “I appreciate the offer Wolfbane, and I am glad you would have me. But I have found a home in Nerine.” For the fleetest of moments, humor settles into the twist of her lips. “Perhaps when I am ready to retire.”
As though it were perfectly natural to consider retirement into a land of mercenaries.
i see your sins
and i want to set them free
