[Blackmoon stronghold – Old World…back to the corridor]
Autumn's body shook with every sob that left her. Her face pressed into Freya's hair, lips brushing those unruly curls as if each kiss might anchor the child in her arms… secure her there…all these years of guilt and longing… everything was being undone all at once.
"I really thought I lost you, my baby…" her voice fractured, hoarse and wet. She peppered desperate kisses across Freya's temple.Her damp lashes dragged against the girl's warm skin. "Never again… never again will I let you go…do you hear me? Mommy promises you this. I will never let you go! "
Freya stood in the circle of her arms, small and almost swallowed whole by Autumn's embrace. Her golden eyes blinked up, uncertain. She did not struggle, though her little frame went stiff now and then beneath the torrent of grief clinging to her.She didn't understand this outbreak of emotion but she felt sympathy somehow… and warmth.
