ERIS
The heavy silence of the master suite was a living thing, broken only by the rhythmic, oceanic pull of the blizzard against the stone walls. I woke slowly, the fog of sleep lifting like mist over a marsh. I was warm, warmer than I had ever been in the drafty corridors of Solmire, and there was a small, steady weight pressed against my side.
I opened my eyes, my vision focusing on a shock of white hair. Rael. He was curled beside me, his small frame tucked into the crook of my arm as if he'd been born there.
He was snoring, tiny, puffing sounds that vibrated against my ribs. One of his hands was fisted in the wool of my sleeve, anchoring himself to me even in sleep. His face was a mask of absolute, terrifying innocence.
My chest tightened so sharply it hurt.
I never thought I could have this. Not in my first life, not in the second.
But here he was. My son. The boy I hadn't known I was missing until he had crashed into my life with his "Mama" and his fierce, sticky hugs.
