A mother's love is different for every species. Some push their children out of the nest once they hatch and others raise them until adulthood. Lyssandra's love was special too. She had waited in the dark in Corvus' room to interrogate him about his recent rebellious act.
Now, she was holding him hostage.
"So what did you do today?" she asked.
Corvus fumbled with his words.
"Um... I was with Kaelith."
He couldn't see her eyes because he was laying on her chest and didn't want to move, but he could feel the glare.
"Oh, did you boys stay in the palace?"
Corvus's little spider body was sweating bullets. He was still under the effect of alcohol; his mind couldn't come up with any excuses. He opened his mouth but nothing came out.
When he was younger, he tried to escape the palace but every time she'd catch him. She'd spank him. Eventually he gave up.
"I'm waiting," her tone was soft yet intimidating.
He swallowed.
"We went to a pub and drank alcohol."
Lyssandra let out a heavy sigh.
"I thought I made it explicitly clear that you can't leave the palace?"
Corvus nodded.
He felt like a little kid again.
"Yes, but—"
Lyssandra interrupted, "What would have happened if you got hurt?"
His eyebrows twitched. In public, she doesn't care for him, but in private, she acts all loving and caring. It irritated the hell out of him.
"As if you'd care if I died," he snapped.
"I'm nothing but a sacrifice to you and Valerica."
The color drained from her face.
"How dare you?" she said with a tremble in her voice, "I love you. You're my son."
Her words were laced with sadness.
Corvus freed himself from her embrace, sitting upright on the white silk bed. He didn't want to have this conversation.
He turned to his mother.
Right now, she wasn't a powerful matriarch ruling a kingdom. She was a mother who had tears in her eyes. She was a mother who wanted nothing more than her son's love.
"A mother would never hurt their child," Corvus spoke without thinking. The words left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Silence filled the room as the two avoided eye contact.
Corvus was replaying the words he said to the only woman to show him affection in this world. It was cruel and stupid. He regretted it.
He reached out his arm to comfort his mother but before he could, Lyssandra placed her hands against her forehead.
"Just because I love you doesn't mean I'll break a sacred tradition," she whispered.
Then she repeated it again, as if it had been told to her countless times.
Corvus felt like someone had punched him in the guts, knocking all the air from him.
"I ate my brother when we both turned into adults."
Her words were cold, but Corvus could see her eyes filled with sorrow and pain.
"He was my little brother and I loved him, but I had no choice," Lyssandra said.
She wiped away a few tears.
"My mother did the same thing, so did my grandmother and great-grandmother."
Her breathing became shallow.
Corvus pressed his forehead against Lyssandra's forehead.
"I'm sorry," he said softly.
He was sorry. Sorry that she had to deal with this tradition. But he wasn't sorry about snapping at her. She was still responsible.
The sound of their breathing was the only noise in the room for a while. Their visages were touching. It was an intimate gesture.
Lyssandra pulled herself away and cleared her throat.
"Enough of this emotional stuff."
She pushed her hair behind her ears.
"You didn't tell me the whole truth."
Corvus gulped.
"You smell like poppy magic," she said as she sniffed him.
He forgot that he still had traces of Priscilla on him.
A long exhale escaped him. She had opened up to him, so maybe he could do the same.
"I went to the Garden of Delights with Kaelith," Corvus confessed.
"And I met Priscilla."
He saw the shock in Lyssandra's eyes, but there was also a small grin forming on her lips.
"You had sex with a poppy?" she asked with a tone of disbelief.
Corvus shook his head.
Lyssandra let out a sigh of relief.
"Good. They're quite troublesome."
She took a good look at her son again, "Are you not into spiders? Are you a flowerphile?"
She couldn't hide the laughter behind the words.
He tilted his head.
"No, I'm just interested in her."
The laughter stopped and Lyssandra became dead serious.
"You intend to see her again?"
Corvus was planning on buying her, but he needed her help for that. He nodded.
Lyssandra frowned.
"Absolutely not. I'm not letting you go to some brothel again."
Her tone made it clear that she wouldn't budge on this topic.
"What if you bought her from Grehm?" Corvus said.
Her eyes twitched at hearing his name. She wasn't fond of him.
"No."
Corvus grabbed her hands and looked into her eyes.
"Please," he paused, "For me, mother."
Lyssandra rolled her eyes but there was a hint of a smile forming on her lips. He rarely called her mother.
"I won't budge on the issue. Besides, you're practically grounded until further notice," she said.
Corvus's mouth fell open.
"Wait, what?"
She shrugged.
"You snuck out of the palace. You deserve to be punished."
He wanted to figure out a way to escape the kingdom and he couldn't do that from inside the palace. Not to mention he had to buy Priscilla or kidnap her.
"I'll tell the guards to keep an eye on your whereabouts," Lyssandra said.
She patted him on the head and got up from the bed.
"Wait, mom."
Her ears perked up at hearing the word 'mom'.
"How about we go together?"
She squinted at him.
"You want to explore the city with me?"
"Yeah, we can even visit the brothel if you want," Corvus said with a grin on his face.
Her gaze bore a hole in his skull.
Corvus raised his hands in surrender.
"It was a joke."
Lyssandra let out a small chuckle.
"Fine. If I have some free time, we can explore the city," she said.
Corvus fell asleep as soon as she left the room. It was a long day. A tiring day but it was worth it. The sun rose and he went to eat breakfast as he always did. Usually, he eats breakfast under a leaf in the garden, alone, but someone was sitting in his place.
Valerica.
She had a bowl filled with fruits. Taking a bite out of a green apple, she noticed Corvus.
He sighed and went to sit down next to her.
"Rumors of your grand adventure are spreading like wildfire," she chuckled.
"Honestly, I half-expected you to run away from the kingdom to avoid your fate."
She slapped her forehead and tried to keep her laughter in.
"Instead, you went to a freaking brothel."
"Haha funny joke. Now tell me, why are you here?" he took a bite of a red apple, "You told me never to speak to you again."
Valerica finished her apple.
"The date for Kaelith's sacrifice has been set."