Chapter 219

Charles

As Elara and I stepped out of the cramped office, I released a pent-up breath.

"That certainly went much worse than you hoped," Elara said, looking up at me. My heart clenched a little, seeing her face. The shimmer of the privacy barrier wrapped around us. I braced myself for what she would say.

"You were in top form," I said. "Was that you as Lady Fireborn or my aunt?"

She smiled. "Lady Fireborn would have liked to say several more very undiplomatic things to Alpha Wolfe."

I winced at that. "Do unload."

"Fireborn or Aunt 'Lara?"

I winced. "Fireborn."

She lifted her head. "I see nothing I would ally with, not even at my last breath, in her."

My eyes widened. My breath caught in my chest. That is not what I expected her to say. And based on her expression, it wasn't what she wanted to say either, but what she felt I needed to hear.

"I..." I swallowed. "Lady Fireborn, I... I don't know what to say to that."

"I could not see her stand in fire nor raise a banner for you."

I winced at that. I rested my hand on the handle of my sword, gripping tightly and trying to steady myself.

"And... as my aunt?"

She scowled. "She reminds me of Tessa."

My gut plummeted. "Wait a second, that's going too far."

"No, Charles, your view is simply limited."

"You have only just met her."

"And I came to the same conclusion the first time I met Tessa, if you recall."

I did. She and my mother were sisters. She'd come to my aid after the coup, taken care of me, stood by me, helped me bury our family, and supported me after I had nearly lost myself to grief. She was protective of me... Practically another mother.

To hear her say that felt like a message from my mother...

Knowing that they were twins and still connected despite my mother being dead only made it worse. I looked away from her and walked to a bench nearby, sitting down and turning over her words. She would not have said that to me for no reason. But I couldn't...

"Aunt 'Lara....Perhaps if you just... If you met her in not so charge of a circumstance. After the Shift had settled..."

She said nothing for a moment. A defensive, hot anger wrapped in fear struck through me.

"They're nothing alike."

My jaw clenched. "They're nothing alike."

But the denial felt hollow even to my own ears.

Elara raised an eyebrow, amusement dancing in her eyes. "Oh, but they are, Charles. Selfish, self-centered, complacent, weak-minded--Sure, Grace has a degree, but look how easily she was lured away from it."

"That's not fair," I said. "Her grief... She lost her parents one right after the other, barely a year or so apart."

She cocked an eyebrow. "And her brother?"

"You can't state that grief is the same for all."

"No, but care and love for anyone but yourself is." She narrowed her eyes. "You told me what happened between them, and her mental state does not make me view her any more kindly. If anything, it makes it worse."

I swallowed. "Grace is not Tessa. She made mistakes, yes, but her intentions were good. She was young."

"She has children," Elara said. "When did she think about them?"

"Aunt--"

"Not them in her arms or the comfort they brought her, but their future, their stability? When she no longer had any? When she was stuck and already had nowhere to turn?"

I swallowed. "I..."

"Intentions rarely matter," Elara countered, her voice devoid of warmth. "The path paved with good intentions often leads to the same disastrous destination. Consideration, thought, and selflessness matter. Care matters. The fact that she attempted to blame you of all people for this mess as well... I'll be honest with you Charles, I haven't liked much about her since you came to me." She paused, her gaze piercing mine. "And you cannot tell me that you are blind to the similarities. I know you. I taught you better."

Her words stung, but I struggled to find the words, and every excuse felt weak.

"She is... Isn't everyone selfish at some point?"

"Of course. But what separates healthy self-interest and selfishness is magnitude."

"She is doing her best."

Elara looked unconvinced.

"She stood on that podium and stalled."

"Because she had nowhere else to go."

"That's not fair. She could have hidden in a bunker."

She smiled. "Every coward is capable of acts of bravery. That does not make them brave. And putting out fires does not unmake an arsonist."

I went silent. Dropping my gaze. Grace had a good heart. Sure, there were issues she needed to work through, but there was time for that. She was only thirty years old.

Thirty years old as a werewolf. I swallowed. That was no older or younger than a thirty-year-old human. She had children. Maybe she was a bit immature, but she was changing.

I took a deep breath. "She isn't weak-minded, Aunt 'Lara. She's been indoctrinated and sheltered, but she's working to get herself out of that. You can't expect her to suddenly be wiser."

She looked at me. "Do you remember that Red Dye bust?"

I swallowed and shook my head, turning from her. "Aunt 'Lara, this isn't the same."

Those young women had been born into that life and never taught anything more, abused and battered. My heart still ached for those that I couldn't save.

"No, it's worse. Evelina is finishing her potioneering apprenticeship."

My lips twitched. "I know... I'm trying to think of a good gift for her."

"Madison is opening a tailoring shop in Selene."

I nodded. "I was there on opening day."

"The list goes on," she said. "What is a closed mind if not a weak mind? And vice versa?"

I grimaced. "You can't hold everyone to the same standard."

"No, but I can hold up the signs," she said. "I'm not asking you to agree with me. My place in your life is not to dictate. I have always only offered you my counsel and my opinion and let you make a choice. I'm telling you what I see."

I swallowed. "I know.... I know."

That didn't make it easy to take. That didn't make this pang of discomfort and unease go away. Would Grace ever cheat on me? Sleep with another man? No, I didn't think so. She knew what it was to be betrayed that way, but... would her arrogance and stubbornness lead her down a path we could not walk together? I took a deep breath. If she were to get into the Senate, I could believe that she would be progressive, but would it be progressive for the world or.... just progressive for werewolves? Would there be a time we might sit on the same side of the table, or would we always be on opposite sides?

My lips twitched. What about Cecil and Richard?

Elara's hand cupped my face, and she turned my head until our eyes met. They were worried and warm. Maternal and just like my mother's eyes.

"I've told you what I think," she said, her voice cracking. "And I will tell you that I hope that I am wrong."

I froze, staring down at her. There was no doubt in her eyes, but there was hope. I didn't understand it.

"I hope... so very much that I am wrong because I have never seen you so happy."

I swallowed. Her lips twitched as she stroked my face.

"Not even when you found Tessa had you had such light in your eyes. It's been too long since I've seen that light in you, Charles. Yet, when you came to me, it was there. Even now, I see how much hope you have." She cupped my face with her other hand. "Please, Charles... Please, my favorite sword-wielder... Don't sink your heart into this relationship until you're absolutely sure. Don't be blinded by the thrill of the new, the prospect of family once again."

My eyes burned. Her eyes watered.

"Please. You know more than anyone how vast your position is, how important you are in the world, to be tied to someone who cannot share that burden. To see you have hope to share that burden and lose it again... Would crush me. And more than that, it would crush you."

I nodded stiffly. She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed tightly. I squeezed her back as the door opened behind her, and Grace stepped into the hall. She looked right at me. Our gazes me.

"She seems more open to changing her mind than Tessa ever was. Perhaps that's enough. Perhaps she's willing to bend, to adapt to the demands of your world, just as you have adapted for her, and I will hope for it just as much as you."

My lips twitched into a solemn smile, and I nuzzled her gently, breathing in her scent and letting it calm me. She stroked my hair like I was a little boy again, and for a moment, a bone-deep sense of comfort took over me.

"Thank you."

A bailiff came down the hallway.

"Court is reconvening now."