Chapter 41

Astria awoke slowly, her mind sluggish and her body aching, she didn’t know how much sleep she had managed to get, but she did know that it wasn’t enough. Memories of what happened the night before with dane filled her mind and she blushed instantly, no one had ever looked at her like that before, treat her like that. Did he really like her? Was it at all possible for someone to love an abomination like her? Did she deserve it? Could she accept his love?

The half-breed had so many questionS she wanted to ask him, but she knew she would be unable to until they were alone again, and she didn’t know when that would be. She watched her mother stir a pot of tea for a few moments, allowing her body to awake fully before she moved to sit up, tuviel instantly turning her head towards her and smiling.

“morning!” She called with a small smile, her attention spit between the tea and her daughter.

“morning mother.” Astria replied, attempting to keep her voice light as she rubbed her eyes. “did you sleep well?"

“better than most nights, i worry we won’t make it to miek before the deus catch up.” Admitted her mother, sadness filling her face, twisting it into something that her daughter hated.

Astria pulled herself from under the animal-skin blanket and plopped herself next to her mother, her voice soft and

confident. “if we don’t then we will fight them, we’ve done it before, we’ll do

it again.”

“when did you become so brave?”

Tuviel smiled softly at her daughter, always knowing she had made the righ choice by keeping her. She loved her more than anything else in all the kingdoms.

“when i realised that being a coward would mean my death, as well as yours.” Laughed the half-breed, attempting not the allow everything to dampen her mood. She couldn’t change her fate, but she could embrace it. “we’ll make it to miek mother, we have to.”

The deus nodded, once again hating the rules that the deus had set out, why couldn’t they have children with other races? Astria would have made a perfect priestess, she was so strong, so fierce. She would have made her people proud. Though i suppose she couldn’t deny that at the time, tuviel loved the king of the elves, more than her duty. She broke the law, the only one they really have.

“what’s he like?” Astria asked, taking the spoon from her mother and finishing the tea before pouring some into two cups and handing it to the woman who raised her.

“your father?” The half-breed nodded. “he was brave, always said that he would do anything for us to be together, that he’d move the realm of man if he had to.” Tuviel eyes glazed over, her mind far away with the memories of the past. “he was handsome, so regal and proper, but when it was just us he relaxed, told jokes, he was a gentleman. If he loved me he never said so in words, only showed it. When we were separated i tried to go to him, but i was unable.”

“do you think he would have taken you in and accepted me as his child?” Astria asked carefully, she had always wanted to know her father, but she still didn’t want to get her hopes up.

I guess she didn’t want to go there with open arms only to be turned over to her executioner, she wanted him to see her as his child. But how could he? No one had ever seen her as anything other than the abomination that she was, it didn’t matter that she tried to be a good person to the deus; to them she was vermin. Less than worthy of life.

“i don’t know my daughter, i can’t tell you what he would’ve done because he never had the chance to choose.” Tuviel sighed heavily, her voice pained. She didn’t want to give her daughter false hope, the world was a cruel and unforgiving place. “but, he will have the chance to choose once we get there and i have every faith that he will choose to protect us.”

“he may have other children, legitimate children that aren’t abominations.” Astria frowned, her heart weighing heavily within her chest.

The half-breeds mother scowled into the fire, hating the way her daughter spoke about herself. “you are not anything other than a beautiful young woman who is as headstrong as her mother. The occurrence of your birth has nothing to do with who you are.”

“then why is it so important to others?” Astria growled, frustrated and terrified all at once, she hated the way people treated her just because she was born. She didn’t choose to be what she was. “why do they treat me with such disgust?”

“because people are cruel daughter, they hate whatever they don’t understand, whatever they can’t control.”

“why did you risk keeping me? You knew the consequences.”

“because when i looked at your innocent face, i couldn’t allow them to hurt you, i didn’t want you to suffer and be used in a sacrifice that’s only purpose was control. You were my amazing baby girl and i loved you from the moment i set eyes on you.”

Dane smiled as he watched their conversation, it was rare they had a moment to relax these days, and seeing astria smile was a beauty to behold. He wasn’t sure what he had wanted, but after being captured by the deus and his brave little half-breed coming to the rescue, he knew. Despite everything, she remained strong willed and brave. Something he wasn’t sure he could do himself. He noticed panett hanging back also, and decided to make the first move, even though he didn’t want to disturb them, they needed to get going.

“morning.” He said roughly, his voice scratchy and dry.