And she looked...tired.
I couldn’t blame her.
This world we inhabited had a tendency to make us feel a damn sight older than we actually were. A lot more exhausted, too.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Ma.” He turned away, until she called out:
“Bren?”
“Yeah?”
“Did he really get Louie and Niall to hold Eoghan down?”
“He did.”
A swift intake of breath whirred through the hall like she had the force of a hurricane behind her.
“I didn’t know.”
Brennan just peered at her over his shoulder. “In the end, he was lucky. The marriage worked out. She’s his choice now. Luck isn’t something men like us often get though.”
She shook her head, but I could see the tears welling in her eyes. Brennan did too, because he hesitated, and I knew he wanted to go to her. Wanted to make this better, but how could he?
Lena, seeing the internal war, just whispered, “I’ll see you tomorrow, son.” She turned her attention on me. “And you, Camille.” She licked her lips. “Thank you again for the gifts. I’m sure we’ll cherish them.”
The inclusive pronoun had me sending her a soft smile.
We were women, born into this underworld, and we knew we weren’t often the ones who had a say in these matters…
Maybe that shot between us like lightning bolts that united us together. Both from different camps but still existing in this half place where we were second class citizens with our men.
Unless we claimed our territory.
Unless we made it ours.
And now I saw Lena, now I could see her interactions with Aidan, and the force inherent in her, I knew Brennan would never respect any woman who wasn’t like that.
Who didn’t have power, meager though it might be, behind her.
I’d just been given a life lesson, did mother and son but know it, and I wasn’t a slow learner.