For a while, Kaiden could only look at his mother in the corridor beneath headquarters. Vespera's hands still cupped his face, and every answer he considered seemed terribly small beside what she had just told him.
She would stand beside him even if the whole world had reason to hate him. After hearing the fear in her voice, he wanted so badly to give her something better to imagine when she thought about his future.
He wanted her happy too. God, he wanted her to be the happiest mother in the history of humankind.
At last, he put both arms around her and drew her against his chest. Vespera's hands slipped from his cheeks to his shoulders, then around his back as he bent over her.
"I'm truly lucky to have such a good mother."
The words came softly against her hair. He loved her so much that holding her hardly seemed sufficient, yet when her arms tightened around him, he found himself smiling with his eyes closed.
