Page 152 of Born of Vengeance
His adoptive mother, Unira, approached, laughing. “Want me to hold Vidar for you, precious?”
He cracked a shy smile. “Nah, Mata. You know I live for this.”
Rubbing his back, his mother kissed his cheek, then went to greet Thia and welcome her to their family. As a high priestess, she had the warmest heart of anyone Jullien had ever met.
Except maybe Ushara.
As soon as Unira spoke to her, tears welled in Thia’s eyes. An instant later, she caught a sob and dashed off toward the work area.
Stunned, the entire crowd turned to stare at him like he’d been the cause of it.
Every bit as surprised, Jullien finally handed his son to his mother, then picked up Mira. “Paka needs to see to Thia, bug. Can you stay with your mum for a minute?”
“Okies, Paka.”
Ushara bit her lip. “Should I go?”
“I’d love to toss this at you, but I better do it since I’m her blood basha. Be right back.”
He used his extrasensory powers to find Thia inside the ladies’ room. Her sobs would have been evident even without his heightened Andarion hearing.
Shit. It figured she’d find the one place he couldn’t follow.
Clearing his throat, he knocked on the door. “Thia?”
The sobs lowered, but remained constant.
Jullien sighed in irritation. “If anyone other than my niece is in there, speak up, ’cause I’m coming in!”
He paused for an answer, then reached for the controls. Before he could open it, Thia did.
Her eyes glistened as her lips quivered. Damn, he’d never been able to stand seeing a female cry. Cupping her cheek, he gently wiped her tears away. “You miss your paka?”
With a ragged breath, she shook her head. “Sorry, Basha. I just… I wasn’t expecting them to be so nice and welcoming.”
He laughed at her words. “Yeah, the one thing about the Altaans… anything worth doing is worthoverdoing. You want me to scatter them?”
Sniffing, she licked her lips before she spoke again. “Can I ask you something? Will you be honest?”
Almost afraid of that question, he nodded. “You can ask anything. But I warn you that I’m terribly blunt. Shara gets onto me all the time for it.”
“I’m good with that. My dad refuses to answer most questions. It’s like interrogating a hostile war criminal. He just stares at me like an alien lifeform… and my stepmother is so polite it’s irritating. I swear she dances away from topics she doesn’t like even better than she dances onstage.”
“Well, no worries there. I definitely don’t fall into that latter category. No one hasevercalled me polite.”
Wiping at her eyes, she offered him a bashful smile. “I know some of the background with you and my grandmother. And Aunt Tylie and Grandpa Aros. But I wanted to know if you ever felt out of place while you lived with them?”
“Only every minute of every single day.”
Sniffing, she dabbed more at her eyes. “That’s why I wanted to come stay with you. You’re the only one who doesn’t tell me how lucky I am and how great my parents are. That I should show more gratitude toward them all. I mean, I know they love me, and they are great most of the time, but I’m tired of being treated like I’m some fragile object that they’re afraid is going to crack if they say or do the wrong thing. I just want to find someplace where I belong.”
“I can definitely relate to that. And I promise you, no one here will treat you like you’re fragile. Tavali pull their own weight.”
To his further shock, she walked herself into his arms. “Thank you for letting me come here. I hope I didn’t offend them.”
“Nah, trust me, precious, that wasn’t offensive. They tolerate my contentious ass and I’m hard to get along with on my best days.”
She laughed. “You really don’t mind training me?”
“We’re family, Thia. You’ll always be welcomed wherever I am. And once you’re Tavali, you’ll never be without a home.”
