Morgan stayed silent far longer than she had expected herself to, staring at her nephew with a storm of emotions churning in her head.
The most prominent among them was… fear.
Not fear for herself, of course — Morgan Kaizer Theosbane hadn't known that luxury in years — but fear for him.
Fear that he truly meant every word he'd said. Fear that he would rather risk annihilation than bend. Fear that, despite arriving here in time, she might not be able to protect him.
There was guilt, too. Guilt for not intervening properly after Freida, her sister-in-law, sacrificed herself for Sam.
Heavy and suffocating guilt, buried under duty and power and the comforting lie that someone else would step in, that Arthur would recover, that time would heal everything, that Sam would be… resilient.
