The mood shifted and no one spoke for a moment. “I came to Gaia, and she determined that the child would be dangerous. Especially not to that monster Aecus’s child. She’d hardly said a word since Areth’s awakening, closing herself off from everyone. So fragile. “Among other things,” she added without meaning to. Mandy, I love you also. And Gaia had promised that it wouldn’t be evil like its father. But did Sonia have to give her such a dirty look? “I’m going to miss that perma-boner,” Shlee commented, then covered her mouth as her face turned nearly as red as her hair. “The stronger they try to lie, the more the truth comes out. I want you to be happy, Eldon.
