Delarix hadnât moved in with her lovers on a whim. Sheâd made sure that sheâd been able to trust them, especially with things that pertained to her beloved children. They knew, now, that ShiâAra and TalâShar were only half-siblings, and that ShiâAraâs father wasnât known to anyone except him. They knew that she hadnât left her family and fled across the desert because of raiders that killed her family and her husband, but because her pregnancy put both the toddler ShiâAra and the unborn TalâShar in danger. They knew all that sheâd been able to tell them of Arsurusâ previous situation, and how badly injured and malnourished heâd been when TalâShar had brought his broken body to the hospital. They knew that ShiâAra had run away and joined the Fist of Ulrezaj. There were some things that you didnât keep from your new family, especially if those secrets might come back someday.
Of course, that meant that they now had to keep some of those things secret from her beloved children. Her daughter wouldnât have needed to know that she had a different father than TalâShar, and it would do no good to tell her son that his father may well have been alive before Shakuras fell but that he was certainly dead now. And what good would it do little Arsurus to know such things, when he was still distressed over how his âmotherâ had treated him before? So her children were blissfully ignorant, and more importantly, they were safe.
That didnât mean that she didnât worry when her son didnât come home on time. When he had left in the morning, heâd promised to be back by closing. But closing had come and gone, and he still wasnât back. And here she was, pretending not to pace in front of the door, and not bothering to pretend that she wasnât worried.
She wasnât the only one who was worried, of course. TalâShar was so rarely late that it was guaranteed that lateness meant a problem. But Nysha had taken Arsurus upstairs to play, and Sylaise was with them, waiting on Delarixâs word to go out and help her look for him. But Delarix couldnât, wouldnât tear herself away from the door. As always, she was too painfully reminded of the last time one of her children had promised to be home by dark, and had simply vanished into the night.
âStill waiting?â
Delarix jumped, although she belatedly realized that she shouldnât have been startled at all. Of course Raezar would have heard about TalâShar being late, at this point. And of course he would be concerned about her, about all of them. But she was the easiest to find.
âYes,â she turned towards him, smiling despite her worry. âHe should be home soon. I donât want him to think I donât care...â
Raezar pulled her towards him, brushing his cheek against hers. âDonât worry. Iâm sure heâs-.â
There was a loud thud from outside. Delarix jumped again, her head whipping around to see what had happened. The door, of course, was closed. But the door only blocked her vision, not her ability to feel the auras from outside. Gaâlen, of course, and he was hardly pleased. But the other aura was unmistakably her son, and the exact combination of feelings it had been the time he tripped down the stairs in the shop on Shakuras and put a hole through the wall, or the time heâd been roughhousing with Arsurus and broke a vase, or the countless other times heâd been clumsy and made a mistake. Poor TalâShar. Poor Gaâlen. It wasnât difficult to tell what had happened there.
It took almost humorously long for TalâShar to stop apologizing to Gaâlen and actually open the door. Delarix couldnât have not smiled even if she had wanted to, but she did make the effort to smile in a way that wouldnât alert him to the fact that sheâd heard him barrel into Gaâlen at full speed. Raezarâs arm was settled comfortably around her waist, and she couldnât help but lean against him.
âMom!â TalâShar paused, looked back, and closed the door. âMom! Stepdad! Iâm so, so sorry for being late!â
Delarix didnât have time to be surprised by his word choice, because both she and Raezar were suddenly on the receiving end of sweaty teenager hugs. âI donât really have an excuse. Iâm so sorry for making you worry! Iâll go tell Arsurus and stepmoms that Iâm here, and then Iâll do my chores! Iâm sorry! I love you!â
And then he was off, bolting through the hall like a madman. Delarix turned to Raezar, and gently nuzzled his cheek. She almost never got to see Raezar look surprised. This was the first time TalâShar had called him stepdad. Heâd been so formal before, even though he had called Sylaise and Nysha âstepmomâ for a while now, and âmomâ when referring to them and herself.
âWe should go follow him,â Delarix said, leaning her head against Raezarâs shoulder. âI didnât get to tell him that he needs to take a bath before doing his chores.â
