Chapter 60. Mother

It’s not the answer I expected, and I gawp, heart skipping a beat, my eyes widening with surprise, and I have no words at all. Head trying to pull that together and wondering if I missed some sort of public announcement that the Santo Luna had left the mountain that long ago. I mean, I was still a kid. This was something the people had a right to know. I just didn’t realize it had been that long, almost a decade, without our Luna.

“She’s in a… place, sort of… care home, I guess. A medical facility. Has been since a few weeks after they came home from the war.” He leans forward, so his gaze is more heavily focused on the floor, yet I catch the glow of amber before he tilts away, enough that I can only see the top of his head. His emotions spiral out and consume me as I feed on his despair. My stomach clenches with it.

“Why?” I can sense he’s distancing emotionally to stop me from feeling his pain, cutting off to save me, and I can tell it’s because this causes him a mass