"Hate?" my mother says, shaking her head slowly. "No, dear. I've been in this world a long time. I know that just because you have the blood of your father doesn't mean you're to be damned like him."
She reaches out and touches Zaria's cheek with surprising tenderness, the same way she used to touch my face when I was a child. "It's what you do that counts," May says firmly. "And what you did puts you in a league of your own."
She pauses and looks around at us. "It makes her family, and for that, we all should be thankful."
The words hit me harder than I expect. I see Zaria's eyes fill with tears, her hand shaking in mine.
"Well said, Mom," Keira says, and there's genuine warmth in her voice now. She uncrosses her arms and takes a step closer to the bed. "I mean, I'm still annoyed that my brother kept this massive secret from us, but..." She looks at Zaria. "You did what you did, and that takes guts. More guts than most people have."
Keira turns and looks at her twin.
"Yeah, I mean, I was mad, sure," Declan adds, his tone lighter now. "But we've all come full circle in ways we never thought." He stops and looks at Lyra. "And if you'd told me a month ago that Cormac's daughter would throw herself into a trap to try to save our mother, I wouldn't have believed you." His dark eyes meet Zaria's. "But you actually did it. You walked into that fire knowing you probably wouldn't walk out."
He pauses for a moment. "That's loyalty. To the utmost. So until you fuck that up, we're loyal to you."
I shake my head and look at Zaria. "See? They're not so bad."
She smiles.
"Thank you," she says softly, her voice thick with emotion. She looks around the room at each of them in turn. "All of you. I didn't... I never expected..."
She trails off, unable to finish the sentence. But she doesn't need to. The meaning is clear in the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, in the way her whole body seems to relax for the first time since she woke up.
My mother reaches out and pats her hand. "You're tied to us now, dear. That comes with all the complications you'd expect, but also all the protection."
"And the interference," Declan adds. "Keira likes to interfere."
"I prefer 'guide,'" Keira says.
"Call it whatever you want. It's still annoying."
Keira goes to respond, but I stop it.
"Now," I say, pushing myself to my feet carefully, mindful of the walking cast, "let's get her the hell out of here."
Zaria blinks at me. "Already? Don't I need to stay longer?"
"The doctors said that when you woke up, you could continue recovery at home as long as you follow their instructions." I reach out and brush a strand of hair from her face. "And I have everything set up for you at home, and Lyra here is something of an excellent nurse, so you'll be all right."
"Plus better food," Declan adds. "Hospital food is garbage."
"Declan order a pizza and tried to have it delivered to the waiting room," Lyra says, the first words she's spoken since entering the room. "The nurses were not impressed."
"I was hungry," Declan says. "It had been like ten hours."
"You could have eaten from the cafeteria like the rest of us," Keira says.
"I said I was hungry, not desperate."
Keira rolls her eyes.
"Okay, I'll go get the doctor in here. Find out what we have to do to get us out of here," Keira says, and walks out.
I turn and look at Zaria. "Let's get you home."
40
ZARIA
