I leave Trentas in the hall and enter the room. It’s slightly darker than the hallway, with only one cluster of mushrooms to light the modest space, but I keep my eyes on the ground nonetheless. “Are you veiled, Mother?”
“Vin! Is that really you?” Her voice is weaker than I remember it, which must be due to the iron she inhaled. My chest constricts at the thought. “Yes, my dear, I’m veiled. Come. Let me get a proper look at you.”
I lift my eyes and find her sitting upright on a narrow cot, dressed in a plain black robe. Her long dark hair hangs limp around her shoulders while a lacy black veil obscures her face. A face I’m cursed never to look upon.
She pats the cot and I take a seat next to her. My chest tightens as I take in how small she looks. How frail. Was she always this tiny? When I was a boy, she seemed to tower over everyone, her bearing so strong and demanding. I angle my body toward her, unsure if I should greet her with a hug like I would have when I was small. It doesn’t feel natural, so I do nothing. She makes no move to reach for me either.
“You’re grown, Vin,” she says, her voice quavering with emotion. “I hardly recognize you. Have you seen your sisters yet?”
“Yes, and they didn’t recognize me either. They were frightened of me, so the physician asked me to leave.” That does pain me, though I try to keep it off my face. It makes sense that such a rift would form between me and my siblings after all this time. The last time they saw me, I wasn’t much older than them. Now I’m a man grown. Meanwhile, the girls hardly understand what’s befallen them.
“They’ll come around,” Mother says. “It will take all of us much work to reestablish our lives after fifteen years of slumber.”
“Indeed it will,” I say, my words weighted by the confession I must soon make.
She must hear the hidden edge in my tone, for her own grows sharper as she speaks next. “Trentas tells me I have you to thank for breaking the curse before our hundred-year term of slumber. He also said your methods were questionable. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and trust that your choices were made in favor of your family, regardless of having allied with the enemy.”
“I’m going to stop you right there, Mother.”
“Do not interrupt me,” she says, each word punctuated with venom. I now recall exactly why she seemed so large before. Despite her stature, she was always a formidable creature. She still is.
But I am no longer hers to command.
She speaks again. “We’ll need you and your ability in the coming days. Trentas tells me you managed to put the Briars to sleep, so I trust you’ve learned of the meaning behind your name. You’ll use that to—”
“Morgana,” I say, the word hard and unforgiving on my tongue.
She flinches back. Not once have I called her anything but Mother. “Vintarys—”
“No, not Vintarys. I cannot be Vintarys for you any longer.”
Silence. Then, “What are you saying?” The quaver in her voice would pierce my heart if it weren’t already broken for another reason. Even so, I know what I do next will hurt her. It will widen the divide the last fifteen years already wedged between us. Between me and the siblings I once loved as deeply as life itself.
“I wish I could wait until you were fully recovered to say this. I wish I didn’t have to hurt you while your wounds are still fresh.” Every word I say is true. Stones below, I know I’m going to break her heart, and she’s already had a lifetime of pain. She’s known so much cruelty at the hands of the Briars. Yet she never rose above it. Instead, she met their darkness with equal darkness. Turned their own cruelty back at them. While I understand her hatred, her rage, and agree much of it is justified, I can’t serve as a weapon of revenge anymore.
She scoffs. “I don’t have to listen to this. Go. Come back when you’re ready to—”
“No, Morgana. You will listen. This is of the utmost importance.”
“More important than your family? More important than your own mother? What kind of son are you?” Despite her sharp words, her outward fire, I can see the hurt in her hunched shoulders, hear it in the pitch of her voice.
I gather one of her hands in mine and give it a squeeze. My eyes dart over her veil, and I wish I could see her face beneath it, if only to ensure she’s looking at mine. That she can see the sincerity in my expression. “I will always love you and my sisters. I’ve loved you fiercely. But there’s someone else I love who aligns with my future. With the person I want to become. So…I’m leaving the banshee clan.”
She pulls her trembling hand from mine. “Why would you—”
“You would use me against Princess Rosaline, and I will never hurt her again.”
“We need you, Vin. We’re so close to seeing justice. We’re so close to overthrowing Horus’ reign—”
“I don’t care, Morgana.” My voice is firm yet gentle. “You may have named me for the sake of revenge, but I will not take part in it.”
She shakes her head. “Trentas was right. I didn’t want to believe his suspicions, but he was right, wasn’t he? This great love you speak of…it’s the princess.”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation. “I love her with all that I am. If you would cease the rivalry with the Briars, I could love you equally, but you won’t. Which means I must choose. I choose her.” My lungs expand with my words even as I watch my mother shrink back. What I say next will add insult to injury, but she must know the truth. “Let me make things clearer. If you do anything to try and hurt her, I will stand against you. I will fight you.”
“Foolish boy,” she hisses, her voice threaded with tears. “The two of you can never be. Your love is cursed. The Briars won’t allow it.”
“It doesn’t matter what anyone allows or doesn’t allow. I don’t need to be with her to love her. I will protect her even if I never see her face again.”
