“Mom?”
Would I? Would I choose to love Arach or any of my husbands, knowing that they'd die, and I'd have to live on without them? Odin had died once, and it had nearly destroyed me, even with all the love I had. I carried on for the others but I don't think I ever would have been truly happy again. Thankfully, I'd found a way to bring him back. But once Kaitlin was dead—if she chose that—there would be no bringing her back.
“Mom?” Brevyn asked again.
“I want to tell you that I would,” I whispered. Then I cleared my throat and tried again in a stronger voice, “I want to tell you that I'd be strong enough and that having him in my life for however long I'd get him would be worth any pain I might suffer at the end. And my mind says that's true.”
“But?”
“But I don't know, Brev. You're right, that kind of love is different. You should never be afraid to fall in love, but you've already done that and now you're having the doubts we all have when our hearts are in danger. You need to remember that the future isn't certain, not for any of us, even those of us who are immortal. Your father could die of something other than old age. Any of my husbands could. And that makes it risky to love them as I do. But I have no choice.” I blinked as the epiphany hit, then said it again, “I have no choice in loving them. My heart chose for me. And there's your answer. If you truly love Kaitlin the way I love your father, you will not be able to stay away from her. Your heart will reunite you whether your mind wants it or not. And if you chose not to take the risk and you're able to stay away, it was not as great a love as you thought.”
Brevyn let out a long breath. “Thanks, Mom. That's a huge relief.”
“It is?”
“Sure. If I can't stay away from her, I'll know it's the kind of love worth risking pain over, and if I can, well, then I can look forward to finding someone immortal to love.”
“Have you tried to see your future with Kaitlin?”
“It's all a blank.”
I sighed. “Then maybe there is no future there. But don't write her off yet, Son. You're young and, as I said, the future is uncertain. The Fates, Faerie, and Alaric have all tried to tell me otherwise, and they've all been wrong. I changed my destiny and if you don't like yours, you can change it too.”
Brevyn grinned. “And I'll be able to see it coming.”
“Yeah, I guess having visions isn't all that bad.”
“It's not, Mom. I wish you'd stop worrying about me.”
“Well, that's not going to happen. Even if you were a human kid without any magic, I'd worry about you. That's my job.”
“But with my visions, I can tell you if something bad is going to happen. So, you don't have to worry.”
I laughed. “You got me there, kid. Although, I don't think we can rely that heavily on your visions.”
“I guess not.”
“So are you going to give Kaitlin a chance?”
“I'm going to live my life and see where it takes me. If my heart leads me to her, then I'll go.”
“I think that's a good plan. Love isn't something you should try to avoid.”
“And that's why I helped Uncle Thor fall in love. He was avoiding it.”
Oh, damn. I'd completely forgotten about Thor. He was probably wondering where we were.
“You helped him or you forced him?” I asked gently.
“Helped. It wasn't hard. Raedra looks so much like you that he was already feeling stuff for her.”
“Stuff.” I laughed, trying to ignore the fact that my son had noticed a man's interest in me to the point where he recognized his affection for a woman with similar features. “Baby, you shouldn't mess with people's hearts like that.”
“I thought our magic was meant to make people happy? Aren't we supposed to help them fall in love if they're having a hard time?”
“Baby, your magic is yours to use as you see fit. If you want to help someone fall in love because you know it's what's best for them, that's great. But unless you're using it as a weapon, you should ask for permission first.”
“Did you ask for permission before you healed Uncle Thor?”
