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“I’m not crying for Vera and Jack,” Nereida stated flatly.
“Well, that’s okay, if that’s how you feel,” Seff said quietly. “A Ceremony of Grace is how we honor them.”
One of Nereida’s brows arched. “Why? Jack and Vera didn’t honor us. They didn’t even love us.”
“They didn’t want us,” Arteisma added. “They gave us to the pack.”
Seff’s dark eyes caught mine.
I crouched down between the twins. “They loved you,” I said. “It’s hard for you to understand right now, but they gave you to the pack because they loved you more than anything. I promise, when all this is over, I’ll explain why your parents made that decision.”
Arteisma looked up at me, but Nereida went on as though I said nothing.
“Poppo Cole and Mimi Lucy loved us. That’s who I’ll cry for.”
“Poppo Al and Mimi Eve love us, too.”
“Desarae and Seff love us.” Nereida made another little fold in her paper. “But Tillman doesn’t.”
They don’t know.
Tillman had been back for only a few hours when the rogues attacked. The twins hadn’t known he was there.
“Tillman was here when the rogues arrived.” I still felt nothing. I only stated cool, emotionless facts. “He was killed, too.”
The twins simply looked at me. Their dark eyes blinked once before they shared a glance and a silent conversation.
Seff shook his head, his fists clenched around a scrap of paper on the table. “I’m pretty dang sure, if I had known Tillman, I would’ve had a few choice words with that male and then probably would’ve ended up slugging him right in the face.” He looked at Nereida and Arteisma. “But he died protecting his pack. We gotta give him that.”
His conflicting emotions—anger, resentment crossed with relief—mixed with my sudden feelings of guilt and made my eyes burn with tears.
“It wasn’t your fault, darlin’.” Seff grasped my hand and squeezed. “He coulda left with you and helped protect the twins. He didn’t. He stayed, and he died for it. I’ll honor him for that.”
I stood and gave him a quick nod. The twins nodded, too.
Arteisma went back to inspecting the tiny origami wolf. “Decker likes us, but he’s mean to Desarae.”
“Decker is a dickwad.”
I gasped in shock. “Neri!”
Arteisma burst into giggles as Seff’s lips spread in a big, unapologetic grin.
“What?” Nereida didn’t bother looking up from her paper folding, though I could see the smile plumping her little cheeks.
Narrowing my eyes, I frowned at Nereida. “I know exactly where you heard that from. Just because Jessy used that term, it doesn’t mean it’s okay for you to use it.”
“Why not?”
I fought to hide the smile threatening to form on my face. “Truth or not, it’s not nice to call other people names.”
Nereida pointed at her sister. “Seff calls her ‘doodlebug.’”
“He uses it as a term of endearment, not to be mean.”
Muttering under her breath, she said, “Well, that’s not confusing at all.”
“What’s an endearment?” Arteisma asked.
