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At the determined glint in Yesenia's eyes, Nora knew it was a lost cause. Because whenever her sister-in-law made up her mind, it was hard to change it. Besides, Nora's stomach did feel empty and if she was to hold vigil all night over River, she'd need some sustenance. "I won't tarry too long."
Yesenia gave her a light push. "Go."
After her sister-in-law went down the hallway, Nora sighed—another new thing she could do again—and headed back downstairs.
She'd barely told the cook to send a simple tray up to the chamber where River was staying before her son, Ambrose, waltzed into the kitchen and stopped right next to her.
Once the cook scurried off, she faced the only child she'd been able to raise as her own.
Ambrose was in his frozen state, and despite him being in his fifth decade, he looked to be in his early thirties with dark hair and the same mismatched eyes as Nora's—one was blue and the other green.
It was harder to tell his age these days, given the patchwork of scars on his pale skin, a remnant from the kidnapping and subsequent torture he'd endured under a magical knife a couple of months ago. While his health had recovered, the spark of eternal amusement in his eyes had dimmed considerably.
It reminded her of when she'd first met him, at age seven, when his father had dropped off a scared, abused little boy, declared him defective, and had demanded another child of Nora.
She hadn't had a choice except to let the monster beget another babe on her, but her father had agreed to let her keep Ambrose, despite his mutism, as long as she didn't put up any fuss during the breeding attempts.
And she hadn't, despite the fact Ambrose's father had been the cruelest, most painful of all the males who'd she'd been forced to lie with.
It'd been difficult, though, to hide her hatred and not fight him, given how the bastard had thought Ambrose was defective. Just because her son couldn't speak didn't mean he didn't have a brilliant mind or a huge heart.
Years ago Ambrose had been taught French Sign Language by a tutor—Nora and her two brothers had learned it as well—and so he signed to her, "Are you okay?"
Not wanting others to hear, she pulled him into the small room usually used by the housekeeper, shut the door, and signed back, "No. But I'll survive."
Ambrose searched her gaze. Even though he had two eyes like almost everyone else, she always felt as if her son could see more, merely because he was more perceptive without the ability to talk.
And right now, she didn't want him to notice the cold ball of fear she was trying so hard to keep buried deep down inside her.
He replied, his hands moving vigorously, "If he so much as touches your hand without permission, I'll make him regret it."
She rolled her eyes and spoke aloud, "No, you won't do any such thing, Ambrose Leopold Yates. He's Yesenia's brother, and whilst I have no desire for a husband, I'm going to try and work through this with the least amount of pain possible for all involved."
Ambrose shook his head. "You shouldn't be forced into this. Not again."
She bit her lip. Of course Ambrose knew about her past, had heard about her being a broodmare from age fourteen to age twenty-four, but it didn't mean she was comfortable discussing it with him, full grown or not. "As vampires, we have no choice in who our fated one or ones end up being, Ambrose. You know this. So all we can do is make the most of it. I will sort this out as best I can, and then go back to living as I have since I became frozen."
He signed forcefully, "What life? You never fucking leave this building, no matter how many times I try to make the outside world safer for you."
She blinked. Ambrose hadn't been short with her since he was a child. True, he'd been staying away more and more lately, ever since his torture, but she hadn't expected this change of behavior.
Although what truly took her back was the fact he was trying to make the world safer for her. "I never asked you to seek out slavers or forced breeders and take them down, Ambrose. Even if every single one in the city fell, it wouldn't change what the rest of the world thinks of me."
Whore.The few times she'd tried to venture outside after entering her frozen state at twenty-four, that was what everyone had called her.
It hadn't taken her long to realize the pain from what her father had forced on her was far from over.
His fingers twitched, as if he wanted to say something else but held back. She reached up and took her son's face in her hands. "If you need to talk to me, Ambrose, I'm always here."
For a second, she thought he might finally discuss what had happened to him, or at the very least about why he was so determined to force her back into the outside world.
But then he took a step back, brushed away her hands, and signed, "I'm too much like you, Mother, and keep things buried deep inside. So I suppose we'll both just keep our distance."
After a long look she couldn't decipher, Ambrose threw open the door and slammed it shut behind him.
Nora rushed over, locked it, and slowly sank to the ground until she could lay her head on her knees.
Between her heart beating again, facing the reality she would have to let a male touch her at least a little, and her son shutting her out of his life more and more by the day, Nora's emotions finally broke free.
