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“And now he’s her. If he hadn’t demanded to know who you were, would you have said anything to him? Would you have told him?” Aria pressed.
“I was afraid,” Penelope admitted.
“Similar to how a four-year-old Sariel must have been scared when you left him on his father’s doorstep?”
“I…”
“Or maybe how scared he was when he first got his wings, and his father tried to chop one of them off?”
Penelope gasped in horror, and I sighed.
“It’s okay, Aria,” I said, maneuvering her so that she was no longer in a stalemate against my mother.
“It’s not,” she huffed.
“I was trying to protect him,” Penelope argued.
“I stopped needing protection a long time ago,” I told her. “I don’t care about your motives. Abandoning your son was not the way to go.”
Penelope was silent for a moment, her eyes downcast. “Did he really try to chop off one of your wings?” she asked eventually.
I bristled. “Yes, because one of them was white.”
Her head jerked up. “What?”
“According to my friend, that means you’re a high-ranking angel,” I said.
“I was,” she admitted. “I was one of Archangel Michael’s right-hand angels.”
Aria and I froze. “What?” we exclaimed in unison.
“Yes, and before you ask, he knows where I am.”
I glowered. “When did angels and fae get permission to mate? To procreate at all?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know why they let me go. I don’t know how I have kids, but I do, and I’m grateful.” She shook her head slightly. “I know it will never be enough for you, Sariel, but I am sorry. I didn’t… I didn't know what would happen when I left you with him.”
“I know,” I acquiesced.
“And I…” She swallowed. “If I’d thought for even one second that you would be in danger, I would have given you to the human social system. Maybe they would have been better.”
“This isn’t the time for regrets,” Aria said.
Johnny and Reese appeared around the hedges and paused at the sight of us.
“Where’s Lucia?” Johnny asked. He squinted at Penelope suspiciously. “And who is she?”
“They’re on their way,” Aria responded. “She’s getting a little help from Commander Grel.”
“This is Penelope,” I explained next. “My mother.”
Johnny’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. Reese cocked her head as she observed Penelope.
“Uh,” Johnny began intelligently. “Okay, nice to meet you?”
“So Grel is helping—”
Reese was interrupted by a whooshing sound and then the sudden appearance of Neo, Marilyn, Lucia, and Grel.
