Fear held Raisa's chest in a vice grip. Her heart thudded painfully against the constraint of her ribs, and she found that breath was in short supply. There they were... Svetlana had taken her mother's return with more grace than Raisa could have ever hoped for, but she had always had a kind heart. Valeriya... had always been a different sort of fae. She and Sigmarr had laid siege to Ebony since their birth, both wild and unruly and quick to anger. What are they like now... she wondered, and how much of that is my fault... She forced her lungs to expand and take in a deep breath, shuddering all the while. She would not run, she would not run, she would not run. If her children hated her so be it. It was deserved if nothing else. Just seeing her eldest there with her youngest, sitting side my side, embracing... That would be enough to make any retaliation worth it. She took a slow step out into the open, and then another. Despite the instinct to slink there on the edges she brushed her feet along the terra below, hoping that the auburn Queen would turn her gaze. Queen... Her little girl... Valeriya a queen and Svetlana a princess... Never mind that Raisa would not doubt the regal nature of Xanilov blood, it was hard to come to terms with. And I am only a washed up failure, past her prime... Koros was ever her faithful shadow, and he kept close as his master laid claim to whatever fate had in store.
![[Image: Kxe2eLS.png]](http://i.imgur.com/Kxe2eLS.png)