A Court of War and Sacrifice

21. Family Discussions

The artwork above is not mine.

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Seren stood before a mirror, examining herself in one of her new outfits. True to her word, Mor had taken Seren out shopping. They'd returned with several new clothes that fit comfortably and showed off the growing curve of her stomach, which was becoming more prominent with each passing day. Seren tilted her head and smiled. The baby was certainly making itself noticeable now.

I'm glad we left Ironcrest when we did, she thought. Even though Erebus, Kallon, Osiris, and Seker found out anyway. At least I wasn't anywhere they could have hurt me.

The bedroom door creaked open, revealing Mor. She entered and sprawled across the bed, propping her chin up in her hands. "I knew those clothes would look stunning on you," she said.

"Thanks." Seren adjusted the cuffs on her sleeves momentarily. "You are the expert when it comes to clothes."

"I know." Mor rolled onto her back and let her head hang over the side of the bed. "Emerie has yet to let me dress her. I want to find us matching maroon outfits. I think that color would look stunning with Emerie's complexion."

"It would," Seren agreed. "Did you ever talk to her about becoming official? And about your suspicions?"

Mor sighed and shook her head. "No, I haven't. I thought about it and a few times, I almost did, but..." she grew quiet.

"But?" Seren prompted.

"But I'm worried. This isn't an easy thing. I've kept this secret for so long and..." Mor sat and rubbed her hands over her face. "What will they all think of me? I can't lose my family. What if they don't support us?"

Seren sat down and wrapped an arm around Mor's shoulders. "Mor, we're your family. We'll always love and support you, regardless of who you're attracted to." She paused, thinking for a moment. "Unless it's someone like Tamlin, Amarantha, Ianthe, or even Eris."

Mor laughed weakly. "And you've only really met one of the four."

"But I've heard the stories." Seren smiled and Mor returned it. "It's your secret to tell or not tell. You know that Feyre and I support you. I'm sure the others will too. And you know that Emerie will always be there for you."

"I know." Mor bit her lip, then let out an exasperated sigh. "Why is this so hard? Why can't I just talk to Emerie about it and have us decide together? Every time I try to bring it up, I'm at a loss for words and I can't speak."

"Do you know why you feel that way?" Seren asked.

"I guess....I guess I'm afraid that Emerie doesn't feel as deeply for me as I do for her. I'm afraid that I might not be what she wants. I'm scared that if I bring up being mates and we actually are, she might reject me."

"If watching the two of you has shown me anything, it's shown me that Emerie loves you just as much as you love her. I think she'd be overjoyed if you were mates."

"Do you think she's told Gwyn and Nesta about us?"

Seren shrugged. "I don't know, but they've been around you enough to start to suspect something." Mor was balling her hands into fists atop the bedcovers. Seren covered Mor's hand with her own and squeezed gently. "Talk to Emerie about it," she urged. "Make your decision together. It will be much easier than debating it by yourself."

"I can't," Mor said again.

"You can. Take her somewhere special, just the two of you. Go by yourselves. Stay there and talk things over and work something out."