The Summoners' Heir

Chapter 9: Yes, Mother. Yes, I will.

"I am your future."

I guess that was true, right?

Even now, I couldn't lie to her. Did all mothers have this effect on their children?

"My future," she repeated.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I..."

How could I answer that? Was it my place to tell her? How would this affect the timeline?

"You'll see."

"No, not good enough."

Wow, she was picking up the mother thing really quickly.

"What do you want me to say?"

I saw the battle taking place within her. I saw the moment she decided to overcome her fear.

She took the steps toward me, closing the gap between us. I hadn't noticed her surroundings before. But we were secluded - away from the noise and dirt of the first army. I stole a glance at the bunk behind her, tattered and worn. Definitely not fit for any human being - let alone the most powerful Grisha of her time. The Darkling always made us eat herring to not forget who we are, but this... I wouldn't even call this a humble beginning.

She took my hands with a benevolence only the sun summoner could muster. The gesture was so tender that I almost thought she knew who I was.

"I don't know you, I've never met you... and yet, I feel... I know you somehow. I just... for some reason... I want to hold you, protect you... sorry, I..."

"No, I understand."

I did. I felt this yearning too.

Were we really so broken?

Were we so starved of affection that she would look for it in a stranger and me, a mother in a 17-year-old girl?

Suddenly, her features moved to shield her vulnerability - distorting her warmth into a fire of anger and disgust.

"Are you doing this to me - are you Grisha?"

I noted how she seemed so repulsed by the concept. She would be in for a surprise.

"I'm not doing anything to you."

"So, what is this? Why are we connected?"

"I don't know what's happening."

She let her guard down again, an indicator of the sentiment she was trying to convey.