[This post is from Thom’s point of view.]
In truth, despite his smile, the idea of actually doing it made him sick to his stomach, filled him with more dread than he’d felt since that first day when the sky fell in on them—since everything had come to a crashing, screeching end.
We were the lucky ones that day. At some point, though, our luck will run out and we have to make sure we’re ready with contingencies. Sometimes those contingencies are going to involve doing things that we don’t like, that we don’t want to do.
But sometimes, you just don’t have a choice.
That knowledge came in equal parts from this life and the one he’d lived as Finn—that much he knew for certain.
“I don’t know about you, Matt, but I want my son to grow up,” Thom said quietly. “And I’m pretty sure you and Hecate want to meet your baby.”
Matt winced. Anselm’s brows went up.
“Well,” Anselm said, his voice soft. “That does add another dimension to this mess, doesn’t it?”
“It just means I have more to fight for, that’s all.” Matt stared at the fire, at the kettle, his jaw tightening. “And I have to keep her out of it.”
“She may not let you,” Anselm said. “What will you do then?”
Matt’s head snapped up and he stared at Anslem hard, his eyes narrowing slightly. “What do you mean?”
“Just what I said,” he said softly, evenly. “Hecate might not let you protect her from this—she may insist on fighting. I’m not certain why that would surprise you, considering her record.”
Matt looked at Thom, his eyes growing wide. “Do you think she would?”
“Let me put it this way,” Thom said. “There are some things I can’t ask your sister to do no matter how much I might want to. Asking her not to fight to protect what and who she cares about is one of those things.”
