Page 23 of The Best of Brenna Grant

Aye, he did. The priest’s eyes widened as he stared at Loki. “Are you the son of Ciara Blackett?” he choked out.

Loki nodded, unable to speak for a moment. The priest had one blue eye and one green eye, just as he did. Loki glanced at Kenzie and whispered, “You knew.”

Kenzie nodded, a grin still on his face. “You are the only two I ever met with eyes of different colors, and yet they are exactly the same. Do you no’ think ‘tis odd? You would no’ have believed me if I told you. You had to see for yourself.”

A fine tremor shook the priest’s hands as he whispered, “Excuse me, I think I need to sit down for a moment.”

Loki helped him to a nearby bench, then sat down beside him. “Are you all right, Father?”

“Aye. If you’ll give me a moment to collect myself, I’d be happy to explain.” He reached inside his robe and pulled out a linen square, wiping his forehead and his cheeks before he set it back inside his robe. “Kenzie, would you do me the favor of taking Bella into my chambers? You can find a piece of fruit for each of you.”

“Aye, Father.” Kenzie held his hand out to Bella, who leaned down to kiss Loki’s cheek before she left.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Loki is finally able to say the words in his heart to his parents.

Brodie made his way over to Bella, and Loki could see his mother’s gaze on him, her happiness and unconditional love washing over him like the softest of furs. He stood by the door like a statue.

He didn’t know how. Hellfire, he had been so certain he would finally be able to tell her how he felt. He’d rehearsed it over and over in his mind on their trek.

Bella, Celestina, and Brodie chatted as he leaned against the door, attempting to organize his thoughts, failing miserably as comment after comment brewed in his mind only to be tossed aside as insufficient.

How did one do it?

How did one person thank another for taking him from squalor? For renewing his hope and faith? At the age of seven or eight summers, he had feared he would be forever cold, forever hungry, forever lonely…nay…forever alone. Instead, Brodie and Celestina Grant had made him forever loved, forever grateful, and forever happy and full of life.

“Loki?” It was his mother’s voice, the sweet cadence that was a comfort to his soul. “Are you all right?”

“Mama, I just wanted…I would like…” The words just wouldn’t come.

His sire wrapped his arm around his mother’s waist. “Son?”

He tried again, forcing the words beyond the lump in his throat, “I met my true sire. He’s a Blackfriar, a nice man. I’ll tell you about him sometime. But I just wanted to tell you…”

He saw the quick twinge of disappointment in their eyes before they masked it. Och, how he hated to cause them pain. Then he knew. No more. It was in his power to comfort his mother, and he would do it.

Bella stood off to the corner, his beautiful Bella, and as if she could read the words in his heart, she gave him a slight nod of encouragement.

“I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate all you’ve done for me, loving me the way you have—” he paused for long enough to see the delight emerge in his mother’s eyes, “—and that you will always be my true parents. You took me in when I needed it most, and you’ve been wonderful every day since then, and I will be forever grateful…forever.”

His mother ambled toward him, her steps shaky and graceless, which was completely out of character for her. She’d always waited for him to come to her. “Oh, Loki. You know we love you, and I’d be overjoyed to hear about your true sire.” She reached up to wrap her arms around him at the same time that his father grasped his shoulder.

His mouth opened, and the words he uttered were weak, but audible nonetheless. “I love you both.”

“Loki, did something happen we are not aware of?” Brodie asked.

“Nay, I just…it took me a long time to believe I deserved to come here, but now I do. And I understand what was in your hearts when you took me in.”

“Do you?” His mother cupped his cheeks to bring his gaze down to hers. “Do you understand what it was like for me to be locked in a chamber for most of my life, with no friends or family who loved me?”

His head ached terribly from the truth of her words. “Aye, I do.”

“That is correct, you do. And you and your father helped to put an end to that for me. So you are more than deserving of the good will that has come your way since then. Please do not ever forget that. You found a way into our hearts quickly. But you seem to understand that a bit better now.”

Loki’s knees threatened to buckle, but the booming sound of his father’s voice forced them back to a locked position. “Let’s get something to eat and let Kenzie know we have not deserted him. Celestina, wait until you meet this new lad.”

Finally, the strings that had been choking his soul loosened, freeing him from all the things that had been niggling at him for quite some time.