Moon Cursed (Book 2 in The Star and Her Moon Series)

Epilogue

Five Months Later

Meribella

Raindrops struck the paper and blurred the ink until all her mother's last words to her were illegible. But it didn't matter to Meribella. She'd read them so many times in the last few hours that they were burned into her brain.

My Darling Girl,

I never called you that enough. Endearments weren't easy for me. Your Mam isn't the softest woman. She spent most of her life trying to convince her own mother that she was enough to make her happy, and it didn't leave her much time to make sure I was. I suppose I decided fairly early on that taking care of me was the most important thing. I probably should've never been a mother, but then I might never have learned what it meant to love someone- truly, deeply, completely. And that's how I love you.

When I found out I was pregnant with your brother I thought I was being given a second chance to do it right. Then, you told me that it would end my life. Kind of ironic, really. I'm one of the most selfish people I've ever met, and the act of giving another person life is going to end my own. I decided then that I wasn't going to waste what time I had left, and I was going to be the mother I always should've been. I thought I was doing right by working with Nerida and Morgan.

Of course, we know how that turned out. I lost you. All I wanted was a second chance, and I was too late. You must be reading this wondering why I chose to stay behind with Valencia and the others if I felt this way. It's like I turned my back on the second chance I asked for and received. I could've packed my things and gone home with you, but Meribella, the truth is that you never needed me. So, I chose, one last time to be selfish and spend the rest of my days among people who could give me the love I was always searching for. I was afraid we would turn back to old patterns and fight the entire time. I didn't want that to be your last memory of me.

I became bitter and selfish because of neglect. I turned inward. You strengthened and blossomed and made a family of your own. It's a family I'm so excited for Ace to grow up in. I was never meant to be a mother.

You will be the best.

I love you- more than you ever knew,

Mom.

Meribella wiped away her tears and lifted her eyes to the horizon. A ship bobbed in the distance, and she fought the urge to swim to it. It carried such precious cargo. Her mother's body, carefully preserved by one of Thorne's spells, and Ace, her baby brother. The others wanted to be here, but she asked for this moment to herself.

One last time, Meribella wanted to look upon her brother's face. It was perfect, even with all of his father's features so evident, but despite their promise to Dorea, she and Raff could not offer a safe home for an infant. Not right now. Valencia would care for him until they were able.

Every day brought back word of another skirmish. Another friend lost in the battle against the Fae Queen. It would seem she had a deadline she was trying to meet, and she no longer cared about playing games in the shadows. It was outright war.

She pressed her hand against her stomach and fought back a wave of nausea. Nothing had been confirmed, but if she was right, she had a deadline of her own to meet. It hadn't been intentional. After getting lucky the first month, they made sure to be extra careful. Every precaution had been taken. Magical. Modern Science. All of it. Raff woke up drenched in sweat some nights, terrified she was pregnant. It didn't matter that every month she wasn't proved the curse was broken. Some part of him believed she would die regardless.