@hyrded
She watched him, her breath caught in her throat, held in the tense silence that bloomed between them. Athena loved her children more than anything else in the world, that much was certain, so much so that her decisions of never mentioning the twins around /anyone/ had been out of pure maternal instinct. “I am protective of them.” /and of my own heart/, she thought, not saying the latter sentence out loud. “I’m sorry if you felt…betrayed. I understand it. But I would have told you in time.” When she met his eyes, the brown hues were filled with unspoken pain, yet behind it a subdued hope lingered that maybe…/maybe/ rurik would understand her perspective as a mother. That he would be a better man to her.