Chapter 39

I held the title close to heart, since my own adopted mother always treated me like a second-hand child. I couldn’t blame her either. The one child born out of wedlock was the one that became a Pact Mage.

My personal head canon was that Cestra foresaw this and took me in as one of her children instead. Sometimes I would have short dreams of her. Sometimes I would feel her tug, like a mother guiding a child. As I stared up at the mural on the wall, I wondered if she was watching? Was she up there, smiling with approval or snarling with disdain? Or maybe she was the kind of mother that wished the best for her children, with no kind of burdensome expectations.

I wanted so badly for that to be true.

Soon enough, the bishop emerged with a large basket of bread and a pot of stew. A large tray was placed right beside me, the warm smell of tomatoes and spiced meat flowing through the air.