Chapter 415: Chapter 415: Love Sucks

So much for a Merry Christmas.

Mom went from mournful to cold and brittle by the time I trudged my way home again, tears spent on the wide shoulders of the guy who loved me no matter what. I knew it was a defense mechanism of hers, but we needed her, damn it. I needed her. Still, I couldn't blame her for retreating into her Council Leader persona, abandoning her promise and diving into Council business to stay distracted.

Let's just say Christmas morning was a real downer and leave it at that.

It took me a few days to break Meira out of her angry shell. When I did, trapping her in her room with Sassafras for backup and letting her pummel me for a few minutes with her fists and her power-not telling anyone she broke the rules no matter what-she finally collapsed on her bed, sadness surfacing at last, and finally admitted to me the worst part of all of it was she felt like a traitor.

Despite what she told Ahbi, Meira wanted to go back to Demonicon someday.