*Lena*
Hanna of Red Lakes, the Luna Queen of Valoria, my mother, was the most emotionally controlled person I’d ever known.
And as her eyes grazed over the faded mark above my breast, the wound already healed and a muted white against my skin, her face didn’t change. She was expressionless, and her eyes gave me no hint of what she was thinking.
Her calmness in chaos used to infuriate me. Both of my parents were that way, although my father did have a flair for the dramatics from time to time. Mom? No. Even now, she remained stoic and unbothered.
Several moments passed before her eyes met mine again. I swallowed against the lump in my throat, tears threatening to spill from my eyes as she reached a hand out to cup my cheek.
“Why?” she asked so softly I had to read her lips instead of registering her words.
“I don’t know,” I whispered back, then hung my head in shame.