Mom hugged me so hard I could barely breathe but I wasn't complaining. It was nice to have her arms around me, to stand there in the safety of the Hayle magic I couldn't

feel. Harder though was accepting I needed that protection and, when she turned me sideways and tucked me against her hip, her blue eyes flashing that family anger I had a healthy dose of but, obviously, not the ingrained guts to back it up, I let her and the others have their interaction without my ...