Rightful owner

WINTER'S POV:

I kept staring at my mother, memories of Helios warning me about my children trying to hide the necklace flooding back.

This must be the level of danger he had mentioned. The gravity of the situation was pronounced in my mother's expression; she wasn't joking.

And I doubted she'd ever joke about something like this.

"I haven't been the best mother to you," she whispered, her voice cracking toward the end. I thought she might start crying, but even though she didn't, I could see tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, darling. I should have let you make your own choices. I wrongly assumed I could make better decisions for you. I went wrong right from the beginning when you took that oath..." She paused, took a deep breath, and continued.

"Your father had warned me against it, but I chose to follow my own path. I'm truly sorry, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me." She murmured, her grip on my face gentle. "We can talk about whatever you want when you