Page 42 of The Minotaur's Nanny Bride

"With his grandmother," I manage. "Varina came by. Said I was doing everything wrong. That I couldn't raise him properly." I laugh bitterly. "She was right. What the fuck do I know about babies? I'm a merchant, not a father."

"So you just... gave him to her?" Theron's tone holds no judgment, but his eyes narrow slightly. "Just like that?"

"I want what's best for him," I snap, pacing now, my hooves clacking against the wooden floor. "She knows how to raise a minotaur of proper standing. She has the bloodline, the connections. She can give him everything I can't."

Theron watches me for a long, uncomfortable moment. Then he shakes his head slowly.

"The best for Ellis," he says deliberately, "was a home where he was loved."

I stop pacing. "I do love him."

"Then why isn't he here?" Theron stands, his bulk seeming to fill the room. "And Maya? Did you want what was best for her too?"

I swallow hard, the wine turning sour in my stomach. "She was temporary. She always said so."

"Did she?" Theron steps closer. "Or did you decide that for her because you were too afraid to ask her to stay?"

His words hit home with unnerving accuracy. I stare at him, unable to form a retort.

"You're an idiot," he continues, his deep voice softening. "You had a family forming right under your nose. Ellis. Maya. You. A little family that made sense, that worked. And you just needed to let them in."

"It's not that simple," I protest weakly.

"It is." Theron clasps my shoulder, his grip firm. "I've known you since we were fifteen, Dex. I watched you defend every underdog, champion every lost cause—except yourself. You've never believed you deserved happiness."

I brush his hand away, but there's no force behind the gesture. "What if I'm not good enough? For either of them?"

"What if you are?" Theron counters. "What if you're exactly what they both need? Ellis is your blood. And Maya—" he pauses. "Maya looked at you the way Lyra looks at me. Like you're something precious."

The thought sends a sharp pain through my chest. Could he be right? Has my fear of inadequacy cost me the two people I've grown to love more than anything?

"You think I can fix this?" I ask, hating how vulnerable the question makes me feel.

Theron's expression softens. "I think you have to try. For Ellis. For Maya." He gives me a pointed look. "For yourself."

I let his words sink in, feeling something stir within me—something that feels dangerously like hope.

My friend might be right. I've faced countless risks in business, but in matters of the heart, I've always played it safe. Too safe. And now I stand to lose them both.

Ellis. Maya. My family.

24

DEX

Iwake before dawn breaks, before even the first songbirds—do they have those things called consciences?—start their morning chorus. Sleep had been fitful at best after Theron left, my mind churning with regrets and possibilities. Now, I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, my friend's words echoing in my head.

"You had a family forming right under your nose."

The weight of my mistake settles on my chest like a physical thing. I've lost people before—my parents to the Red Fever, Iris to childbirth—but this time, the loss is entirely self-inflicted. That makes it harder to bear.

"Enough," I growl to myself, throwing off the covers. "Enough wallowing."

My hooves hit the floor with purpose. Today, I reclaim my nephew. Tomorrow...well, Maya might be a harder battle, but I'm going to fight for her too. One impossible task at a time.

I don't bother with breakfast. Don't even pause to polish my horn rings, though I do take a moment to splash water on my face and fix my fur. Varina would see any dishevelment as further proof of my unsuitability. The old woman always was a stickler for appearances.

Outside, the morning air carries the scent of dew-dampened earth and rirzed blossoms. I touch a blue petal gently, making a silent promise to bring her back to tend it.

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