Morningside Cuesta sandcastles

Though the scene he rolled onto was confusing, all it took was Dawn's panicked words for him to understand what was going on. Oh, Amber, he thought, lamenting all the pain that his daughter had felt and seen so far. Things would be different if she'd had her own mother to look to and lean on. But she didn't, and neither did anyone else she knew.

"It'll be different this time," he said, knowing that there wasn't much he could do to change her mind about this motherhood 'curse'. Day had begun to believe in it himself, after all. The only thing that could bring him back to reality was remembering all the others that'd died or disappeared - then, he would remember that no one was safe, and that they'd only recently had trouble with keeping mothers. "We're gonna protect her. Sylvas and Kieran and Heartha, too. We're all gonna keep her safe - and 'kuti's not gonna leave." He looked to the woman. "Right?"