She paused. This was once again her former identity reacting to a perceived danger and surging closer to the surface. The danger did exist; Lilith Vespers had forged through many such battles and won.
On the other hand, even now, Hilde was not the most feminine of females. She was woman enough to wish for beauty as well, but what she envied more in her cousin was her seemingly-perfect life, with at least one doting and protective parent around and a carefully-screened household who would never dare to ignore her or treat her coldly, no matter who had cued or outright ordered them to do it.
This time, her heart clenched. She was thankful, after all, for whatever oddity she possessed that had blinded her to the truth about her family.
Not only had her younger self been saved from constan
