"It wasn't your fault either," Gilmore responded, just as simply. Perhaps Laudna knew that--he certainly hoped so. Hoped that this wasn't the first time she'd heard it, and that in fact there had never been a doubt that this terrible, awful thing were the machinations of an evil couple and that there had been nothing Laudna could have done to prevent it.
"And I don't think it was foolish--hindsight, of course, allows us to see situations much more clearly, but as you said, you were young, with magic you didn't understand. It's never foolish to have hope," he shrugged. Shaun's own magic had come in early and unmistakable, glowing runes on his skin the physical proof of the magic that lived inside of him. He remembered the odd mixture of pride in the magic and wanting to know so much more, but fear of the unknown. Gods, he hurt for her.
He thought about Vax, Vex, and Cassandra, back at the Xhorhaus and completely unaware of this connection. Likely, in Exandria, it would have been the same, for Vax certainly, but even for Vex and Cassandra living on an entirely different continent, they may not have ever had the opportunity. Gilmore may not have put all that much stock in gods, but even he had to admit there was something...fateful about all of it. "Thank you for telling me your story," the emphasis just slightly on the 'your', as if to reassure Laudna that it was safe with him. When, if ever, she decided to reveal more, would be on her time, because she wanted to.
He tapped Laudna on the nose with a bejeweled finger. "And darling, sorcerer to sorcerer, if you ever need magical assistance, you only have to say the word."