My heart twists uncomfortably as this entire moment reminds me of watching someone reunite, only for one side to realize the other hasn’t been thinking about them at all.
It’s not terrible, but… Iwantedmore. I dreamt of more. I survived Coalfell because Isworeto myself I’d get more thanthis. That we would have a reunion to make it all worth it.
“I need to have questions answered before we discussanything, even Blackwell,” I say, like he’s an apparition that I only have so much time with.
He closes his eyes as if he’s dreading what comes next before opening them. There’s enough of a pause in his uncertainty that I notice an unfamiliar scar that slices deeply through his cheek, and my gaze lowers to his exposed neckline—new tattoos. On both sides, just barely visible. They’re decorative lines that don’t immediately create an image, and I stop trying to find one.
It just confirms how much he is no longer the man Iknew.
The Scorpion finally rises from his seat, nearly matching Soren in height, as he takes a few steps forward while rolling a ring on his finger. “Jane, Ernisme, and has been this entire time, because Iama skin shifter. I always have been.”
“Then how the fuck didInot know?” Soren asks. “I met you at Talon’s Perch.”
Dad motions around us. “As the rubies indicate, Cypress isheavilyinvolved in this orchestration. You met exactly who she wanted you to meet.”
My body twitches as if I’m possessed by tremors. Somewhere behind my consciousness, my mind pieces everything together, and seeing the painting of it for the first time—my father is a skin shifter and declares he was Ern.
“No…” I utter, moving my head around but keeping my furrowed gaze on him. “That doesn’t even make sense. I mean, if that’s true, that means…”
You’ve been in Talon’s Perch this entire time.
“Yes, Jane,” he confirms with a heavy sigh. “That’swhat it means.”
No.
No.
That’s impossible. The twisting of my heart morphs into feeling as if my entrails are sliding out of a deep wound that finally bleeds, like the one that killed my mother.
I can’t…
I replay this man transforming from Ern to my father in my mind’s eye, all the while touching my stomach as if I might actually find a gash there that would explain why it feels like I will collapse at any moment.
But there is no wound. No physical injury to blame for why I feel this way.
He lied to me. To my face. For years.
Even if that concept collides in my mind, not a single one sparks any bit of understanding. “How?” is all I manage out, in an annoyingly small voice, like it will give him the chance to take it all back. It’s such a foreign,needysound that I almost want to carve out my tongue.
“I’ve been there since a little after you arrived, Jane.”
For a moment I stare off into the distance, eyeing a ruby growing out of a wall before turning to Soren, hoping that his knowledge of the world can aid in my understanding.
Soren’s pale gaze lowers to meet mine. I nearly demand him to read my father like an open book until his recent wound catches my eye, the sewn flesh still angry and red. He’s probably ready to sleep for two days straight, and instead, he’s standing here with me.Watching over me.
Looking back at my father, the violence within lifts its claws, cracking from dormancy, yet I make a conscious effort to restrain myself.
For now.
“So,” I state, using the same arid expression and tone as him. “You truly were there, every night, while I thought I was abandoned? Is that actually what you’re telling me?”
His lips thin as if he doesn’t like the accusation. “I was never far, correct.”
“Ah, I see,” I reply, taking a few steps near this man as he stands only a few feet from me now. “And you never reached out?” That seething heat is all the way in my throat as I give him every chance to explain the confusion away.
“No.”
I can’t help it.
