“Was anyone hurt?” she asked, her tone decidedly less judgmental.
“A few bumps and bruises. Nothing serious. Thanks to Never.” He turned to me. “Where did you learn to fight like that?”
“Mom taught me some stuff, but most of what you saw was just plain old brutal experience.”
He sucked air through his teeth. “Lily did say you were a badass in your own right.”
“That’s pretty high praise coming from a tiger, but you’re no slouch yourself. I saw you out there.” Though, where I’d seen a fearless hero, he’d actually been a commander of sorts trying to keep his people safe, and a dad fighting like hell to survive. “Where did you learn those moves?”
His gaze kept drifting back to his daughter. She looked like she was engrossed in what she was reading, but I had a feeling she was hanging on every word we said. “Lily taught me a lot in those early days. There weren’t as many demons roaming around back then, and even in college she refused to take me out hunting on school nights.” His lips lifted in a wistful smile. “She was fond of telling me that if something wouldn’t fly with you, it wouldn’t fly with her.”
Damn.My heart swelled with love for both of them, all three of them, really. I might have just met Angie, but there wasalready a place for her in there. Which only reinforced the fact that I needed to get all of them the hell out of this realm.
Was there a part of me that felt like a monster for focusing on my family? Maybe. But once they were safely in the Nassa and I returned to the Alius, things would slowly go back to normal. At least, that was the assumption.
The question was: should I tell him the truth?
I’d already told him about his blood, but that was before I knew about Angie. Had he put those pieces together yet?
“What I was saying earlier, about leaving?—”
He cut me off with a shake of his head. “I can’t, Never. Everyone in my life has left, except Lily. I’m not putting my daughter through that if I can help it.”
I tried not to let the hurt show. It wasn’t like I’d left him willingly.
I leaned forward. “You get that she has it too, right?” And that she would be damned to spend eternity in the Alius eventually, just like me. And him.
“Sonofabitch,” he breathed. It looked like someone had just kicked him in the gut.
“Is she your only?—”
He nodded. That was something.
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here.” He laid his head back on the couch.
It did present a problem. I could barely flash Leo from one island to the next and that was in the Nassa. Flashing from the Alius to the human realm had been easy enough, but I’d been amped with power. I had no idea how spectacularly I could fuck things up if I tried to flash with two people in tow.
And that was assuming I succeeded in hitting the Nassa.
I sucked at hitting a big ass pirate ship in the water. Another realm that was steeped in mystery? I didn’t even want to know how badly the odds were stacked against me.
But there was someone who could flash from this realm to the Nassa safely even with two people along for the ride. “How safe is the park when there isn’t a storm?”
“It’s not. The park is off-limits,” he said firmly.
I narrowed my eyes. “That wasn’t my question, Matty.”
“It’s just Matt now. And that’s my answer.”
“I can handle myself. Just give me an idea.” His responding stare was an impressive attempt at intimidation that I had no doubt worked on most of the other humans around him. Luckily, it didn’t have a cowing effect on me. “You’ve really mastered the disapproving dad glare, haven’t you?”
A snicker from the table had me rubbing the back of my hand over my lips to hide my smile.
“This isn’t a game, Never. The park is dangerous.”
It was sweet that he was looking out for me, but my brother had no idea what I was capable of. Even I didn’t really know.
“Alright. I won’t go,” I lied.
