“Discord?” I blurt out, incredulous. “Discord’s been here?”
“Every single day, love.” She walks back to her chair. “He comes and sits with me and has been reading a Stephen King novel, of all things, to your father. The man stays for hours, Kerri. I can’t get rid of him. Not that I want to. He’s so funny. But he calls himself your future brother-in-law. Can you believe that?”
I certainly can because Discord is a lunatic.
Also, if I have to guess, he’s desperately searching for a mother figure.
“He has a strange sense of humor,” I tell her because it’s easier to dismiss his behavior than explain my hypothesis to her.
That would tumble us down the rabbit hole of his past, one I don’t want to venture back down.
“You’ve talked about these men, but finally meeting them has been…interesting,” she says.
That’s a word, sure. Not the one I’d use. “Those men are a handful.”
She gives me a small smile. “I like them.”
“So do I.” Especially a particular Unholy who made it abundantly clear he finished with me when we arrived in Mayhem.
And then I finally—finally—stop putting off the inevitable.
I face my fatherand my God… It tears my soul apart. He was bad the last time I saw him. He’s worse now. Existing on borrowed time because this isn’t living. This is unfair and cruel. And as I approach the bed, I barely hear the machines keeping him alive over the frantic beating of my heart.
God, I hope the Order makes Patti’s death hurt.
I take my dad’s limp hand in mine. His fingers are cool and dry, and I’m careful to avoid the IV line.
“I’m here, Daddy.” No response. Not even his eyelids twitch at the sound of my voice. “I love you so much.”
My mom rests her hand on my shoulder. “He hears you, sweetheart.”
No, he doesn’t.
“I know.” The lie slips easily from my lips, and when I glance at her hand, I see how unkempt her nails have grown during my absence. Everything about the once-elegant Grace Ward has become even more…tattered…while I’ve been gone. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
I shake my head, sorrow and regret twisting around each other until they become a knot so tight in my chest I want to reach in and rip it out. “For everything. If I would have kept my mouth shut—”
“We would have never found out about Patti,” my mom finishes. “You did what I couldn’t, baby. You were my voice and strength when I had to stay by your father’s side. I’m proud of you, Jellybean, and I’m so sorry you were hurt.”
I let go of my dad’s hand and lean back in the chair. “I was safe. Havoc protected me.”
“That’s what Discord said.”
“I’m sure he said a lot more.”
She sets aside her book and sits back in the chair. “Yes, he’s…enthusiastic…when it comes to talking.”
“He doesn’t shut up,” I say with a laugh.
But she grows serious. “Is it true?”
I frown at her question. “Iswhattrue?”
“What Discord said about being your future brother-in-law, Kerri, I—”
“No,” I empathetically deny. “Ma, no. Havoc and I are…we’re…we’re nothing. Friends. Discord likes to embellish for the sake of being dramatic. He acts like the typical little brother with Havoc. I’d tell you if there was something between Havoc and me.”
