And had he just referred to the vampire some used to call Death as my “boy-toy”?
I had to save that for use later.
The corners of Brin’s lips ticked up. “I don’t think anyone has ever been able to find me unless I let them. He’s quite the hunter. Of course, he had help.”
There was a note of censure in Brin’s face as he glanced at Alches.
“That’s what you two have been up to,” I said in realization.
All those trips I’d thought were for Thomas. They were really for me. For Liam to find Brin.
No wonder Liam had been so cagey. He knew how complicated my feelings about my bio dad were.
“After meeting with him, I decided to take a look for myself and found that inside her.” Brin pursed his lips and frowned. “You were always better at this sort of thing than me, so I thought it best to bring her to you.”
“A wise decision. Though I’m not sure how much guidance I can give in my current condition,” my grandfather admitted.
“I’m still waiting for someone to explain what ‘it’ is,” I interjected.
I had an abyss inside me that seemed to be growing. It was hard not to let my thoughts travel down dark paths. Ones that led to madness taking hold or me devolving into a monster every bit as dangerous as Ahrun had been.
Brin’s expression firmed as he held my gaze. “You’re in the process of becoming.”
“What does that mean? Becoming?”
“That is yet to be determined.”
Of all the enigmatic, bullshit answers he could have given.
“That’s less than helpful,” I declared.
“And yet it is, what it is.”
Brin seemed unmoved by my angry stare, straightening from his slouch against the stone. “You will need to remain in Noctessa for the duration.”
“How long?”
His uncaring shrug had me seeing red. “Decades. Centuries. As long as it takes.”
I sputtered, giving him a disbelieving look. “You have to be kidding me.”
That’s the only thing I could think of. He couldn’t be serious about putting my life on hold for that long.
This had to be a joke. That was the only answer.
“I’m not. Think of yourself as a caterpillar undergoing a metamorphosis. Noctessa has the best environment for you to flourish.”
“Cut the crap. I’m not staying here. I’m going back.”
“You aren’t.”
I bared my teeth at him. “Wanna bet?”
If Liam and Connor had been here, they could have warned him. This was when I was at my most unpredictable. If he’d thought a realm guardian was a wild card, he had another thing coming. My worst and most reckless decisions always came when I felt like my back was to the wall.
And right now, it felt like a cage was closing around me.
“You will be a danger to yourself and others,” Brin said in an even tone that was all the more infuriating when compared to the anger seething in me. “Can you live with yourself if something happens?”
