“I know that,” I snapped, then sighed and lowered my voice. “But, he’s worth it. What we had, every bit of it, was worth it.”
“You know I’m proud of you, right?”
I glanced over as I pulled out of the parking lot. His expression was sincere, but my dad was a fantastic actor. It was difficult to really tell whether he was faking it or not. Still, warmth filled my chest, and I fought back the rush of feelings from my childhood, always struggling to keep my powers in check or make them useful so my parents would be proud.
The words stung after the attitude I’d given him, despite my good reason.
“Being your father has been the best years of my immortal life.” He looked down at his lap. “And perhaps that’s more due to the state of the world and the fact that your existence was kept secret. I could only imagine how things would’ve turned out if…”
Sighing, I reached over and patted his hand. “I know, Dad.” Thinking about it, of all my siblings, I’d definitely had the easiest life. Hela, Fenrir, and Leviathan were all banished, and Váli had been forced to murder Narfi, then had been hunted like an animal by the Æsir while they used Narfi’s entrails to bind Loki.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine the lengths he’d gone to protect me from the insane gods who did shit like that, and what was left of my anger guttered and died.
“I wish Hela had wanted me in her life more. Beside the two of you, I only had sons.” He squeezed my hand.
“I’d love to meet them someday, when all of this calms down.”
He chuckled. “If you stick around Lucifer, you’re sure to run into Hela at some point. Possibly Leviathan as well. Maybe sooner than later, if things move the way they are.”
My insides twisted into knots at the thought. I was powerful, sure, but they… they were next-level beings, and I was their baby sister. Knowing my siblings existed was worlds away from meeting them in-person, and that possibility had snuck up on me a lot sooner than I was prepared for.
Even before Lucifer, I’d been connected to the dangerous world of mythology. My dad was Loki. My siblings were so feared, they were cast into separate realms. Normal was a world away for me, and always had been.
Turns out, normal is overrated anyway.
“I just wanted the best for you, Lexi,” Loki said. “You have opportunities that your siblings were never given simply because of the circumstances of their birth. I wanted your life to be as normal as possible while still protecting you from the power of your mother’s side.”
I put the Jeep in park and frowned at him. “My mother’s side?”
“How do you think she reeled me in?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows. “You inherited your seductive charm from her family line, and it can and will draw the wrong people in. Ask Heidi, she knows.”
“Gross.” I jumped out of the Jeep, keys rattling in my hand. My feline sister always did have a thing against males. Maybe he was right.
“Why are you here, anyway?”
A sign was plastered across the windows.Closed Until Further Notice.Lucifer must’ve put it up at some point. Piled all around the door were envelopes. I gathered them all up and unlocked the door.
“I wanted to make something,” I replied. I craved, as I always did after a break-up, sweets. And since I was now the proud owner of a bakery, I would use it to its fullest. Only this time, my sweets had a different purpose.
“Is this your plan?” He gestured to the storefront. “Reopening Sinsational Sweets on a Saturday morning?”
I dropped the armload of letters on the front counter, then peeled one open out of curiosity. They were mostly addressed to Sam, but some were for me.
“They’re Get Well cards,” I murmured. A smile tugged at my lips. “People think we closed for a family emergency and they sent cards.”
At least half of them had sloppy handwriting, which meant they were either from adults with terrible penmanship or the kids next door. My heart swelled for those beautiful souls. Then I remembered I was on a mission.
“My plan, right.” I left them there and went into the kitchen, pulling my hair up as I went. “First, I’m going to make him a batch of the cupcakes I made the first night we were together. Then I’m going to go to his house and pray he hasn’t left yet.”
Loki leaned against the counter as I started pulling ingredients down. “Who are you going to pray to, daughter mine?”
I snorted and rolled my eyes. “Figure of speech, Dad. You know I’m an atheist.”
We watched each other with a straight face for all of five seconds before we both burst out laughing. It felt good to laugh with my dad, even after all the shit he did. Anger, while it fueled my chaos magic in times of need, didn’t sit well with me. I always had trouble hanging onto it, mostly because of the clarifying stones I almost always wore, but anger was also literally the path to the dark side.
The darker arts weren’t something I was interested in learning.
Loki kissed me on the head. “When you’re ready, sweetheart, call my name and I’ll take you to him, wherever he may be.”
