“Those bastards want you for your womb and still have one of your people captive. You’re well within your rights to finish wiping them off the map.” A deadly grin tipped her lips up. “I’m happy to help.”
“A better person would help them conceive.”
“You and I have never been better people. We’re survivors living in a fucked-up world. The swans chose the path they’re on. Let them see what lies at the end.”
“I fucking love you, you bloodthirsty savage.”
Moira winked. “I’m glad to see you getting back to normal.”
“Let’s give Ash and Tess a call. After that, I’m paying Caelan a visit.”
“Oooh. Want us to come?”
I shook my head. “I’ll be fine. If Caelan is on the fence about my power, I’m thinking I should give him the full show to help him decide.”
We grinned at each other, and there was nothing soft in either one of our smiles.
I could have knocked,but I felt like sending a message more. After a call to my father who showed up immediately, we stood outside Caelan’s slightly tweaked wards.
“You sure about this?” he asked. There’s no judgment in his voice, but I don’t miss the sparkle in his eyes. He’s loving every second of this.
“You think I should be more diplomatic?”
Dad snorted. “Diplomacy is for people who lack power.”
I laughed. “That’s the response of a tyrant.”
“No. It’s the response of a man who knows he can pass right through these wards and stab your Lord right in the heart before he has a chance to move. It’s the response of someone who can snap his fingers and crumble this Keep to dust. We are power made flesh, Evangeline, and if we can’t use it to save ourselves and the people we love, what good are our gifts?”
“I loved him. I might still love him.”
“Love comes in many different forms, daughter.”
“So neutral, Dad. We both know you don’t like Caelan.”
“He, like all of the Lords, serves a purpose.”
“Do you think I should leave this alone?”
Dad spears me with a look. “Caelan will never leave you alone if you do not excise him from your life. I will take care of what needs to be taken care of away from the Keep. Once you do this, things will quickly escalate.”
“I wish things were different.”
“You cannot change a mountain.”
His face is calm and stoic, but anticipation glittered in his eyes. “He’s not a mountain, Dad. He’s a wolf. I’ve seen him try to be better.”
Dad’s eyes swirled. He cloaked us in invisibility as we stood outside, a shimmer of clear power keeping us hidden from the sight and enhanced senses of the other shifters. “I like it when you call me Dad. It’s such a quaint, human word, more pleasurable to the ear than Father.”
“Okay, weirdo.”
We grinned at each other. “It has been a pleasure getting to know you, Evangeline. I know my apology may not be worth much, but I regret every day I was not in your life.”
My eyes burned. “I wondered about you every single day. What you looked like. What foods you liked. If you would like me. For my entire life, I thought you were human.”
Dad grimaced. “Very sorry to disappoint.”
“I can’t say I’m pleased with the whole crown thing, but overall, I’m not too unhappy with how things turned out.”
