Fuck. I was hoping bad news time was over, but it looks like we’re circling back to it. By the looks of uncertainty masking their features, I think they hoped to avoid this for as long as possible too.
Fear grips me when Angel appears like he would rather be anywhere else. He starts walking closer but stops short—thinking better of it. I don’t know why he thinks keeping his distance when my head is swimming with awful scenarios is a good idea.
Blowing a sharp breath that does little to ease my anxiety, I sit on my hands to hide the way they’ve started to tremble. Without breaking eye contact, Angel eats the distance between us in two giant steps and sits down on the floor before me.
I don’t know if he does this consciously, but how he sits before me gives me the impression that he is scared of how I would react.
When he removes my hands from under me and grips them in his, the lump in my throat makes it hard to speak, and I barely utter the words, “Where’s Papa?”
His head snaps sideways to Grace, who mirrors his alarmed expression. Hazel covers her face, muttering ‘oh shit’ over and over again, and Seiji makes a run for the kitchen. I thought he was hiding from an uncomfortable conversation, but he returned a minute later with a mug of hot chocolate to soften the blow.
I’m starting to hate how they give bad news. Idiots just stare at each other, talking with their eyes and leaving me out of the loop.
“He’s dead, isn’t he?” It’s not really a question. I already figured something was wrong if he didn’t come for me yesterday. After the stories Visha drilled into me, the only conclusion was that she killed him.
I’m so naïve to think everything she said was a lie because one thing wasn’t. My mate is alive. There was no attack on our kingdoms, and I’m happy about that, but she can’t be wrong about everything. Maybe she did what she said. Maybe I did lose everything in that cell.
I’m busy imagining the life of an orphan when they exclaim in sync, and I jump in my seat.
“No!”
I don’t understand. So, they have bad news, but heisn’tdead.
“Then why isn’t he here? Why did he send amateurs to get me out rather than coming himself?”
Seiji gasps, “Uh, excuse me? Theseamateurssaved you yesterday.”
“I saved myself.”
“But… B-butwe’restill getting you home.”
“Wow! How mighty of you. It must take a lot of blood and tears to cross a fucking portal, huh?”
Seiji grits his teeth, but I’m not wrong. Sure, they helped me near the end, but I got myself outall on my own. I deserve 80% of the credit. Fuck it, I want 90% now.
“That’s a lot of sarcasm for someone who was in a cell for a decade. Who taught you that, the rats in the cell?” Hazel butts in.
“Idiot.Iwas the rat in the cell.” I snort very un-princess-like and Hazel looks a mix of stunned and impressed.
“Quiet!” Angel growls, and our mouths snap shut.
Grace chastises Hazel for making light of my trauma, and it makes her chin fall to her chest in guilt. I accidentally let a smirk slip, watching her get scolded like a child, but the remorse turns into a snarl when Hazel sees it.
Shit.
Pinching the skin between his eyes, Angel takes a deep breath. Without thinking, I let my fingers brush through his curls and mimic the way he played with my hair before. Oh man, he has the softest hair. When his shoulders sag, and his head drops on my lap with a sigh of contentment. A rush of pleasure spreads through me at his ease.
They continue talking with their eyes, fighting over who will be the unfortunate one to tell me whatever happened, and I can’t take the creepy silence anymore.
Looking over his shoulder, Angel waits to see if anyone else will volunteer, but the cowards avoid his gaze.
His eyes ask me for patience, and even though I don’t have any when it comes to my fears, I try not to get ahead of myself.
“Searching for his missing daughter for nearly a decade wasn’t easy on him, Nevaeh. Every time a troop returned without new information, he got more depressed and…just tired. He was losing hope, sweetheart.”
With every word, Anxo silently begs me not to hold Papa’s absence against him, but how can ever I blame him for dealing with the pain I caused?
“Three years ago, he came to ask me if I would be willing to take over for a while. He didn’t dump anything on me, though. Before he left, Dean finished paperwork for an entire year in advance, and Grace has spent so much time working with him that her knowledge helps me immensely.”
