“Delvin is her Biological father, and I guess in a sense, her Essence father would be Adam. Since he somehow gave her some of his essence while she was an embryo. That’s why she doesn’t show up on any genetic markers.” I shrug.
Dad freezes for a moment as if Rez froze the room again, but I can see him breathing, and he blinks, so obviously he’s not completely frozen, just impersonating a statue.
“Dad?”
“Adam has given her his genetic makeup?” he says slowly.
“I guess.”
Dad leans in and pulls on my lapels to bring me closer to him, even though no one would be able to hear us through his bubble.
“Donotlet Lilith know this information at any cost. Do you understand me?” he growls through his clenched jaw.
“Of course, but can you tell me why?” I ask, terrified all the same.
“She would drain Rez dry of blood to track down Adam, since she has his essence,” he explains, and I feel all my own blood drain from my head as I feel dizzy and the room starts spinning.
“Hey, none of that.” Dad shakes me, and I feel a little bit better.
“Okay. I’ll make sure we keep that to ourselves.” I swallow the lump in my throat.
“Since I do have you here, I want to run something by you. One of the places you will be sent to is Hell.”
“Aww shit. Again?” I groan.
“Yeah. I’m sorry, but as of right now, the only person who is protected is Rez, since she has our brand,” Dad tells me as he crosses his legs and leans back on the bench.
“So, why are you telling me this?” I ask, knowing there’s a reason and I probably won’t like it.
“If I announce both you and your sister as heirs, it will give you and your party a free pass through Hell.”
My anxiety skyrockets, and I feel my heart start to race, and my hands feel sweaty at the mention of heirs. It seems I can’t run away from this, and I might as well face this and tell him how I’m feeling about all of it. My fears aren’t going to magically go away, even though I wish they would.
“I have reservations,” I admit.
“Okay,” he says simply. “I’m listening. Tell me what they are.”
Well, that’s a positive step so far. You can do this, JP. You can tell the father you just met, the Deceiver, the Evil one, that you don’t want to follow in his footsteps and not upset him.
Piece of cake.
Hopefully, he has a fatherly bone in his body.
“I’m afraid that if you announce me as an heir, I’ll be trapped in that position,” I confess, not able to look at him.
“What do you mean? You feel like this is a death sentence?” His tone doesn’t waver, but it doesn’t lighten either, which doesn’t help my nerves.
“I’ve never wanted to be in charge of anything,” I tell him, getting up from my seat and starting to pace. I still can’t look his way, but moving at least helps with the nervous energy. “I love shopping, decorating, and baking for my loved ones. I can’t see myself living in Hell and ruling after you turn over the reins. In fact, it scares the shit out of me,” I shamefully tell him.
After a few moments of nothing, I stop pacing and look up to find Dad smirking at me. He leans forward with his elbows on his thighs, and it completely disarms me. It’s the most natural thing I’ve seen him do.
“JP, who said you had to do this alone? Or had to move to Hell?” He gives me a smile before raising an eyebrow. “Did you forget that it’s not Lucifer but L.A.M.B. who rules HELL right now? Yes, I would announce you and Moni asmyheirs, but that doesn’t mean you would rule on your own. And to be honest, you and your group might be a good change for Hell. Who knows. But that is for another time, way down the road. I’m not planning on handing over the reins tomorrow.” He plasters a cruel smile on his lips. “I want to play the avenging father and bring the bloodshed. I haven’t been able to do that yet, and it’s on my bucket list.”
I can’t stop the snort that blows out of me. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Nope. I’ve always left the vengeance stuff to Bez, but it looks fun.”
Figuring, we’re already in the shit hole, I’ll give him my blessing.
