Page 84 of Wrath

Father?

My mouth went dry. All of the moisture had gone straight to my eyes, which began to burn.

This couldn’t be happening.

No. No. No. No.

The little girl—Abbie, apparently—tilted her head up.

And a pair of startling violet eyes met mine.

Everything stopped working at once. I couldn’t stand. Couldn’t speak. Couldn’t breathe. I stumbled slightly and barely managed to make it to the couch before I collapsed. The little girl climbed onto my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck, her purple eyes gleaming. When she smiled, I noticed a missing tooth.

“Daddy promised he would play dolls with me!” Abbie exclaimed, the statement directed at Z despite the fact she never took her eyes off my face. A pout formed on her lips. “Don’t you remember?”

This time, she spoke directly to me.

“I…” Swallowing was impossible with a seven-foot blade in my throat.

“After dinner.” Z clapped her hands and then pointed towards a door. “Wash up.”

Abbie blew out a breath. “Yes, Mommy.”

The little girl jumped off my lap and hurried towards the room Z indicated. It was only when she was gone did Z step forward, concern twisting her beautiful face. A frown tugged at her lips.

“Is everything okay, Lin?” She ventured a few steps closer and then perched on the couch beside me.

Lin.

That was the name she’d called me during our first relationship—before I left her and returned to the capital, breaking both our hearts in the process.

“Where are the others?” I hadn’t seen my brothers since I arrived. There weren’t any pictures of them in the living room that I could see.

Her golden brows furrowed. “Others?” One of her dainty hands lifted to my forehead, as if checking for a fever. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Killian and Ryland and Dair and Lupe and Jax and Bash?—”

“You mean the princes?” Disgust twisted that last word until it could almost be considered an expletive.

I began to put the pieces together.

Z had called me Lin.

The only pictures in this house were of me, her, and Abbie.

She seemed to regard the princes with disdain.

Was this…?

Was this reality what things would’ve been like if I’d never left her? If I’d stayed behind, gave up my crown, and the two of us ran away together?

We always talked about getting away from it all—finding a home in the country, as far from the cities as we could possibly get, and starting a family. Of course, I didn’t believe I could have kids with Z, considering she was a human and I was a genie, but that didn’t stop me from dreaming. From wishing.

Z kissed the corner of my lips and then stood gracefully, extending a hand for me to take. After only a moment of indecision, I took it, allowing her to haul me to my feet.

“Enough about those…creatures.” She pulled back her upper lip in a snarl before smoothing out her expression. “Let’s just enjoy our evening.”

She led me towards a modest dining room with a table capable of fitting six people. Only three spots were set for dinner, though.

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