Page 131 of Primal Bonds

Fane jerked his head at Kyler. “Why don’t you leave us? There are some things it’s best a human not know.”

Kyler bristled, but before he could object, Evie said, “He stays. I’m not keeping secrets from my own brother.”

Her dad’s eyes narrowed but Evie simply stared back. Fane rubbed his lower lip and then inclined his head. “You’ll promise to guard her secret, then,” he said to Kyler. “It’s for her safety as much as yours.”

“Of course.” Kyler folded his arms. “I’m not the problem here—you are.”

Fane shrugged and turned back to Evie with a rueful smile, the one that could always get around her mom.

Evie stared back stonily. “I’m waiting.”

“So I see.” He took a sip of beer. “Where do I start?”

“How about with what kind of fae you are? And why you never told me? And why you left me and my mom—”

“Slow down, love.” Fane held up a hand. “The first question’s simple—ice fae.”

“Ice fae?” Evie blinked.

“Not sun fae?” Jace inserted.

Her dad shook his head. “My father was half ice fae. I was born and raised in Canada. As for your other questions, well, let me tell you a little something about myself first.”

Kyler moved restlessly. “Is this going to be one of your stories?”

Fane’s blue eyes glittered. “Fae don’t lie.”

“But you’re not pure fae, are you?”

“No, but the fae blood makes it hard for me to tell lies, and it hurts like a bitch if I do.” He sat back, one arm on the chairback, long legs stretched out before him. “Do you want to hear this or not?”

“We do.” Evie elbowed Kyler and he subsided.

“I’m not that old, as fae go,” Fane said, “and I won’t live as long as a pureblood. But I was born in the early 1900s. My father was an ice fae, and my mother was a human. They were mates, and he was faithful to her until she died. But I didn’t grow up with the ice fae—they don’t have much use for half-bloods. My father was stationed in Newfoundland by the ice fae king. He pays the half-bloods to keep an eye on things for him in various territories around the world.”

“To spy for him,” Jace said. “Just so we’re clear.”

Fane moved a shoulder. “The king likes to stay informed.”

“Is he still alive?” Evie asked. “My…grandfather?”

“He is.”

“But—didn’t he ever want to meet me?”

“No.” Fane’s eyes slid away from hers. “I figured it was better that way—your world is the human world. Why complicate things by letting you know you have a bit of fae in you?”

“I see.” Her tongue felt thick. This was a fresh hurt. It was bad enough to have a father who could go for years without seeming to recall her, but she hadn’t even known her grandfather was alive—and worse, that he wanted it that way.

“I haven’t seen him for years myself,” Fane said. “My mother lived into her eighties. After she died, my father went a little crazy. It’s hard on the fae, losing a mate. They say you feel like your heart is ripped out.”

Behind her, Jace murmured agreement and squeezed Evie’s shoulders. Love pulsed to her through their bond. Warmed, she sent a pulse back, still awed at this intimate connection they shared. A connection that told her Jace loved her no matter who or what her father was.

The hurt faded. Because she had Jace at her back, caressing her shoulders, and Kyler at her side, glaring at Fane.

“We lost touch,” Fane continued, “but last I heard Father was in Patagonia for some damn reason. As for me, I’m one of the king’s envoys.”

“An envoy? You’re some kind of messenger?”

---