Page 145 of Lunar Diamonds
“Why did you leave me?” I whispered, heat pricking my eyes.
I swallowed to clear a lump in my throat, the things I’d crushed rising once again.
The train gathered speed, rocking gently as it made its way out of Coldharbour.
What now? What the hell was my plan? I had no phone, no money, and my jumper hung open from the shade’s slicing.
Dad. Drake. Pressure, pressure.
Oh, damn.
I slumped forward, burying my face into Drake’s chest.
Hecate give me a sign. Any damn sign to point me in the right direction.
“Please…” I breathed into the man stealing the threads of my heart. “Please show me the way.”
“Riley?”
Slowly, I lifted my head to see the speaker.
The blue figure stood there, fully in the shape of my father. His body flickering like it was on fire, the black eel stretched down his left leg.
“Dad?”
“Son…” he said. “Moon… Son. My son.” He reached out a hand. “Son… Give me… Give me. Give me…”
I got to my feet, tears and snot running down my face. “What happened to you?”
“She… She… Moon get me back. Give Moon…” He pointed at me. “Mine. Mine. Mine.”
“She? Who? I don’t understand.”
He vanished as the train sped into a tunnel.
I wiped my eyes and nose. “Dad?” I walked forward. “Dad?”
No answer.
“Dad?”
The train rocked harder. I listed sideways, grabbing a seat for support. “Dad?”
My waterlogged brain couldn’t take much more. Hot tears rolled free, my throat closing around a barbed lump.
“Riley?” I turned in response to Drake’s groggy voice.
He sat up, rubbing at his head, those dark and haunting eyes on me. “Are you alright?”
I ran to him, launching myself into his arms, scraping my knees in the awkward dive. He bore the brunt of my barreling, locking his reassuring strength around me.
“Easy,” he said. “Easy.”
I cried into the crook of his neck, my anguish a flood.
He held me tighter, kissing the side of my head. “I’m sorry.”
So sturdy. So minty. So frustrating.
