Page 80 of Shifting Fate
Not until it was too late.
As the blade swung down, my life flashed before my eyes. There was no way to stop the hands of time, no avoiding the crippling pain that was sure to come. I only had time enough to brace myself for the killing blow…and then I was forcibly shoved to the ground.
It happened almost in slow-motion. The Dreadhunter’s blade slicing halfway through my father’s torso. His scream of anguish as blood poured from the mortal wound. The pleased look on our enemy’s face as he yanked the sword free. Father dropped to his knees, then fell over onto his side with a low moan of defeat.
“No!”
Two gunshots cracked the silence, and the Dreadhunter toppled backwards. I didn’t know who killed him. I didn’t care. Panic searing through me, I scrambled to my father’s side.
“Dad! Someone grab a medic!” I screamed, but in my heart, I already knew it was too late. I didn’t want to look, but my eyes were immediately drawn to the horrific wound. I choked on a sob, tears blurring my vision. He’d been cut nearly in half. There was no coming back from that. Not even Van could stitch him back together again.
It shook me to the bone. He’d saved my life. He’d taken the killing blow to save me.Me.The son he’d never truly accepted. The son who’d spent his entire life wanting, just for a moment, the love I deserved.
“Dad,” I eked out, cradling his head in my hands. His gruff face was already losing color as the life flooded out of him with every second. He gasped in short, wheezing breaths, but his eyes found mine and in them, I saw the truth.
His pain. His sorrow. His regret.
“Ari…”
I swallowed back another sob. “I’m here,” I promised. “I’m here for you.”
Tears filled his eyes, the first tears I’d ever seen my father cry. “I-I’m sorry… Ari… I was n-never there for you.” He took a shuddering breath, then pinched his eyes shut. “I treated you and Espen…terribly. I treated you both t-terribly and it will follow me to hell.”
“Shh,” I whispered, but he shook his head.
“No. I wasn’t a father. I w-wasn’t even a parent. If it weren’t for Wren…” His blue eyes filled with fresh tears. He squeezed my hand in his, but it was faint. Weak. “I’m sorry, Ari. I should’ve been… Should’ve…”
“Dad?”
He closed his eyes, the life leaving him. “Know…that I love you. L-Love you both. Find Finn, please. Find your brother. That’s all I ask.”
Then with one last tired smile, Jaeger LaRue took his final breath.
