Page 58 of Kiss of Death
It already killed me to beg my father for help and be denied. I didn’t want to be disappointed again.
“I say you exhaust all options before we prepare to fight that demon.”
“We aren’t fighting that demon, Hawk.”
“If that’s our last and final option…” He gave a shrug. “What else are we going to do? Maybe General Viper will help us. Maybe Movack will come. Grab a few other great fighters and corner the demon.”
I cocked my head as I regarded him. “Why are you so involved in this?” I’d expected Dad to jump to my aid while Hawk lacked interest, but it turned out to be the complete opposite. Dad was the one who’d abandoned me, and my brother was the one who had my back.
He was quiet for a long time, rubbing one of his arms as he considered the answer. “I know what he means to you—and what you meant to him.”
I was touched beyond words. A horrible shadow had come over the Southern Isles, but the rain had watered a seed that had grown into a beautiful flower—and our relationship was that flower. It brought us close together when we’d almost felt like strangers. “Sometimes I forget you’re the only person who’s seen him except for me.”
He gave a nod. “He’s hard to forget.”
“If Wrath were here, Dad would understand.” Wrath could speak to him face-to-face, and a relationship could develop. In time, my father would love him like a son…and would do whatever it took to bring him back. But we didn’t have that luxury, unfortunately.
“Yeah, maybe.”
“I didn’t expect Dad to abandon me like this. After everything I’ve done to prove myself, I thought he would accept my love without question. But he treats me like I’m a fool, like I don’t understand, when he’s the one who doesn’t understand.”
“I’m not surprised.”
I raised my eyebrow.
“He doesn’t like to take risks. And this is a big risk.”
“We aren’t gambling at the pub for a pile of coins.”
“But in his eyes, he’s already won the pile, and now he’s pushing his winnings back into the pot. He escaped the underworld, but once the portal is open, will he have to honor the debt he escaped?”
“Did he tell you these things?”
“No, but I know how he thinks. It’s what I would fear.”
We fell into a heavy silence, both of us pondering what the other had said. I refilled my glass of wine and drank it in the meantime, the fire in the hearth burning low until it was nearly out.
“I’ll leave for Riviana Star in the morning,” I said.
Hawk’s eyes moved back to me. “Want me to come with you?”
“No, it’s okay. This is something I have to do on my own.”
At first light, I grabbed my pack and mounted Zehemoth, and we made our way across the Great Sea. I didn’t tell anyone whereI was going except for Hawk, so if my father worried about my whereabouts, he could figure out where I’d gone.
When he didn’t come to my villa to talk things over, I knew he was as upset about things as I was. My father was stubborn, even more stubborn than I was, but I still hoped that his heart would be bigger than his stiff spine.
Guess I was wrong.
It took the entire day to cross the Great Sea and the Northern Kingdoms. It was dark by the time we reached the outskirts of Riviana Star, and Zehemoth came in for a landing outside in the wildlands. We worked together to build a bonfire of sticks and branches, and he lit it ablaze so he would have light when he was left alone.
I headed into Riviana Star, and the guards were prepared to take me since Zehemoth had informed Macabre that I was there. Aunt Eldinar expected me, and after marching an hour into the forest until we reached the heart of it, I finally came face-to-face with my aunt.
Despite the late hour, she was impeccably dressed, wearing a long-sleeved white gown with a flower crown in her hair, her eyes vibrant like it was morning rather than night. She embraced me with a long hug before she stepped back. “You must be weary. I have a tree house ready for you.”
I wasn’t tired the way I used to be. The depression that had absorbed into my body was so potent I was always in a state of nothingness. I was neither tired nor energized, just floating in a strange form of existence. “I’m too anxious for rest. I came here to speak to Riviana—if she’ll accept my audience.”
It seemed unlikely that she’d spoken to my parents recently because of the distance, but Aunt Eldinar was more astute than the average person, either because of the long life she’d already lived or because she was simply gifted with a greater shrewdness. But she gave me thislook…like she understood. “To discuss the god who’s bestowed these gifts upon you?”
