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Looking back, I saw how desperately he’d tried not to love my sister, especially after Mom died, but Cadence was too charming for her own good.
Too bad I’m not the one that’s cursed, I thought. He certainly never had a problem pushing me away.
My heartbeat pounded in my ears. I couldn’t shake the headache that had plagued me since we left Freya’s cottage. It was like my brain struggled so badly to understand everything I’d learned in just one day, it might explode.
I tried to blink away the pain, but brilliant green eyes flashed through my mind.
“Walker,” Dad said. “You all right?”
I nodded. “It’s been a long day. A long week.”
A long freaking life. Dad heard what I didn’t say.
“I’m sorry, son.”
I jolted in shock and stared at him. His glassy eyes stared unflinchingly into mine. I didn’t know what to say or what to do or even how to breathe.
For years, I’d longed for those three short, simple words.
I’m sorry, son.
The pain in my head grew worse, but it didn’t dull this moment. Nothing could. I waited for the punchline to come or his scowl to return, but he just stared and stared at me.
Dad swallowed. “I should’ve found a way to save Cadence. Hell, I should’ve raised her. I should’ve raised you. I–”
“Okay,” I said. If he said it again, I might have to pinch myself to check if I was dreaming. “Just help us now. Okay? Help us fight Josephine.”
Dad nodded enthusiastically, and a small smile took shape on his face. It was awkward, as if he couldn’t quite remember how to do such a thing, but it was there.
“I have something to show you.”
I sighed. “Dad, I’m excited to see all the secret badassery you’ve been hiding over the years, but I really should go check on her.”
Dad scowled and crossed his arms. “Which girl?”
I rolled my eyes and turned my back on him. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of a reply, though the answer was obvious.
Both.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Freya
I raced after Cadence. The girl shouldn’t be off on her own, and I needed an excuse to get out of that house. I wasn't having a fantastic day before meeting Walker’s father, and it surely hadn’t improved since then. Clyde Reid had worn my patience thin. I couldn’t fathom how a man could so terribly fail his children but have the nerve to call me a monster.
I couldn’t imagine mentioning aborting my daughter right in front of her either.
I swung the front door open and spotted Cadence running for the woods to the left side of the front yard.
“Wait!” I called after her, but she didn’t listen.
I ran down the grassy hill in pursuit of her. The pine-scented air burned in my lungs, and the sun warmed my skin. It countered the effects of the bitter wind that cut through the mountains.
As we grew closer to the woods, my stomach turned. Somewhere out there, Josephine had killed my mother. Or maybe that had been a lie too.
My goddessmother had been the one to tell me that’s where she’d found the bone. I shook my head at myself. That part had been true. I’d felt the echo of magic that stained the land weeks ago, and I felt it again now. The wind carried an extra chill. The plant life was a little duller. Few animals scurried nearby.
Cadence came to an abrupt stop at the edge of the forest, and I halted a few feet behind her. My heart pounded in my ears. The little witch was fast. I’d actually had to exert some effort to keep up with her. After her sprint, Cadence’s chest heaved, so I took the opportunity to speak.
