Page 192 of Twilight's Herald

So very many.

Somehow, I got the feeling he didn't intend to stick around long enough to answer all of them.

"Why did you leave us?" I asked.

Eyes that looked like they had seen the birth and death of entire worlds focused on me. "You seem to be laboring under the assumption I loved your mother. I didn't. She was narrow minded—incapable and utterly unwilling of seeing the world as it was. You were the result of a passing fling."

I didn't blink, taking the sting from those words and burying them deep.

Little girl me cried at the cruel words. She wanted to believe she was the product of a deep and abiding love.

Adult me understood that how I came to be was less important than the fact I was here.

He'd done my mother a favor not sticking around, making way for my stepfather to be part of our lives. My life would have been poorer if my stepfather hadn't been part of it. To say nothing of the fact Jenna wouldn't have been born without him.

My biological father's eyes warmed. "I didn't love your mother, but I can’t say the same about you."

My heart stopped, then started beating again.

"Beings as powerful as me can't go unnoticed for long. Had I remained, I would have drawn the others to you many years before you were ready. I could protect myself." He glanced at Pelt’s body as if to say ‘you still can’t’.

I didn't blink as I listened to him.

Grief touched his face and was gone in the next instant. "Thank you for doing what I couldn't."

It was strange being thanked by a person I'd never met, yet wanted a connection with so bad I could taste it.

He rose.

"Wait," I said before I could think.

His features were coldly impatient, but he paused anyway.

"Your father invites you to visit," I forced out.

He looked away and I thought I caught something of relief in his posture.

"Though, he says to give it some time so the crown doesn't revert from its new master."

One side of his mouth quirked. "You're more than I ever hoped you would be. Until next time, daughter."

This time when he walked away, I didn't try to stop him.

I pulled myself upright as he disappeared into the shadows at the corner of the building.

As fathers go, he wasn't going to win any awards. On the other hand, he had saved my life. That had to count for something.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I hit the button and held it to my ear.

"Connor, ready for you first job? There's a tiny situation I need you to help me clean up."

The call finished, I let my head thud against the brick as I stared at the flames above me. Looked like Thomas was going to get his wish of helping me find a new place after all.