AllFreeNovel
Share Us
If this were ten years ago, I’d have told him that he wasn’t my father. Only that didn’t sound so great at twenty-six. My father died eleven years ago. He died in childbirth and that was that. No amount of blood brought him back. Jert wanted to be my daddy after that, but he failed spectacularly.
“Then do you want to tell me what the hell’s going on with you, Ter?”
“Don’t call me that,” I shook my head. “I wouldn’t even be here if Salta would hurry up and grow up.”
“She’s eleven,” Jert reminded me. “If that’s what you’re waiting on it’s going to be a while and she was at the party.”
“Of course she was!” I let out a hollow laugh. “Who do you think bought her dress? Took her to get her hair done? Let her pick out the fifty gifts for Jordan.”
“You know, you’re her brother and not her dad, right?”
“Jert,” I said, low and warning. “You don’t want to go there and talk about who is whose father. I promise you that.”
“I know you miss him but----”
“You don’t know anything,” I shook my head. “You really don’t.”
I glanced across the room at the doorway. My mother lingered near by and her lavender scented perfume saturated the world.
“Is Salta with you?” I called out.
“Salta is in the playroom with the other kids,” Mother said, rounding the corner and coming into sight.
Her long dark hair was tucked behind her pointed ears. Magic danced on her fingertips as it did upon mine. I imagined those fingers once entwined with my father’s and hated Jert. He swept in not soon after my father died, and he never fit in. Hell, no. I never fit in once he died. It was me against the world to protect Salta and make sure she wasn’t forgotten or merely the child everyone blamed for killing him.
“Jert, you are excused,” Mother said, putting on her high priestess voice.
I fought off the urge to roll my eyes as he bowed in her direction and scurried off into the hall. Neither of us said a word until his footfalls had long disappeared. Mother joined me on the sofa and I sat up straighter.
“Your father’s been around again, hasn’t he?” She asked.
I almost rolled my eyes again. The sight I had came from her. Of course, she knew he’d been around. He always came around. It’s as if he couldn’t rest even in his final death. I hated that. I tried over and over again to ensure Salta had everything she needed so that he would finally rest.
“Would you pass up the chance to spend the day with your dead father and instead be splattered with cake by toddlers?” I asked, deflating and leaning back into the sofa.
“Have you told the others?” She asked, looking at me only out of the corner of her eye.
“They know I have the sight,” I laughed and shook my head.
“I meant about your father,” she said, her lips pulled tight against her teeth.
“No,” I shook my head. “Don’t worry. I’ll let them all think your dead mate is resting. I’d never ruin your image like that, Mother.”
“It’s not about my reputation as leader or mate. It’s about their peace of mind, Terrick. Most of them will have long, damn near eternal lives, but I don’t want them afraid of death. I don’t want them to go through life thinking they’ll be stuck here or unable to rest if they die. No one should live with that hanging above their heads.”
“I’d never tell her,” I said.
“I wasn’t just talking about Salta. Though, you would do well to remember she is not your only sibling. You two are close. I understand that. She, like all of you, means the world to me. You’re not going to like what I say next, but I need you to hear me out. I need you to find a way to be okay with it.”
I glanced at her, but didn’t meet her gaze any more than she met mine. Years of her taking care of the coven while I took care of Salta had driven a wedge between us. A wedge that would probably out last this life and many to come. My mother was a great high priestess. She led the coven through many years where other covens failed. She was good at blending in with and when necessary, seducing non-shifters and non-sangs. Not that she had to do that much now that the human government finally got the death it deserved for so long, but we all heard the stories of how she brought down local sycophants – human, vampire, or shifter. It didn’t matter. She kept us safe. My mother was a great high priestess, but I wasn’t sure how great of a mom she was.
“I’m going to try again to lay him to rest,” she said, and I clenched my jaw. “I’ve tried to be patient. I’ve tried to give you time to grieve. I’ve tried to give him time to figure it out on his own. Only, Terrick, he seems not to want to and I can’t have him driving you to your grave by hanging around. I understand he’s the reason you can’t move on. Also, I think it’s best if you take your tour of Europe or perhaps visit the new coven out west.”
“Salta has her lessons. I know she’s ahead of most of her school mates but she can’t afford the time off. She enjoys them too. Maybe we’ll go when she’s older.”
“Salta won’t be going with you, Terrick. She’s my daughter.”
“She’s my sister,” I said, standing up.
