“That’s not good enough,” I bite out, my hands on my hips. “Besides, you’re not my father, are you?”
He cracks an odd smile. “You’re feistier than when I left.”
I want to crumple to the floor and cry. He has no idea how broken I am. This is a mask. That’s all. I’m not strong—I’m weak.
Father gets to his feet and stalks toward me, surprising me when he once again throws his arms around me and crushes me into a hug.
I stiffen, hating how comforting his arms feel.
My body slowly loosens, and I hug him back, silent tears streaking down my face.
When he pulls away, the fear in his eyes is almost disconcerting. “I worry for you, daughter.”
“Bu—”
“Regardless of whether or not you are my blood, you are still my daughter.”
“Whatcanyou tell me?” I ask. “There has to be something . . .” I leave my words hanging, my desperation clear.
Father sighs, rubbing his hand across his face in an unfamiliar manner. So different from the father he’d been for so many years, as if now that the mask is stripped off, this is all that remains.
“As you’ve discovered, you do have godsblood,” he admits. “I fear that since you’ve awakened your gifts, he’ll come after you.”
“Who?” I frown. “What do you meancome after me? The lost god? Wouldn’t that be a good thing? We need him to heal our land.”
“There are some things you won’t be able to understand, daughter, things I cannot tell you, but trust me, it would be better for you to go back to the way things were. You don’t want him to find you.”
“‘Him’ who?” I ask again, desperate for an answer, any kind of answer.
“Your true father.”
I still. “But why wouldn’t I want that?”
“He’s not who you think he is,” Father says cryptically.
I frown, confusion making it hard for me to even grasp this conversation, let alone the circles he’s running me in.
“Is he a demi-god? Where has he been hiding?” I ask. “Everyone thinks the gods have ignored us for centuries . . . Is that a lie too?”
“Tell me, have you had dreams yet?” he asks almost frantically, ignoring my questions.
“Doesn’t everyone dream?” I say, not hiding my snark at his continued withholding.
He shakes his head in aggravation. “No, child, I mean a dream that doesn’t feel quite like another. Has anyone spoken to you?”
“I’ve been having dreams for years, Father . . .” I admit. “Dreams that are different.”
He palms his face again. “Perhaps all of it was in vain . . .”
“You’re not making sense.”
He fists his palms, and I can sense the tension radiating off him. “Please, Raelyn, get back on the tonic. I need you to trust me on this.”
I back up a few steps. “I like being able to experience the sun. I like the strength it gives me.”
He blinks, as if realizing his battle is lost. “Heed my words, child. Stay here in Elsmont. Do not go looking for him.”
I laugh. “Where would I even go?”
