“Thenwhat?”
He squeezes his fingers together, pensively. “It takes two people to create a child. I think this has something to do with your father.”
My blood chills several degrees. Learning about my father is something I both want and very much don’t want. Mom deliberately changed the subject whenever it came up. The most I got was that he was a rich man traveling on business and they only spent one night together. You’d think I would have pushed for more details, but even as a kid, I’d feel thissense of dreadwhenever he came to mind.
Maybe there was a reason for that.
“What about him? Who…” I swallow hard, steeling myself, as a sense of panic rises in my throat. “Who was he?”
Collin’s eyes flick up and to the right. He holds them there for a long pause.
His breath pushes out in a long hiss, and he shakes his head.
“I honestly don’t know. No matter how many times I ask, I can’t get an answer. The most likely explanation is that it’s not human knowledge, and never was.”
“And if my father was human…”
“Then chances are I’d know. Unless my power was being blocked by magic somehow—but I’m not sure what could do that.”
“You think you knowwhathe was, though…” I’m holding my breath.
“I have a hunch based on circumstantial evidence. But I could be wrong, and then I would have upset you for nothing.” He looks over at me, wary. Like he’s hovering over a bomb, afraid of cutting the wrong wire. “Do you still want me to tell you?”
Something deep inside me screams no.
I punt. “Whatever it is, you think Mom knows.”
His lips purse, eyes narrow. “It’s clear she’s had suspicions about something. And now seeing you with the watch has confirmed them. I’m not sure what she can do with that information. Hopefully, nothing. But the fewer hooks this woman has in you, the better.”
He’s not wrong about that. And maybe he’s also not wrong about holding off on telling me who he thinks my father is. For now, anyway. I mean, it’s not like I don’t already have enough drama in my life at the moment.
The thrumming panic inside me starts to recede.
“Whoever my dad is, youreallythink it’s okay for Mom to know and for me not to?”
His face brightens—probably because he’s realizing I’m letting it go. “I don’t see how you knowing now would change anything. And I promise, if it becomes something I think you need to know, I will tell you. Maybe at that point, I’ll have more information, so it won’t feel like a bad thing at all.”
Well, that at least sounds hopeful.
“All right. But you’re forgetting that you’re going to be set free today!” I say, just as happy to change the subject. “I mean, I should probably come up with a few smartquestions to make sure Rafa can get Emma to safety, but then I’m breaking you out.”
“Right.” The blue in his irises darkens. “Well, that is a lovely thought.”
I touch his shoulder. “You don’t think this druid will have the answer?”
“I’ve been trapped in this artifact for ages. If there is a way to get me out, I doubt it will be easy.”
My face falls a bit at that. He notices and immediately takes my hand in his, rubbing the space between my thumb and forefinger with his own thumb. (Which makes my stomach do a little jump. But not in a bad way.) He then tilts his head and squints up at me, affable, all storm clouds blown away. “But ‘not easy’ doesn’t mean ‘impossible.’ And, like I said, you’re very brave for even trying. Look, we won’t have to hop trains for at least forty minutes. Why don’t you try to grab a bit of kip?”
“Kip.” I’ve never heard that word before, but somehow I still understand, and the moment Collin says it is the moment it hits me. I am exhausted. It’s been more than twenty-four hours since I slept. And whatever boost of adrenaline I’ve been riding on since facing off against Mom, it’s clearly wearing off. I’m having to work to keep my eyes open.
“You’re right,” I say.
I take out my phone so I can set an alarm, but Collin places his hand over the screen. “You’ve no need for that. I can wake you up.”
I glance over at him, and he grins broadly at me, all tension from earlier gone. The morning sunlight from the large, plexiglass window behind him shines through hiscurly blond hair, giving him a halo. His eyes gleam bright as sapphires from the light of the opposite window. I suck in a breath, a bit dazzled.
He takes my shoulders and turns me so my back is toward him. “Here. Rest against me.”
