Nothing. Sit back down,Ava cracked telepathically.
That made me smile, and I squeezed her hand even tighter.
“Charlie, ever since you were a little boy, I knew you were destined for great things,” Cameron said. “I remember the day you were born. You were so small when I held you.”
You deserve a Father-of-the-Year Award for that, considering it was the only time you were there for him, Ava growled.
I chuckled under my breath.He’s certainly trying to win himself some points with our guests, I joked back through our bond.They can all see right through him, and I bet he knows it.
Cameron cleared his throat, then slurred, “Just a tiny little baby. You were walking by the time you were six months old.”
By the ancestors, Charlie’s a miracle baby!Ava exclaimed telepathically.
I cracked a smile at that one, and I had to hold back a laugh.It certainly has nothing to do with my father’s shit memory.
Cameron let out a snicker. “You were such a fussy baby. You’d drive me nuts with your crying, day in and day out, but I let your mother handle all that.”
Is he drunk?I asked Ava. I hadn’t noticed before when we were talking to him, but now, it was unmistakable.
He looks fucking plastered,Ava complained.I bet he was like that at the ceremony, too.
Eh, Elvish tradition? I bet it won’t even take an hour before he’s stumbling back to his quarters, Oberi cut in.
We’re taking bets now?Ava teased.I’ll give him at least an hour and a half. He’ll have twelve glasses of wine in him by then. I think he’s already on glass number three.
Ah, so that explains the speech, I quipped.I never thought he’d actually get up and say something.
Oh, he’s saying something, all right,Oberi said.
“It’s not easy being a parent, you know,” Cameron rambled on. “You need to be strong, make hard decisions, and there are a lot of sacrifices.”
What was he talking about? My dad had been around when I was a toddler, but I was barely three years old when I’d been taken away from him, and we’d hardly talked since I got to Ilamanthe.
“Kids don’t like to listen,” Cameron complained. “You give them the world, and they throw it back in your face. They do what they want and don’t like to obey. As a father, there were dreams I had to give up and money I had to waste, because I had a child and he was supposed to come first.”
The reception hall was stunned into silence. Embarrassment began to creep across my skin, and I felt my cheeks redden. Ancestors, this wasmortifying.I couldn’t believe my father was humiliating me like this, in front of all our guests.
I’m going to kill him, Ava thought, and her Fire began to smolder between our interlocked fingers.
Just let him finish.My grandfather said that murder wasn’t exactlyunusualat an Elvish wedding, at least not historically. According to him, it was only fifty or so years ago that an Elvish wedding was considered boring if at least one body wasn’t getting dragged out of the reception hall at the end of the night. But I really didn’t want my beautiful bride getting blood on her dress. She liked it too much.
“I was still the best dad that I could be,” Cameron slurred. “Despite the circumstances. Charlie and I had to spend a few years apart?—”
A few years?I thought angrily.More like my entire life!
“—And he went through some hard times. Most of you have heard that he grew up on the streets, doing unmentionable things in order to survive,” Cameron ranted. “And I feel bad that I couldn’t be there for him as a father should, even though I did my absolute best to. Sometimes, life happens.”
He was talking about the absolute worst time of my life when this was supposed to be the happiest day of my existence. It made me feel like absolute shit.
“Should we get up and stop this?” I heard Chancey murmur to the other groomsmen a few seats down from me. They mumbled back, not sure what to do.
“The lesson here is to never forget about family,” Cameron ranted. “And son, I know you’re a prince now, but don’t let the riches and fame go to your head. It can be really hard, having all this money and being a part of the royal family. But there are benefits to being a Majestica. Your wedding guests here will certainly be giving you some elaborate gifts, but don’t forget the presents will be going into the royal treasury, whereallof us can share it.”
So much for not letting the riches go to your head. Jewels always ended up in the royal treasury, so they'd be shared amongst the family, which really meant he'd benefit from our wedding gifts anyway. As if the royal family didn't already have enough. He was making this all about him when this was supposed to be mine and Ava’s day. What's more, he was trying to profit off our guests. What the hell was he thinking? This was insane.
I honestly couldn’t believe Cameron. My grandfather’s lessons had changed my life, and I knew my dad had gonethrough the same teachings. Did Cassiel’s words not have any effect on him at all? He wanted the benefits of being Emperor, but not any of the responsibility.
I guess that was a theme of his, because he wanted to have the title of being my father and brag to people about having a son, but he didn’t want to actually do any of the work. My father and I were complete opposites, because I would go to any lengths to make sure my people thrived, and I would give up anything if I had a child of my own. Cameron wasn’t willing to sacrifice a bit of comfort to be a ruler or a parent, and I realized he didn’t deserve to be either.
