Page 82 of Hybrid Heroics

I was torn between thinking it was hilariously adorable and irksome. It was as if they wanted Amelia and Rig to see that they had done a good job raising their child. But in the same breath, they were trying to show them she was complicated beyond their knowledge.

But Sloane wasn’t complicated. She was a complex, well-rounded, critical thinker with little impulse control.

They only found her complicated because that was how they raised her. Being unpredictable was the advantage that had kept her alive… Or dying less than expected.

Granted, that upbringing was also how she became the fierce Sloane King we all knew and loved. The one who would vanquish her enemies in a game of real life Clue or hide-and-seek.

And that was a direct result of not letting her have the childhood she deserved. She liked games now because she never got to play them when she was younger. They just became the twisted versions to suit her personality.

“And your treasures?” Charlie prompted, poking at her. “Are they priorities or part of your morals?”

Sloane tensed imperceptibly in my lap, probably hearing my thoughts. But it was better to point it out now than have it continue. I would play along with her, but I wouldn’t let them ruin her delicate mood the night before the big fight.

“No one touches my treasures and lives,” she stated with a smile. “Fuck morals. You know how I feel about that.”

“What are your treasures?” Rig inquired, genuinely curious.

“Who,” I corrected. “Her treasures are people. There are no rules she won’t break for them—us.”

Lo turned her smile to Rig. “My emotions go a little haywire when something happens to one of them.”

I raised a brow at her.

“What?” she mumbled. “It’s true.”

“Nothing, Sweetheart.” I grinned, squeezing her knee. “Haywire was a good choice.”

“I don’t know what else to say,” Amelia confessed, hanging her head. “My priorities have not been the same for the last twenty-four years, and for that, I am sorry. When I left you as a baby, my intention was to kill Alric and be home by the morning.”

Sloane’s mother observed us for a moment, a frown playing at her lips. “Then I had all that time to wonder if I had made the wrong choice. Not that I would let him kill you… But if I would have just waited for him to show up, then none of these things would have happened.”

“You had too much time to wonder about the what if,” I suggested, knowing Sloane could relate to that. “We all have thoughts like those.”

“I don’t expect an apology,” Lo told her. “Honestly, I don’t give them unless I know I won’t repeat the behavior I’m apologizing for.”

“I wouldn’t apologize if I didn’t mean it,” Amelia clarified. “Where do you think you got that from?”

“I hadn’t thought about it,” Lo admitted, tipping her head.

Rig sighed. “What will you do when he gets here?”

“I haven’t really thought about that, either,” she responded.

“Didn’t you say something about dinner?” Charlie queried.

“Oh.” She chuckled. “Yeah. Alric is coming over for dinner.”

“Why?” Nate asked.

She flashed him a quick grin. “Because I have a gift for him?”

“What did you do?” Sam narrowed his eyes, his expression caught between concern and amusement.

“Nothing,” Lo remarked, her lips tilting in a comical frown.

“That’s all you right there,” Rig told the Second Devil of Hell. “I’ve seen that look hundreds of times.”

“What are you planning on doing?” Sam prompted, changing his wording to get a better answer.