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And through all of that, he had never stepped in or interfered in my life.
“So, you thought I had everything under control, huh? Growing up? You figured once my da—the guy who raised me died, I was just fine bouncing around the system?”
My words were caustic, but if I was hoping they would land like daggers in Ryker’s heart, I should’ve known better. I didn’t doubt that he had loved my mother, but the man was still a god. There was something removed and otherworldly about him, as if he wasn’t quite familiar with human emotions.
“I know my solution wasn’t a perfect one,” he said slowly. Although his expression had remained as stoic and calm as ever, I saw something almost like guilt flash in his eyes for a heartbeat. “But it was the best I could do. I had failed your mother, and I was determined to do better by you. It seemed for many years that you had not inherited her powers, so I thought it best to let you live your life in the human realm unimpeded.”
Fucking gods. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at his obtuseness. Having a father figure in my life wouldn’t have been an impediment.
“So why help me now?” I demanded instead, crossing my arms.
“Because things have come to a head,” he said simply. “Omari is determined to see his foolish plans through, and he intends to wipe out all wild magic users. I would be against this on principle, even if one of those wild magic users wasn’t my daughter.”
“Now what?” I gestured around the kitchen, but my motion was meant to encompass the whole school. “We’ve got this shield around us, and now what?”
“Omari won’t stop coming for you.” Ryker’s lips pressed together. “Against anyone with wild magic. Against your classmates. Your lovers. But against you, most especially. You have humiliated him, undermined him, and proved yourself to be a powerful foe. He won’t stand for that.”
“So we just hide out in the castle forever? We don’t let him get us?”
He chuckled humorlessly. “If I thought that course of action would keep you alive, I would heartily recommend it. However, my shield won’t hold indefinitely. I am strong, but so is Omari, and he has many gods behind him. Some follow me instead, but too many still fall in line with Omari’s demands.”
He stepped closer, the force of the power radiating from him nearly bowling me over.
“My shield will not hold indefinitely,” he said. “I will keep doing what I can to turn other gods against Omari, to reveal him for the short-sighted tyrant that he is. In the meantime, you must prepare. I have bought you time, but you won’t be safe within the school’s walls forever.”
A chill trickled down my spine at the warning in his words.
Fuck. We need to get ready. We need to be prepared to fight.
Dean Frost, Miss Avery, and the other teachers who’d supported her were being held in a training room on the second floor. A few professors had taken our side, and although I had a feeling that everyone who worked at this school had at least an inkling of what was going on, we weren’t in a position to deny potential allies. If the teachers were willing to work with us, I wasn’t about to lock them up with the dean. We’d need them for the fight.
“Okay. I’ll gather everyone tomorrow, and we’ll do what we can.” I looked up, meeting Ryker’s dark gaze. It was overwhelming to look him in the eyes, and not just because of his status as a god. Because he’s my father. “Thank you.”
He studied me for a moment, as if he was finally allowing himself to look his fill, and I suddenly wondered how much of my mother he saw in me. I had never known her, but I had a few pictures—I knew we looked alike, with similar dark hair and brown eyes.
“You are welcome, Aria,” Ryker said at last. “I will do what I can to help you and your friends.”
Then he stepped back, and before I could think of anything else to say, he disappeared from view, slipping from the earthly plane to the godly one so smoothly that it was as if he had just winked out of existence.
I stared at the place where he had been standing, biting my bottom lip hard as I tried to absorb the shock of everything I’d just learned. When a soft noise came from one of the kitchen doorways, I straightened suddenly, my whole body tensing for a fight.
“Hey, whoa. It’s okay.” Trace stepped out of the shadows, holding up his hands, and a flood of relief went through me at the sight of him.
Whatever sleeping spell Ryker had put on him, it clearly wasn’t permanent.
“How long have you been here?” I asked, my voice rough.
“Long enough.”
He strode across the kitchen and wrapped his arms around me, and for once, I didn’t fight against it or try to put on a facade of strength. I just let my body melt against his, wrapping my arms around him and inhaling his masculine scent, relishing the warmth of his skin.
“So… that’s my dad,” I muttered with a dry chuckle. The words were muffled against Trace’s chest.
“Yeah.” He let out a breath. “That’s fuckin’ nuts. Although honestly, I’m not surprised in a way. Aria, the shit you can do…” He pulled back from me a little, taking my head in his hands. His palms cupped my cheeks as his fingers delved into my hair, his eyes bouncing back and forth between mine. “It’s incredible. I don’t know if you ever realized how much of the summer the three of us spent in awe of you. Watching you blip over to the godly realm like it was nothing? I knew there was something in you, something bigger than what’s in any of us.”
His words warmed me, but I found myself shaking my head anyway, panic and worry for the future making my stomach tie itself into knots. “What if I don’t want it? I don’t want to be one of the gods; I fucking hate them! And Ryker? He may be my dad, but that just makes him a shitty father. I spent my whole life essentially on my own, and now he marches back in and wants to help me?”
Trace chuckled, taking my tirade in stride. He leaned against the large metal table, pulling me in to rest against it beside him, his arm settling around me.
