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Suddenly, Slade vanishes from sight, and Dad curses as he yanks out his phone, glaring over at me. “Why weren’t you fighting him?” he snaps.
Yeah, no. I think it’s best to not give my father this answer.
At my silence, he goes on. “He’s a volatile ticking bomb, Ella. He’s reckless and unforgiving. He’s cruel and unapologetic. More than once he’s fought against us. His cold logic rules him, and not one ounce of humanity has been shown since our first encounter—”
“Other than him saving my life and us forming a truce with him,”
I state too quickly, and then zip my lips when that vein in his forehead peeks out.
That’s the cue for shut the hell up, Ella.
“This necessary alliance between us and him is one done out of desperation and complete distrust. Don’t think that means we’ll ever be on solid ground with him,” he grinds out.
Fortunately, his phone rings, and he spews a few flagrant words before answering. “Yes?” he growls.
“The Tabor Wolves and the Tree Light coven are having a property dispute again. I’m afraid it needs immediate assistance,” the other person says clearly enough for me to hear.
His features shift from anger to annoyance, and he blows out a breath while pinching the bridge of his nose.
His hand falls away as his eyes move to me, and a calculated grin forms on his face.
Ah, shit.
“I have the perfect person for the job. I’ll send my daughter to resolve this matter.”
My eyes narrow to slits.
This is petty diplomatic stuff. Not things we handle personally. At least not when we’re attempting to stave off an apocalypse.
“Word of caution; I believe one or both of them are stirring this conflict to be worse than usual. Two of each have gone missing, and both sides claim to have no knowledge of the missing persons,” the person on the other line warns.
Dad rolls his eyes. “This happened last time too. Ella needs away from the house for a while. Hopefully it will have her reevaluating her current life choices, since her taste in said decisions seem to be poorly lately.”
He hangs up before they can argue, and I open my mouth to tell him what a waste it is to send me off now for something completely unimportant. But he cuts me off before a word can form.
“You were the perfect teenager. Don’t start rebelling now,” he says on a sigh. “I understand that things within our circle have—”
“Imploded? Soured? Painted life-long friends and family to be shady liars?” I idly suggest.
His eyes narrow.
“—gotten out of sorts,” he finishes, belittling the constant stabs of betrayal as though they’re nothing of true caliber.
He forgets I have an inherited dark side that is fed by betrayal.
I feel…well, I feel like the little pest they have to tolerate. I’m almost on the same level with Dice at this point.
“Take Dice. You leave first thing in the morning,” is the last thing he says to me before disappearing.
Dice. I knew it. We’re total equals right now. I blame Slade for this.
Those threads of a lost memory finally weave together, my mind overpowering whatever was separating the threads to begin with.
Alton tried to make me forget.
Like everyone else, he underestimated me.
The full memory is still blurry, but it’s polishing up nice and slow, feeding me one forgotten revelation at a time.
