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“Did you speak to my brother?” Lily asked Asia.
Asia looked at Sean with a plea in her eyes.
“You can tell me the truth,” Lily said. “I’m not naïve about who my father is or what he’s capable of. He tried to kill me, after all.”
Alice reeled in shock. She tried not to show it but felt Cain’s frown on her. She didn’t know if the gesture was from disapproval or concern, not that she deserved or wanted either.
Asia’s expression filled with regret. “Godfrey was doing forbidden arts research on Nicolas when I met them, so no, Nicolas didn’t speak.”
“I see.” Lily bit her lip. “Did he suffer?”
Asia’s chest rose with the breath she took. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry you were in that plane,” Lily said. “It must’ve been a horrible experience when it crashed.”
“Sean was there to rescue me,” Asia said, looking at her husband with affection.
“That’s where the body washed out?” Lily continued. “Near the crash site?”
“That’s correct,” Cain said.
Lily’s gaze landed on Clelia. “We also have an acquaintance in common. I didn’t speak to Lupien, but I saw him when he demonstrated his power to Godfrey. I’m glad you took care of him, even if he was your own father.”
“He wasn’t a father to me,” Clelia said. “He was just an enemy.”
Joss’s brow creased, making him look even fiercer than usual. Alice guessed it was a subject he didn’t want Lily to discuss.
“It seems a lot of people in this room had, or have, shitty fathers.” Lily’s gaze lingered for a second too long on Cain. “Now, the interesting part.” She turned her focus on Ivan. “How did you know where to find the body?”
“Nicolas told me,” Ivan said without missing a beat.
“I want to know everything. What does a spirit look like?”
“Same as us. They maintain the appearance of a human form.”
“So, they wear clothes and have distinct eye and hair colors?”
Ivan chuckled. “They’re rather pedantic about what they wear.”
“What did my brother wear?”
“Black trousers, white shirt,” Ivan mused. “Very presentable.”
“Can you make me see him?” she asked eagerly.
“I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that. Only people like a medium or me can conceptualize their energy to form a visual image. It’s like a mirage of heat, of sorts, if that make sense.”
Lily smiled sweetly. “Describe his face to me.”
“He was very handsome, almost too much for a man.”
Asia and Kat exchanged a look. Lann seemed taken aback, a rare occurrence for the Russian who almost never displayed emotions except when Adam and Nicolas or shifters were mentioned.
“He has blond hair.” Ivan touched his brow. “Longer here. His eyes are blue, like yours. He was always seated when he visited me, but he must be tall, about six four, I’d say.”
“Does that sound like him?” Lily asked, glancing between Kat and Asia. She gave Ivan an apologetic look. “Sorry, but I have to be sure.”
“No offense taken,” Ivan said. “I understand.”
“Well?” Lily regarded Kat with a lifted brow.
It seemed as if Kat was hesitating between frowning and smiling, but the latter won. “That’s exactly how I would’ve described him.”
“Cain told me what you’d said, Ivan, but tell me, again,” Lily said.
“He said in order to fight Godfrey we had to find Cain. His wish was for his body to be buried next to your mother’s.”
“That’s all he wants? That will put him to rest?”
“As simple as that,” Ivan said.
“Not as simple if you take all the red tape into consideration,” Tim drawled.
“My mother was another lie,” Lily said. “Godfrey told me she’d died from an illness when I was very young. He omitted that the illness was torture. He filled my childhood with nothing but false memories of things that never existed.”
“I suppose he protected you in his way out of fatherly love,” Cain said.
“That’s not love. Love is unconditional, and my father always had conditions.” She seemed to pull herself together. “Thank you for telling me all of this. It gives me the closure I needed. If you see him again, Ivan, will you tell him I wish I’d known him?”
“Of course.”
“Any trace of my stepmother in Canada?” Lily asked.
Cain shook his head. “She’s vanished into thin air.”
“Do you think Godfrey will come? To the funeral, I mean?”
“I doubt it.” Cain rubbed his chin. “It’ll be like walking into a trap with your eyes wide open, but I’d put nothing past him. We’ll be ready, just in case.”
“Good.” Lily got to her feet. “I’ll let you all settle in, then.”
The group dispersed two by two, couples leaving together, but Ivan didn’t wait for Alice. He walked from the room without as much as a glance in her direction. Finally, only she and Cain were left.
“How did you meet Lily?” Alice asked.
“I paid Jacob to find her, and as you can see, he did the job.”
That explained the look on Jacob’s face when Lily had showed her wound.
