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“I do,” Salem corrected her quickly when he saw she was about to stand and leave. “If you can’t tell me, who can you tell?” he said with what he hoped was a believable smile and the hope that she didn’t answer his question with the answer of Sloane or Michael or Kallie.
“Thank you.” Tegan twisted her hands in front of her. “So, that happened.” She gave a roll of her eyes. “And then you came over, and I was jealous of the Castor with those females, and I thought that must be how my mother had felt, and I lashed out atyouwhen, in reality, I should have been the one to punch the Castor.”
“You have the right to be angry at me for the way Celeste was treated,especiallyby me. She did not deserve it,” Salem told her quietly, but even with the seriousness of their discussion, he couldn’t stop the chuckle at Tegan’s fierceness when she spoke of punching Cord. He couldn’t help it, she was just so open and honest. “I am sorry that he behaved that way, Tegan, but if it is any consolation, I want to punch Cord too, so maybe it is best Michael beat us both to it, don’t you think?”
Tegan smiled a little and nodded in agreement, but her smile faded as she looked at him. “The Drakhyn wants me. That same one who has been controlling them all, I don’t know what to do with that.” Her look to him showed the fear she was so desperately trying to hide. “I’m scared,” Tegan said quietly. “I’m scared of that, I’m scared of the bond, I’m scared of the Prophecy and what it means. What if we aren’t enough?”
“And you’re not used to being scared,” Salem said with understanding.
“No.” Tegan looked at him, her eyes searching his face, seeing the kindness there. “Iamsorry for what I said to you. I didn’t know I was hurting you, calling Leonid father, but he’s all I know. He has protected me for so long.”
“Tegan, Leonid will always be your father because he raised you. And you will always be his daughter, just like you will always bemydaughter; just because I didn’t know about you for eighteen years, does not change the fact.” Salem reached over and put his hand on her arm. “You look so much like your mother, and you have her fierceness and her frank honesty.” He squeezed her arm before he leaned back. “I am very grateful that you allow me to know you now, and I know you will be a part of my life from now on, as I will yours. It doesn’t matter what you call me, Tegan, the fact you are here, the fact you are willing to talk to me, to tell me your fears, what more could I want? Our relationship is strong without any labels.”
Tegan sniffed as she looked away from Salem. She felt very emotional, and she was not an Akrhyn who was led by her emotions. “You are so very kind.” She glanced back at Salem to see his smile. “And patient, because I am sure you do not need at any time to know about males kissing your daughters.”
For the second time that night, Salem laughed loudly. “I am glad you can be honest and open with me, about all things, but no, I admit, even bonded to him, it doesn’t please me to know how he treated you.”
“He is a good male,” Tegan mumbled. “Didn’t you tell me that?” she joked lightly. “He puts so much pressure on himself. To be the best. I’d honestly not be surprised if Marcus was wrong and Leonid was supposed to be a father figure to him.”
“I think Marcus is correct,” Salem said with a heavy sigh, losing the small moment of joviality as he was brought back to the reality of their situation. “But I think we were also right in our initial interpretation. I do not think any of us have only one role to play in this. I am more than the Forger, just as you are more than the Blade or the Stone. You are also the bonded to the Mark. Thathasto mean something.”
“Do you think they care what happens?” Tegan asked as they sat with less tension in their shoulders than there had been.
“The Ancients?” Salem asked, and when Tegan nodded, he continued. “I think they do, else they would not have given him the Mark. Arflyn would not have graced him with her sign if they were not on our side.”
Tegan made a non-committal sound and picked up her water glass again. “I feel like we’re standing still and the world is rushing past us,” she said, her voice betraying her frustration.
“I do too. Michael is on patrol, as I cannot keep him from his duties to the House, and there are only so many hours in a day you can train someone,” Salem said tiredly. “You are already well-trained. I do not have anything to teach you that Leonid has not taught. You said yourself, you are a weapon; what more can I do?”
Tegan shifted uncomfortably in her seat at the sound of Salem’s perplexity. She thought back on their conversation before she raised her head to look at him. “Salem,” she whispered, her excitement shining in her eyes.
“What?”
“This,thisright here, this is what you are forging. You are making me a better Akrhyn.”
“You are already a good Akrhyn, an exceptional Akrhyn,” Salem said in bewilderment as she stood hurriedly from her seat.
“No, Salem, I am a weapon. A trained fighter. A soldier.” Tegan came around to his side of the table and took his hand. “But you, you and Michael, Sloane, you are making mecare. Not to be a soldier but to be alive.” Tegan could hug him, she was so elated she saw it. “I have absolutely no charm, no tact, but you,you, Salem, have encouraged me to be an eighteen-year-old female.”
“Tegan, I...”
“It’s true. Father is a master trainer, and I know he loves me, I know he cares, and I am so very lucky to have been trained by him. But you, Salem, you make me care about other things than training. Sloane wants to know me, Michael works at making me his sister, you encourage me to stop being a mindless machine and be an Akrhyn. You all remind mewhatwe are fighting for. It’s not because we’re good and they’re bad; we’re fighting forus.” Tegan pulled on his hand until he was standing. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with joy. “This is how we beat them. Our roles are not one thing, they are not flat and fit into a puzzle. You are right, we are more than one thing. We need to look at this whole Prophecy again and dissect it.” Tegan tugged on his hand, leading him to the door. “We can do this,” she told him with a smile over her shoulder as she led him to his study. She asked an Elite Sentinel to replace Michael on his patrol, then she demanded another House Akrhyn find a Castor and get her Cord. At the door to his study, she stopped another Akrhyn and asked them to get Leonid and Commander Bryce.
As they walked into his study and Salem took his seat, he looked at his daughter almost bursting with excitement. “I am very happy to see you have a plan or an insight, but I would be more at ease if I knew what you’ve just discovered.”
“We are more than the roles of the Prophecy, we are Akrhyn. Each of us is connected, and it is through that connection that we will win.”
“Okay.” Salem couldn’t help smiling at her enthusiasm, and when Leonid entered the room a moment later, he couldn’t stop the swell of pride he had when she grinned at the Vampyre and then at Salem.
“Daughter?” Leonid asked curiously. “You look...elated.”
Salem barked out a laugh, and he shared a wry smile with Tegan. He saw it then, yes, Leonid was her father, but Salem saw her for more than just a blade in a war.
“I am,” Tegan said as she paced the floor and waited for the others. “I think I have had an epiphany,” she told him with a blinding smile.
“Well, this should be good,” Cord said sourly as he appeared in the shadows of the room.
“Itisgood,” Tegan said with a smile that Salem saw even the disgruntled Castor couldn’t resist. “And stop trying so hard to be unsociable, all pretences stop now.”
