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I glanced at the guards at my door, then at Garath. “Not here,” I said, my voice small. “I need to be with Liam.”
With my son. My family. The only blood relative I had ever known.
19
Fin
Callon and Lyra’s chatter faded as I stood within the castle garden’s stone walls watching the bees pollinating the lavender that filled one of the flowerbeds. I thought about Del, about that night in my room and the lavender scent of her hair that has stayed with me ever since. I had thought about Del every single day, and never once was a child involved.
It was safe to assume she’d thought of me frequently as well, but the circumstances were different. Del saw me when she looked at our son, but did she remember me with regret? She would never regret Liam, but did she regret he was the result of one night with me? Did she think of me with resentment, not knowing why I’d disappeared? I wasn’t even sure how she felt now that I was back. I’d reappeared, and there’d been no time to talk about any of it.
“It’s a nice place the princess has here,” Callon mused, strolling closer. He bent over to sniff the honeysuckle vines winding up a trellis. Hands on his hips, he hummed with satisfaction as he assessed the bursts of white blossoms filling the perfectly manicured flowerbeds around it.
“It’s a palace,” Lyra muttered, meandering the mosaic pebblestone path that etched its way through the garden. “What did you expect?” But despite her quip, even Lyra was mesmerized by the majesty of it. I could hear the awe in her voice. The pond and fountains, the birdhouses and grassy knolls with maple trees.
I was glad to see that everyone, even Tick, who was rolling around in a patch of sunlight on the grass, was soaking in the respite of the garden. I, on the other hand, couldn’t stop glancing at the arched entrance, as if Del and Liam would suddenly be standing there...As if I could possibly miss their arrival.
When I saw the archway was still empty, I began to pace.
“You don’t need to be worried, Fin,” Lyra said, ambling her way over to me. “It’s going to be fine.”
“Is it? I barely remember my dad,” I admitted, rubbing my forehead. “What if I’m shit at being one?”
“You won’t be shit at it,” Callon added. “You had Jake. Besides, you aren’t shit at anything—well,” he backpedaled. “I mean, you aren’t shit atmostthings. You could work on your underwater basket weaving a bit. You’re definitely shit at that.”
I huffed a laugh, earning a triumphant grin from Callon.
“But seriously, Fin,” he said, plopping down on a wooden bench by the rose garden. “You’ll be fine.” He rested his elbows on his knees. “You said he’s an animal Telepath, like you. So you already have something in common. You just have to find common ground and ease into it, you know?”
“Yeah,” I said, licking my lips with sudden confidence. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.” I sat beside him, exhaling a deep breath just as Tick’s head shot up, her ears shifting as she listened.
As they drew closer to the garden, I felt Liam’s mind and jolted to my feet. “They’re here,” I breathed, my eyes glued to the arched entrance.
Callon stood as well. “I guess that’s our cue.” He grabbed my shoulder, squeezing it affectionately. “You got this, Fin.”
While my friends seemed certain I wouldn’t screw this up, my palms were sweating, and my heart was galloping in my chest. I’d never felt more inadequate or unprepared.
“Good luck,” Lyra whispered, and she nudged Callon, leading him out the other side of the garden.
Garath stepped through the archway first, and when he saw me, he moved to the side for Del and Liam to walk through. My gaze fixed instantly on Liam. I had to see his expression, to know if he was afraid or dreading this, especially after losing the man he’d always thought was his father, until now.
Del leaned in and whispered something to him. Then, squeezing his hand, she led him closer. Liam looked curious and maybe anxious but not uneasy, and I took a few steps forward to meet them.
Tick trotted over to Liam immediately, her tail wagging as she sniffed every inch of him, taking in his smell and feeling his mind.Icould feel his mind. It was open. Searching. Sussing out and feeling mine, the same as I was doing to him.
Liam smiled at Tick and stroked the coyote’s head. He scratched the spot she loved most behind her ears, making me smile. “I’ve never seen a coyote before,” he said, eyes trained on her back leg as it began to twitch.
“Her name is Tick,” I told him and chuckled as her leg twitched faster. “For obvious reasons. She’s been with me for almost six years.” When I looked at Del, she was watching me. Her features were soft, but I knew that look in her eyes; she was as nervous as I was, but I wasn’t sure why.
“Are there a lot of coyotes where you’re from?” Liam asked.
I looked at him. “There are packs of them in the desert and lands surrounding it, but there’s only one like Tick.”
Liam understood my meaning—my connection to the canine—and he glanced at me with a knowing glint in his green eyes.
In that moment, I saw myself in him, and while I’d thought the reality of having a son had already sunk in, tears filled my eyes, and a lump formed in my throat. The more Liam lathered Tick with attention, the more his smile grew, and the more my heart felt like it might explode.
“So,” Del started and cleared her throat. She ran her fingers through Liam’s auburn waves, and I wondered if she even knew she was doing it. “I was thinking we could have a picnic here in the garden for lunch?”
