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"You missed him," my mother accused, in a tone of voice I had never heard from her before, as she slapped my father's hands off.
"I didn't miss the bastard," my dad defended. "He's invincible in case you haven't noticed,dear." The way he called my momdearrepulsed me, it was laced with a venom I had never heard him use against her or me. Oh, I had heard him use it plenty of times toward others, just not us, and I wondered if I knew my parents at all.
"Answer her question." Azazel's voice was ice cold and stopped my parents' squabbling.
Ididn'tlikeFay'sparents. I could have forgiven her father for shooting me because he was trying to protect his mate and daughter, but I had seen the determination in his eyes when he leveled the gun. He hadn't cared one bit if he had shot Fay; she would have been acceptable collateral damage for him if it meant getting rid of me.
From the moment we met, I watched him carefully, and after the initial happy greeting, he exuded nothing but hostility. Neither he nor his mate had asked what happened to Fay, how she got here, if she was alright, if she had been hurt. Nothing! The only thing they cared about was her virtue and for me to leave.
I narrowed my eyes at Maxmilian, willing him to answer Fay's question. "Ben is your brother, Fay. We were forced to give him up to… the Order after he was born."
Fay's mom sniffed. "We couldn't do that to you when you were born, we just couldn't. So we left the Order in disgrace."
For some reason, that answer seemed to agitate Fay even more. "Did you leave because you couldn't bear parting from me, or because you found out you wouldn't be able to have any other children after me?" Fay asked, and my head whipped to her.
There was still so much we didn't know about each other, and I cursed Behlial for not giving us the time to do so. The pain in her voice threatened to rip my heart apart. How long had she been carrying this with her? I longed to put my arm around her but didn't because I was worried the intimate gesture would enrage her parents even more, and I didn't want to cause more strife than the conversation already stirred.
"Fay, don't talk to your mother in that tone. And I resent what you are implying," Maxmilian hissed.
"Do you, Daddy, really? Or are you afraid of what I might learn from your answers?"
Maxmilian took a threatening step toward her, ready to strike her. I inserted myself in between the two and gave him a sharp warning glare before I slowly shook my head at him.
"It's complicated," Lorraine sniffed.
"Uncomplicate it for me then," Fay said, strangely calm. "And I would like to know more about my brother."
Lorraine sank down on the arm of the couch and hugged herself. "The Order was founded a long time ago—nobody knows when—to protect our Nayphyllym blood and heritage." She snorted derisively to indicate she didn't agree with the Order. "We were told that every seven hundred years, the Daemons come to Earth to take seven of us with them while they plunder, rape, and murder. The only beings safe are the pure Nayphyllym. If you can call it safe to be abducted."
Maxmilian moved to her side and put an arm around her shoulder. Both seemed somewhat deflated. "We knew they would be returning soon, but we didn't know if it would affect mine, or yours, or your daughter's generation." Lorraine stared at Fay with pity.
"The Order?" Fay prompted, and I listened carefully, because this part was new to me as well.
"The Order has assured that there will always be pure Nayphyllym on Earth," Maxmilian explained. "The Order chooses which members are to produce two children with whom, a boy and a girl, to keep the line going."
"Sometimes the chosen pairings decide to stay together for one reason or another, decide to start a family of their own," Lorraine added.
"If that's the case, why did you give up Ben and not me?" Fay didn't let up and I admired her tenacity to get to the bottom of this. I was sure this conversation had to hurt her.
Lorraine threw her arms up in the air. "Because we didn't know then that we couldn't have any more children, is that what you want to hear? Your father and I wanted a family, is that so hard to understand? We were always good members of the Order. We disassociated ourselves from Ben like we were supposed to, but when we couldn't do that with you, the Order kicked us out. After everything we had done for them, they kicked us out. Because of you."
"Disassociate?" Fay leaned into me, and surprising me yet again how she managed to stay on topic after everything else her mother had divulged and even accused her of.
Lorraine nodded, shrewdly assessing her daughter, and I imagined coming to the same conclusion as I. Her daughter wouldn't let go or allow herself to be sidetracked. "Yes. This is mostly enforced for the possible impacted generations. Forming attachments to the children who might be taken is not advisable."
"You might as well tell her everything," Maxmilian urged.
"You do it," Lorraine pleaded.
"Fine." Maxmilian stared at Fay. "You might have noticed certain personality traits like being colder, less emotional than humans, more calculating—"
"Frigid?" Fay asked with so much venom it surprised me, more than the word I would have never used to describe her, not after last night.
Maxmilian sighed. "Yes, frigid too."
"And you never thought to tell me?" Fay's voice rose, but then she waved her hand. "We'll come back to that. Ben?" she prompted.
"He is our son, only we never really had any contact with him. He was raised by tutors and lived in boarding schools. He wasn't meant for us, but for the Order, who had already chosen his future bride, who is one of the seven maidens."
