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Thanatos went utterly still for ten deafening heartbeats that made Logan sweat. Fifteen. Twenty. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and rough. “Who told you that?”
“Is it true?” Logan asked. It didn’t matter where he’d gotten the information. What mattered was the truth.
With controlled, precise movements, Thanatos placed the scraper on the workbench and turned to face Logan. His pale-yellow eyes drilled into his son with a rare intensity. “It’s complicated.”
Which wasn’t a no. In fact, it was practically a yes.
“The way I heard it, it was pretty simple,” Logan said, his voice suddenly hoarse. “Mom seduced you, drugged you, and used you to get pregnant. Then she ran off, intending to give me up. You kidnapped her and held her prisoner until I was born. At which point, you intended to kill her. Is that the gist?”
Logan’s voice was shaky now and growing hoarser as the pain in his father’s expression confirmed it all. “You told us Mom came to work with you, and you fell in love. You didn’t mention anything about her restraining you with poisoned wine. I don’t remember anything in your syrupy love story about how you threw her in a dungeon. And I definitely don’t remember you saying that Kynan and Gem were supposed to raise me after Mom hid her pregnancy from you so she could give me up to them.”
“Logan,” Thanatos said tightly, his fist clenched hard around the scraping tool. “That is not the whole story—”
“It’s not? Because you look really fucking guilty right now.”
“Guilty about what?” The door swung open, and his mom strode in, a plate of food in one hand and a beer in the other. “Hi, Logan. Do you want to stay for lunch? I made plenty. Where’s Wraith?” She looked between them, confused. “Ah…did I interrupt something?”
“No.” Thanatos dropped the tool and started toward her. “Logan was just leaving.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Logan blocked the exit. They weren’t going anywhere either. “Not until you tell me the truth.”
“The truth about what?” his mom asked.
“Logan—”
“My conception,” he blurted before his dad could finish his sentence.
The plate of sandwiches fell from Regan’s hand and shattered on the floor. “Logan,” she whispered. “No.”
His world splintered like the plate. Itwastrue. What Eva had reported was true. He stumbled back and bumped into the wall.
“Oh, my God, Mom,” he croaked. “Why? How could you—?” He looked at his dad, whose face had gone almost as pale as his mom’s. “And how could you forgive her?Didyou forgive her?” A thought struck him, and he blurted roughly, “Is she still a hostage? Has all of this…this family shit been a lie?”
“No, Logan,” Regan said, her voice thick and raw. “Of course, not. I’m not a hostage, and the details of that don’t matter. It was a difficult time with Pestilence on the loose and trying to break the rest of the Seals, and we all made a lot of mistakes.”
She reached for him, but he wheeled out of reach, unable to bear her touch.
“Mistakes? You were going to give me away! You told me you fell in love. That I was wanted. You didn’t say I was wanted as a tool for The Aegis! You didn’t tell me Dad had no choice in the matter! Did The Aegis really try to kill me, or was that a lie too? What about Amber? Did you get Dad drunk to get her?” He was on a tear now, beyond caring that his words were stabbing at his parents like daggers. He gestured at her softly rounded belly. “Did you poke a hole in the condom for that one?”
Regan cried out, her face ashen, and Logan knew he’d gone too far.
“Logan!” Thanatos roared. “Enough! We can talk about this when you can process information like an adult instead of a child.”
“No, we can’t.” Logan backed toward the door, his head spinning, his heart aching. “This isn’t something I ever want to discuss again.”
He escaped, a mix of shame and righteous anger fueling his exit. He practically ran to the courtyard, where Cujo was pacing the walls, drawn by Logan’s distress.
When the big beast saw Logan, he zoomed over in a literal flash, bringing with him the faint odor of brimstone. His big tongue slathered Logan’s cheek, probably more to lick off the blood from the fight with Stryke than to offer comfort, but Logan appreciated it anyway.
“Let’s go,” he rasped. “I don’t care where—”
His comms unit buzzed. An urgent message from Kynan.
HQ. Hurry. It’s Draven.
DART headquarters was in a state of disarray, unlike anything Logan had ever seen. It mirrored his emotions. And his thoughts.
Everything in his life was mangled, from his childhood memories to his relationship with Eva to his friendship with Draven.
