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“Tell your father, not me. We’ve kept him waiting.”
Ayden waves it off. “He knows that comes with the territory.”
This is basically the last thing I feel like doing right now. I have too much on my mind. But I need to put those things on holdand focus on the evening ahead. Ayden unlocks the door, and together we climb the stairs to his father’s apartment. He opens the door and calls out, “Dad, we’re here.”
Mr. Collins greets us in the hallway. He gives us a friendly smile, which puts me slightly more at ease.
“Wonderful! The food is ready.”
That’s when I notice the delicious aromas that suggest he has a real feast in store for us.
I follow Ayden into the dining room, which adjoins the kitchen. There’s a large solid wood table set with a pristine white table cloth, plates, cutlery, and glasses.
Ayden and I take our seats as Mr. Collins serves up duck à l’orange and vegetables. I’m impressed. Did he cook this himself or did he order in?
“I haven’t had the chance to get to know many of Ayden’s companions. So I made a special effort in the kitchen for the occasion. I hope you like it.”
The word ‘companions’ makes me squirm because it’s not very flattering. But Mr. Collins went to the trouble to cook for us, and I’m sure he doesn’t often have time for that in his busy life. So I try not to take it personally and to enjoy the evening as best I can. The food is a good start – it tastes amazing.
“Really delicious,” I say. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I never figured you were such a good cook.”
Mr. Collins smiles with pleasure. “Cooking makes a nice change from my job, which can be really demanding. It relaxes me. But I’ll admit I don’t often find the time. So occasions like this are very welcome.”
He glances at me and then returns his attention to his plate. There’s a period of silence, which hangs over us uncomfortably.
“How was your meeting today?” Mr. Collins asks his son.
“Nothing special,” Ayden replies. “Wayne and Linnway want to go over the next deployment in detail with you.”
His father nods. “Good. I wanted to discuss it with you too. I hope you can spare some time later.”
Ayden glances at me. I can tell he’s not thrilled about the idea of staying on after the meal, especially not without me. But in the end, his sense of duty wins out.
“Sure,” he says.
His father nods and then smiles at me. “As you can see, the hunters carry a lot of responsibility. But I’m sure you’re already aware of that. It can’t be easy being so new to all of this.”
I recognize the dig for what it is, especially since he’s laboring the point that everyone always rubs my nose in.
“I’m settling in well, and I think I have a good sense of this world now.”
“Is that so?” asks Mr. Collins. “I’m glad to hear it. Do you have any plans for the future?”
I hesitate, and Ayden comes to my aid. “Teresa’s made amazing progress. I’m sure she’ll have a lot of options open to her in the future.”
“Of course,” Mr. Collins replies with a warm smile. “I heard from Mr. Laydon recently that you’re making efforts to progress. But perhaps you go a little too far at times with techniques reserved for experienced hunters.”
I raise my eyebrows. He’s referring to the training session in which I almost lost control and merged with Yoru. I still vividly remember the liberating feeling that took away all my pain.
“It would have ended badly if Ayden didn’t intervene. You would have turned into one of the fallen. But testing boundaries seems to be part of your nature.” He quickly holds up his hands apologetically when he sees my expression. “Everyone has a unique disposition, don’t get me wrong, and I suppose it’s important to exercise a certain skepticism with regard to our world, and sometimes even each other.”
“Oh, I absolutely agree,” I grumble, flashing him an angry look.
“Anyway, it’s unbelievable what you’ve had to go through in the short time you’ve been with us. And I have to say in all honestly that I’m very sorry we hunters weren’t able to protect you better on some of those occasions. Several Noctu attacks, encounters with a goddess of destiny, being attacked by and having to fight the daughter of a goddess. It’s a lot. Sometimes I wonder why it’s always you getting mixed up in this stuff. And you’re no ordinary student – you have a gift. Perhaps we should be keeping a closer eye on you for that reason if nothing else. You certainly keep us on our toes.”
I swallow. He’s still looking at me, but now his gaze is cold and piercing. It’s as if he’s trying to draw out something that he knows I’m trying to hide. And I know what he’s insinuating.
“Maybe you just need a little guidance to get you back to the right path.”
