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“What will they do now?” I asked.
“I will handle them.” His flinty gaze met mine and a sense of déjà vu washed over me. I did remember him. The idea stunned me.
“How?” Summer asked.
“I’d rather not say.”
She nodded slowly. “As long as it’s permanent.”
“Trust me,” he said. “It will be.”
“Thank you for all you did for us,” she said.
His smile lifted, but his gaze remained locked on me. “I would do anything for my son.”
“Let me get you some food,” she said, easing around him. The look she sent me told me to take all the time I needed, that she’d return when we’d finished.
My mouth went dry as she slipped from the room. I waved to the seats, taking one myself.
“I imagine you have many questions,” Burmoot said before I could open my mouth.
“You are sure you will survive?”
His smile flashed but for only a tick. “Yes. At least this question is easy to answer.”
“You don’t have to say anything about our past if you do not wish to.” Though I felt he should tell me everything.
“Of course I do. You’re wondering why I didn’t come after you and why I didn’t do something to keep Vunne from hurting you.”
My mouth went dry. “You are correct.”
“I was injured in the Shiedar attack that cost us your mother.” He stared down at his hands clasped on his lap. “My brain was . . . damaged. I spent many seasons trying to learn who I was again, then more time grieving the loss. They burned our home. I was told you perished with your mother.”
I swallowed, unsure what to say. Such a loss for both of us. How could I blame him for something he had no more control of than I did? “She loved us.”
His lips twitched up briefly. “That she did. I loved her too. And my son—you—more than life itself.”
“When did you discover I still lived?”
“When I saw you standing in that cursed arena.”
“Why not come forward then?” I didn’t like that I was tempted to let him back into my hearts, but how could I blame him for this? He hadn’t known I lived, like I didn’t know he was still alive. Neither of us were to blame for the horror of Lord Vunne’s actions.
And my father lived.
“I ached to rush into the arena and speak to you right then, but you were sold to the Games. When I tried to buy you and your friends, I was told there was no price they would accept. So, I decided at that moment to do all I could to ensure you and your friends survived.” His intent gaze met mine. “It worked. Your friends are safe, and they each formed matebonds with Earthling females in the process. You and your mate survived.”
I’d spent my life being tortured by a fiend. I’d thought my family was dead. One should be able to move forward with this information, correct? Yet I wasn’t sure how to reconcile this in my mind. “I will need time.”
“You can have all the time you need. Just know that I never stopped loving you, never stopped wishing I could’ve done something to prevent that horror from happening.”
I rose, as did he. An awkward feeling hung in the air between us. This male was the kind, proud father I only vaguely remembered. I wanted to embrace him so much, but would that make this even worse?
He stepped forward and braced my forearms. We stared at each other for a long while until he carefully put his arms around me.
My tears could not be denied. I cried for the sprit whose life was torn from him like a limb. For the sprit who’d nearly died too many times in Vunne’s chamber. And for the sprit who was denied an upbringing with this male in his life.
When we pulled apart, I spied Summer standing in the open doorway, a tray of food in her hands. She placed the tray on a table and, at my urging, rushed forward to join us, hugging us both.
Tears wet her face, but their purity revealed how strongly she felt everything in life.
They were one of many reasons I adored her.
She was my mate.
My love.
