“Yes,” I say quietly. “I know it is a lot to ask, but she will be safe here with you. The Dragons can’t get to her.”
“I will allow you to bring her here,” he says eventually. “But she is not the child that we want, Aeval.”
“I know,” I say quickly in relief. “I know and as soon as all of this settles down, Sebastian, err, Kalen,” I amend at his low growl, “and I will do right by our people.” I leave out the part where I hope to be carrying CK’s baby right now.
“Very well,” he says. “I will not turn away my own grandchild, even if she is a…” He sighs. “What is she exactly?”
I shrug. “I don’t know,” I say with a sad smile. “I don’t even know her name. Thank you, Daddy. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”
He grunts as I lean forward to kiss him on the cheek.
“You know what this means?” he says to me in earnest.
“Yes, I know,” I say. “You said on the day that I wed Kalen that you would help me. Do you stand by that?”
“Yes, of course,” he says. “I am itching for a fight with that lot. But we cannot do it alone, Aeval. In order to have a fighting chance against the Dragons we need to be united,” he adds with a sigh.
I gulp. Oh dear.
“I will…” he starts, but I interrupt him.
“No, I will go. This is my fight,” I say.
“This is our fight, Daughter. I will protect you and your family as you are my family,” he says. “I will send Jerrick with you.”
“No, I will go alone,” I say bravely. I really, really, really do not want to go and beg for Thrace’s help, but if my father insists it has to be this way, and he wouldn’t if he didn’t know so, then so be it.
“No,” he says. “You won’t be safe. Jerrick will go with you,” he insists, and I nod my acceptance. He looks happier with that and it warms me that he is looking out for my safety.
“May I go and see Vito?” I ask.
He frowns at me. “Why?” he asks.
“I knew him a long time ago,” I say carefully. “I want to make sure he is okay.”
He nods. “Let me know when you are ready to go to the Light,” he says.
Today? I have to go today? Oh, holy Hell. I was hoping I could put it off for a while, but I suppose if I want to go and get my daughter soon, I need to do this now.
I wander off and ask one of the maids which room Vito was put in. She shows me to a room on the bottom floor, far too close to the one that I first resided in.
I knock and enter when Maurelle calls out.
She looks up from her brother’s bed side and doesn’t look pleased to see me. “Yes?” she asks shortly.
“How is he?” I ask softly.
“What is it to do with you?” she asks coldly.
“Maurelle,” Vito says. “Please leave us.”
Maurelle glares at him and then at me, but she stands up anyway. “I will be back in five minutes,” she says.
I nod at her, my eyes fixed on Vito’s. It is so strange to me to see him as he is now. Maurelle leaves us with a loud bang of the door and Vito flinches but holds his hand out to me. I take it immediately and sit next to him as we continue to just stare at each other.
“I never thought I would see you again,” he whispers and takes a strand of my long, black hair and fiddles with it. He smiles slowly and says, “I had forgotten you could do that. How are you here? I never knew you were Fae.”
“Back at you,” I say with a smile.