“Your new home,” he echoes. Father sinks back into his seat, all the red rushing from his face and leaving him pale. “You’re going back to her.”
“You will stop any plans to take your people to Carver City.”
“Or what?”
I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but I’ll do what I have to. I can’t afford to waver right now. I only have one chance to make this stick, to protect the people I love and ensure my freedom. “Or I’ll tell Poseidon that you’re utilizing his resources to attack another city and potentially drag all of Olympus into a war. Because of your pride. Because you don’t trust your daughter to make her own way.”
He pauses for a long moment, and finally says, “What makes you think he’ll care?”
“I’m sure he can do basic math. We have a line of supplies that go straight into Carver City for what I imagine is a large amount of revenue. A war would cut that off, in addition to costing both sides a fortune in supplies and lives lost.”
Something like pride flickers through his eyes. “It would seem you have me over a barrel.”
“Father… Daddy…” I sigh. “I love you. I’ve been blind to your faults for too long and let you keep me in this cage because of that love. It’s over now. Either let me fly or get out of my way.”
He surprises me by chuckling. “You’re so much like your mother.”
My chest pangs, but I refuse to soften. Not until I have his agreement. “Give me your word that no harm comes to anyone in Carver City.”
“Including the Sea Witch.”
“Including the Sea Witch,” I confirm.
“If she harms you…”
“She won’t.” I don’t know if I’m lying or not. If she turns away from me when I go back to Carver City… Well, I don’t know what happens next. I’ve sacrificed the money earned for the auction. I trust Hercules’s promise that Alaric’s debt remains paid, but the extra money no longer belongs to me. I’ll be in a city I barely know, with no money or resources of my own. But at least I’ll be free.
I have to risk it.
I have to try.
My father is silent for so long, I have to quell the urge to fidget. Finally, he sighs. “There will be no turning you from this, will there?”
“No.”
“If I lock you in your room, you won’t be able to go running to Poseidon with stories.” He almost sounds like he’s musing. “I could send a team of my best men and finally remove the blight of the Sea Witch from my life.”
My chest tries to close in on itself, but I refuse to quake. “If you do that, I’ll never forgive you. I’ll spend the rest of my life doing whatever it takes to bring you down and make you pay for it.”
He nods as if he expects no less. “She’s been my enemy for a very long time, Zurielle. Decades.”
“Is your revenge worth more than my happiness?” I stare at him, willing him to see reason. “Is your hate for her greater than your love for me?”
My father looks at me like he’s never seen me before. “She makes you happy.”
“Yes.” I hesitate. “She will if we’re given half a chance to see what we might become.”
This time, when Father sighs, he sounds defeated. “So be it. I give you my word. With the understanding that if she harms you, I will burn that entire city to the ground, Poseidon’s disapproval or no.” His lips pull up into a half smile. “I guess you really have grown up.”
No point in reminding him that I fucked Alaric while he was on the phone with Ursa. Or in pointing out how beyond out of line his actions have been since the beginning. Not with this fledgling peace blossoming before my eyes, not when I am nearly free. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, too.” He scrubs a hand over his face. “I’ve got to get to work. Be careful.”
Careful is the last thing I’m going to be. Not when my heart is beating so hard, I feel a little light-headed. This worked. I can’t believe this worked. “I promise.”
He rises and walks around the desk to pull me into a hug. “Call me when you get there so I know you’re safe.”
“Okay.” It’s the very least I can do, a concession in response to a larger concession.
He walks out of his office without another word.
It worked. I can barely believe it. I walk back to my room in a haze. I have to pack, but as I look around, the handful of things I can’t live without are already in Carver City. I hear footsteps behind me and turn to see Aya. She looks at me and looks at my room. “You’re leaving again, aren’t you?”