He moved so he was in my line of sight, resting his shoulder against a shelf and tilting his head forward to look me directly in the eyes. “It’s been a while since we last saw each other.” Blue eyes so like my own studied my face. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine.” I stared at him a moment, then went back to trying to find the folders I was looking for. “And how are you?”
“It’s been an interesting journey so far.” His head cocked forward further, so it was harder to ignore him. “Lily?”
“Hmm?” I couldn’t find those damn files anywhere, and I wanted to find them to escape the man my mother had loved so deeply, a man I didn’t really know why she had run from.
His words were soft, sounding heartfelt. “Lily, look at me.”
Eyebrows furrowing at his tone, I held my place in the files and peered up at him.
Intense blue eyes stared down at me as he angled his body so no one could see our faces. “Will you have lunch with me sometime when things have settled down with the war? I want to speak with you in private and this conversation has been a long time coming.”
I froze as I gazed into his eyes seeing…knowledge there. And a quiet yearning. My eyes darting back and forth between his, I realized he knew. He had figured out I was his daughter. Maybe I had known before, but I couldn’t remember it if I had.
My heart began running rapid inside my chest, literally feeling as if it wanted to shove through my ribs, the beat almost painful.
No, it wasn’t almost painful.
It was painful, especially when he let another emotion slip past his guard to shine through his eyes.
Love.
This man I didn’t know, the man who had helped to create me, loved me.
Hiccupping once or twice, I turned my head away, blinking back unexpected tears, and nodded. “Yes. Yes, I’d like that.”
“Good.” He smiled gently. “I know this—”
“Elder Venclaire.” Ezra slapped a hand on Elder Venclaire’s shoulder, cutting him off, and if I wasn’t mistaken, he was squeezing the Elder’s shoulder a bit too roughly. “Should I feel offended you’re talking to Queen Ruckler before you’ve even said hello to me, your favorite Prodigy, and now King?”
I stared, trying to decipher why he didn’t seem to like my biological father. Though his tone was perfectly pleasant, his tense body and too tight hold said otherwise, and his scent was a little off since he reeked of aggressiveness.
Elder Venclaire even stared before he covertly picked up Ezra’s clamping index finger, not flinching at the hold Ezra had him under, and then jerked it quickly, lifting Ezra’s hand from his shoulder without harming either of them. “You, Ezra,” a pause as he dropped Ezra’s hand, “so sorry, I meant King Zeller, were my only Prodigy — thank God — so therefore it could be construed that not only were you my favorite, but that you were also my most despised.” He patted Ezra’s shoulder. Gently. “And please, forgive my rudeness in not attending to you earlier, but the guard at your tent before dawn said you weren’t to be disturbed.” His eyes flicked to me then quickly back to Ezra. “But it is nice to see you again, and I hope you’re doing well.” He turned and walked a few steps before pausing to speak softly over his shoulder. “And you’ve got it all wrong, King Zeller. Try the equation again to find the correct answer.”
I stared in dumbstruck shock at his retreating back, realizing with his words that the seething Vampire standing next to me, who turned to stare down at me to hide his utterly furious expression from anyone else, was jealous…of my biological father.
I blinked.
Just eww…I couldn’t help but shudder…gross.
“What the f**k, Lily?” he breathed in the quietest hiss so no others — even the Vamps — could hear him. “You said you knew him before…but just how well did you know him exactly? And why the hell are you inviting him to your tent now?” Violent eyes darted between mine, searching for an answer.
All right, I kind of wanted to laugh in his face, so I decided to let him in on the secret since it was just mean to make him feel this way…especially after last night. Lifting my fingers from the files, I pulled the closest pad of paper off a lower shelf, grabbed the pen on top of the filing cabinet, and wrote in a tiny scrawl: He’s my biological father. Handing the pad of paper over to Ezra, I gave up on finding the folders I was looking for and turned on my heel, leaving the frozen Vampire to deal with that little bit of information he was currently gawking at.
“I’m sorry, Elder Nelson,” I stated, taking a seat next to Antonio and kicking my boots up on the table. “I can’t seem to find the folders for the four individuals I had picked out to transfer here, but I can get you another workup on them by the end of the day.”
Elder Nelson glared toward Ezra. “That’s unfortunate.” But he nodded toward me. “And I would appreciate the additional time for you—”
“What’s unfortunate, Elder Nelson?” Ezra interrupted him, sitting next to his dad. I kept a perfectly emotionless face even when I saw him keeping the paper hidden as he scribbled out what I had written, his cheeks flushed, apparently embarrassed by his previous behavior with Elder Venclaire but not missing the look Elder Nelson had swung in his direction.
Elder Nelson’s jaw clenched at being cut off, but he stated calmly, “Elder Fergus and I have found a few of the Mages and Elementals you have as Commanders to be lacking in leadership skills, and we were informed Queen Ruckler had a few potential candidates to take their—”
“Ah, yes,” Ezra interrupted him again, and I peered at my boots to keep from laughing when Elder Nelson’s veneer cracked and his bronzed face flushed in anger, his mouth beginning to open, surely to bawl him out for being so ill-mannered to an Elder, but Ezra continued speaking, ignoring him. “Queen Ruckler did bring to my attention four possible candidates.” He bent and picked up a black duffle from the ground next to his chair, setting it on the marble table in front of him and unzipping it. “Their folders are in here somewhere.” He lifted a knife from the bag, setting it on the table, pointy end aimed at Elder Nelson. “I reviewed them yesterday, and I’ve found,” a gun was set on the table, also aimed directly at Elder Nelson, “that her…” He paused, lifting another gun, a shiny silver one not unlike my own, and waggling it at Elder Nelson, again aimed directly at him. “Damn, I’ve been looking all over for this.” That gun disappeared somewhere on his body in a blur. “Anyway, I’ve found that her assessment was correct,” he lifted out the folders, which were blatantly on top of the piled confines of his bag, “and we should transfer out the four here for these four new individuals.” He tossed the files on the table toward Elder Nelson, the Elder Mage’s face now carefully blank. “So it’s not so unfortunate, Elder Nelson, and I’m sure you won’t have any problems handling their transfers since Queen Ruckler’s already taken care of most of it, and with both of our signatures, the King’s and Queen’s, already on them, no one should hassle you.”