Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Ryker

My father’s eyes narrowed on me as Bria shook her head. “Oh no, I’ll stay here with Veni.” She patted my father’s hand as she said this, and they smiled at each other.

At this point, they both repulsed me. She’s Leo’s daughter and an innocent in this. The reminder lessened some of my revulsion over their behavior, but not all of it.

And I was beginning to question whether she was as innocent as I believed. I couldn’t shake the nagging suspicion that something was off about her behavior.

Leo was a good man who I would have trusted with my life. Yes, he’d kept secrets, but I would still trust him if he were alive.

I didn’t know his daughter. She was Leo’s blood, but so was Ivan, and I wouldn’t trust Ivan to take a shit on his own.

“What about your mother?” I pressed. “Does she plan to return to the Gloaming?”

Bria stopped staring at my father to focus on me again. “She’s dead.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

She shrugged before sipping some of her cartha. “It happened when I was a child. Afterward, my father placed me in the care of a kind couple who took in orphaned children. He gave them enough money to ensure I had a good childhood.”

This revelation that Leo would do such a thing, but not care for the child himself, surprised me a little. I didn’t know why when he hadn’t told me about the girl; he’d obviously tried to keep her a secret, but I’d believed the man I knew would have done more for his child.

“So, you knew Leo?” I asked.

“You could say that. He visited once a year. We would sit together and talk for a couple of hours. He’d ensure I was happy and had everything I required before leaving again. I assured him I had the finest clothes, best food, excellent schooling, and the couple treated me well. That was all he needed to know.”

The dark fae weren’t exactly known for being emotional, loving creatures, and Bria wasn’t the exception to this rule… except for when it came to my father. They couldn’t keep their hands from each other as their fingers kept entwining.

The idea of touching my father revolted me, but she couldn’t get enough of it. “How old are you, Bria?”

“I’m twenty-seven.”

She gave a more worldly air than twenty-seven, but she’d experienced a lot in her short life.

“Why didn’t Leo bring you here?” I asked.

“When I was very young, he believed it was best I stayed with my mother. When I was ten, she died, and by then, I was a part of the Gloaming, and it was a part of me. I may be half amsirah, but I feel mostly dark fae. I never developed any amsirah abilities, and my home was always the Gloaming.”

“I see.”

I looked to the windows again as the color seeped from the sky and dusk descended. A servant swept in to remove our plates while another placed small salads before us.

I didn’t bother to raise my fork to poke at it. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning, but being with the two of them had robbed me of my appetite.

“How did your mother and Leo meet?” I inquired after the servants left the room again.

“She was a highly trained courtesan, and he was one of her favorite admirers. He treated her so well that, over time, he became her only admirer until she died. He visited more often then to see her, but after her death, he started coming only once a year.”

Had Leo loved the woman? The possibility hadn’t occurred to me until now, but while it intrigued me, I didn’t think it was true.

He’d visited a lot of brothels, sex dens, and clubs fucking many women over the years. I’d witnessed some of his endeavors as Leo often wasn’t shy about taking someone in public. He’d enjoyed the cheers from his men as he screwed with abandon.

And many of those encounters occurred while Bria’s mother was still alive. If he’d loved the woman, that never would have happened.

Even when I’d hated Ellery for what she’d done, I couldn’t bring myself to have sex with another. Leo would have remained faithful to Bria’s mother if he loved her. But as a trained courtesan and dark fae, the woman must have been fantastic in bed, and he’d returned for that.

“I had expected to follow in my mother’s footsteps and become a trained courtesan before the Lord destroyed the Gloaming, but when I fled my homeland, those plans went up in smoke. Now, those plans have changed again,” Bria said.

She looked at my father, batted her lashes, and smiled. That was all I could take of this debacle.

My chair skidded across the floor when I rose abruptly. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll return soon.”

“Where are you going?” my father demanded sharply.

I smiled grimly at him. “If you must know, father, I have to take a piss.”

I didn’t wait for his response before strolling out of the cavernous space and into the hall.