I rolled my eyes and gestured for him to come in.
When he passed my mates, who were crowding behind me protectively, he turned to the kings and said, “I trust you used the RJE device I gave you wisely?”
Scorpius smirked evilly and said, “Over three hundred fae guards have been—eliminated.”
Lothaire nodded and flashed his canines. “Good.”
Then all of us proceeded to walk toward the hearth. I closed the door behind me before the men could step inside, because I wanted alone time with Lothaire and they would hover.
Corvus said something rude on the other side, but since the house didn’t burn down around us, he was just being his dramatic horse girl self.
“So.” Lothaire sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to him. “Tell me all about the war and your ice powers.”
Gingerly, I sat down next to him.
A few hours later, I sleepily rested my head on his shoulder and beamed with pride as I explained how I’d killed hundreds easily.
I told him how I’d thought of him when I was trapped in the room with the infected.
“That’s my girl,” he whispered.
When he stood up with a yawn and said it was time to go, he promised he’d be back to visit me.
“It’s great talking to you—I’m so proud of you, daughter,” he whispered as he enveloped me in a hug.
I patted his back and said, “Thanks, Father.”
When he released me, there was a suspicious sheen of moisture on his cheek, and he wiped at his face.
“I’ll be back,” he repeated as he said his goodbyes to the men and RJE’d away.
I stared at the place he’d disappeared from and wondered when I’d become so softhearted. My chest hummed with warmth, and my determination to never forgive him seemed silly.
Our relationship wasn’t perfect, and I had a strong feeling it never would be, but there was relief in not having conflict between us.
There was peace in not holding on to hate.
I felt lighter as I thought about how my father had beamed at me with pride.
Life was weird.
That night after he left, while the rest of the men climbed into the kings’ extra-wide bed, Scorpius pulled me into the bathroom.
Fully clothed, we sat in the fancy marble tub with warm water pouring over us.
He didn’t make any innuendos or try to seduce me while we sat under the warm spray. He just talked about the estate. About growing up blind in a world that everyone said was beautiful to look at.
He told me how scared he’d been when I was missing.
How proud he’d been when I mated with them and became one of them completely. He said it was the best day of his life, seeing me uncover my potential on the battlefield. The sheer power I’d wielded had been like nothing he’d ever experienced. It felt spiritual.
I told him about how I was doing better but sometimes I still spiraled.
I admitted that little things still set me off.
A bird would screech and it would sound like a chittering, and I’d freeze with fear. Sometimes I’d wake up sobbing in the middle of the night, feeling like I was choking to death with no memory of how I’d gotten that way.
I explained how other times, silence would get too quiet and fear would skitter up my spine.
Every now and again, I’d escape to the bathroom and lie against the cool tile, panting while I tried not to pass out.
Shamefully, I admitted that I didn’t forgive my father completely.
A tiny part of me couldn’t stop wondering why he hadn’t checked up on me when he knew Mother had a reputation for being awful.
Scorpius held my hand while I spoke and didn’t try to interrupt me.
When I was done, he admitted he had nightmares about losing all of us to ungodly. He’d run down corridor after corridor, screaming, but he couldn’t hear a thing and he couldn’t find any of us.
He told me I had no obligation to forgive Lothaire.
Then we talked about our favorite foods to lighten the mood. His was steak with risotto, and mine was mango chutney on warm bread. We both liked enchanted wine.
Scorpius couldn’t comprehend colors, but his favorite sound was B natural; he said it sounded like lying beside all of us under the stars.
When morning’s first light peeked through the gossamer curtains, I yawned and told him we should go to bed and get a little sleep before all the men woke.
He told me that if you stayed up through dawn and didn’t sleep, you’d actually feel more restful. I was skeptical, but he was so earnest that I stayed in the tub talking to him.
Corvus found us a few hours later asleep under the spray, holding hands.