I enjoyed spending more time with Rose and getting to know Nell better was a treat too. We got on like a house on fire, the three of us, and we spent much time chatting and going for walks when I wasn’t relishing the moments I had with my new husband.
It was truly sad when we had to leave, though Theon and Nell promised to visit The Shade some time soon—a promise that Lethe made to me, too.
Our party traveled back to The Shade—including the newly-wed dragons we’d come with. When we returned, to Ben’s and my utter surprise, it was to discover a brand-new penthouse. A gift to us from Derek and Sofia. The witches who had remained behind on the island had built it while we were gone. It was not far from the other treehouses, but it was far enough to give us a sense of privacy. We couldn’t see any other homes from any of the windows and instead were surrounded by trees, with a magnificent panoramic view of the island.
With the wedding over, after Ben and I had settled into our new home together, he took me to see Corrine about my scar. She performed a number of examinations—during most of which she’d made me unconscious—and in the end she couldn’t find any odd insertions, or signs that the hunters had removed anything major from me. She’d said, however, that it was possible they could have extracted an egg or two. If they had, there was nothing we could do about it. I was just relieved they hadn’t damaged me.
Once Corrine let me out of the Sanctuary and Ben and I returned to our penthouse, I felt a burning desire to do something that I probably should’ve done before now, if I had just had the chance.
My father. I had promised him all those months ago that I would try to visit him. Starting this brand-new chapter of my life with Ben felt like the right time. I expressed my desire to Ben and of course he was supportive. I asked him if he would come with me and he said he would. My mother thought it best that I see what state my father was in before my other siblings visited. My sisters, still being young, could be easily upset, and Jamil’s mind was also still fragile in some ways. If my father was okay, we would go to see him together afterward, and then make a much needed visit to my grandfather.
So Ben and I set off together. One of the perks of being married to a fae was that you never needed to rely on any kind of transport. He could fly wherever we needed to much faster than a plane. I knew which prison my father was staying at, and we brought a bunch of maps and navigating equipment.
We met with a few complications along the way—such as getting lost—but eventually we arrived at the Texan jail where my father had been transferred.
Fortunately, the lighting inside was garish, and Ben’s natural aura wasn’t too noticeable. I enquired as to whether my father was here, and I was relieved to learn that he was. Indeed, I managed to make an appointment to see him this very day. Back on Rikers Island, I doubted I would have been able to do this. I wondered if his visiting times had been relaxed due to good behavior.
As we moved into the designated meeting area and my father appeared behind the glass, an overwhelming sense of déjà vu washed over me. I hurried to the window, gazing at him through the barrier. He wore the same orange uniform, and his ragged face—far too old for his age—lit up as he took me in. He was blinking as he stared at me, as if he couldn’t believe I’d really come. Pain and guilt stabbed me.
“River,” he rasped, his hands pressed flat against the glass.
“Dad,” I breathed, my voice choked up.
“Darling, how are you? I thought I might never see you again.”
Tears brimmed in my eyes. “I’m so sorry, Dad,” I gasped. I could barely even bring myself to make an excuse for why I had left it so long. I should’ve found a way.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“I-I’m fine,” I said, forcing a smile. “Never been better, actually. H-How are you?”
“I’m…” He hesitated, wetting his lower lip tentatively, as though weighing his words. “I’m… doing better, I think,” he said. “At least, I think I am. They give me more privileges now. Things that I couldn’t do before. You know, extra time outside the cell.” He paused again as his eyes fell on Ben. “And who is this?” my father asked curiously. “You brought a friend?”
I reached for Ben’s hand, and pulled him closer. “Dad,” I said, finally managing to steady my voice, “meet my husband, Ben.”
My father’s jaw dropped open. “Your… husband?” he gasped. He gaped at me, then narrowed his eyes as if wondering if this was some kind of joke.
“Yes,” I said, smiling more broadly. “We got married, like, a week ago.”
“Oh,” he breathed, gazing at Ben in wonderment. I wondered if he had noticed a strange aura around Ben, or if he was just sizing him up. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said, his hand hitting the glass as he moved instinctively to shake Ben’s hand. He can’t even shake the hand of his new son-in-law.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Giovanni,” Ben said, moving closer to the glass and placing his own hand against it, where my father’s was. Ben couldn’t have known how much that small gesture meant to me.
“H-How did you meet?” my father asked, still looking in a daze.
“Oh… we, uh…” I began to stammer. I really hadn’t been prepared for that question, just as my father really wouldn’t be prepared for the answer.
“In a sauna,” Ben answered for me smoothly.
I grinned at Ben in appreciation. Brilliant.
After that, my father asked some more questions about Ben—what his interests were, what he did for a living, and other such things—which Ben just as deftly answered without actually lying. Then, after my father asked after my mother and siblings, our time with him was drawing to a close.
When the guard called to him, urgency filled my father’s eyes. “I love you, River. My strong, beautiful girl. I need you to know that I’m proud of you. Please, don’t ever forget that… And I-I hope that I can see you again. Sooner, than last time. You know, I really think that if I manage to keep up my behavior, I might be let out earlier.”
I smiled faintly. “I promise I’ll come back sooner. And remember that I love you, too, Dad.” Then the guard took him away.
My father’s last words lingered in my mind, long after the door had closed. They reminded me all too much of the hopes he’d used to instill in us before dashing them to the ground. I’d heard words like those too many times before to take them seriously. Maybe he will, maybe he won’t.