Witching Time (The Wild Hunt #14) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,8

for a moment, inhaling sharply. Then, as if he were solving an equation, understanding filled his face. “You’re that Kipa.” He held out his hand.

Kipa grinned at him, shaking his hand. “Yes, sir, I am Lord of the Wolves. I take it Raven neglected to mention that little fact?”

“Yes, she did. And frankly, I’m not surprised.” Curikan glanced at me. “You could have trusted me, girl. And why didn’t your mother tell me? The pair of you, honestly.”

“I wasn’t sure how you’d feel if I told you I was dating a god.”

It was the truth. I had been worried that if I told him if I was dating a god, my father would have gone ballistic. Dating mortals? Humans? Not quite so pleased, but Curikan wanted me to be happy. Dating another Ante-Fae, or one of the Fae? Perfectly fine. But dating a god was dabbling in a world a lot more ferocious than either of us belonged to.

“I see,” Curikan said. He gave Kipa the once-over, then shrugged. “Well, as long as you treat my daughter well…I may not be a god, but if you hurt her, I promise you, I’m fully capable of making your life…difficult.”

Kipa nodded, and for once he didn’t look like he was trying to bite back a smile. “Understood. I won’t hurt her, Curikan. I respect Raven and that won’t change, no matter whether our relationship continues to grow or whether it fades.”

I slowly let out my breath. They hadn’t killed each other at first sight. A lot of my reassurances to Kipa had been based on hope rather than realistic expectation. Leading them both into the living room, I gave thanks that I wasn’t in the middle of a hellhound versus wolf fight.

Raj glanced up. He brightened. “Is this Curikan?” We had already discussed whether he was going to talk in front of Curikan and I had assured him it would be a good idea, since Curikan was family.

Curikan hadn’t met Raj yet. I’d found Raj a gargoyle-sitter the few times I left him to visit my father. He hadn’t met the ferrets, either.

Curikan stared at Raj for a moment, then broke out into a wide smile. “Curikan greets Raj. Curikan hopes Raj is feeling well,” my father said. We had discussed Raj’s odd cadence over the phone, and Curikan had informed me that most all gargoyles spoke in the third person. It was an odd trait, but prevalent in the gargoyle communities.

“Raj got scolded for making a mess today, but Raj is happy.” Raj turned back to the TV, more interested in the program than talking.

I tapped Raj on the shoulder. “Why doesn’t Raj watch his show in Raven’s bedroom?”

Raj shrugged, handed me the remote, and meandered off down the hallway after murmuring a vague good-bye. He loved his television and when his favorites were on, he turned into a couch potato who had no intention on doing anything but watching his shows.

After he was out of the room, I turned back to my father, who had sat down in the recliner. He was a good-looking man, actually, when I forced myself to see him in any way other than as my father, and he still looked young. But the Ante-Fae usually did, unless they were born old or had lived a very long, long time. We could die, but we just took our time about it, outliving even the Fae, and probably some of the dragons.

“So, your mother tells me you’ve been mucking about in the war against Typhon?” Curikan eyed me steadily. “She says you have something to tell me that I probably won’t like. Is that it?”

“Not quite.” I didn’t want to bring up Pandora, but my mother had warned me that if I didn’t tell my father, she would. And since she was coming for dinner tonight, I had better tell him before she got here. I bit my lip, trying to figure out where to start.

Kipa sat silent, but he looked like he was sitting on eggshells. I knew he wanted to help me so that I didn’t have to relive it again, but I couldn’t let him do that. For one thing, I considered myself a strong, independent woman. For another, I had to learn how to confront issues that I didn’t want to address. I tended to avoid conflict if it was something I didn’t want to talk about, and the torture I had endured at Pandora’s hands was definitely in that category. Sejun had