"Twenty-eight years ago.”
He raised an eyebrow. "That is your age, yes?”
"Why is my age important?”
"It isn't. I just want to talk to your father.”
I nearly choked on my Coke. I coughed for several seconds—while he watched dispassionately—then somehow managed to say, "Well, I wish you luck with that.”
"So you're saying you've had no contact with him recently?”
I swallowed a hiccup, then said, "I've had no contact with my father my entire life. He might have provided the seed that formed me, but that was his entire input.”
"And yet he is apparently here in Melbourne.”
"Well, if you know that, then you know a hell of a lot more about him than I do.”
I didn't even know what he looked like, other than the fact that he had violet eyes and silvery blond hair, just like me. Of course, Mom's hair was also a silvery blond, but neither that nor the blue of her eyes was natural. As a Helki werewolf, she could subtly alter her appearance, and the silver and blue not only suited her psychic business better, but also enabled her to use her true form when she didn't want to be noticed.
Admittedly, she had tried to answer my questions about my dad, but the truth was, I was the result of a one-night stand, and Mom's entire time with him had totaled little more than six hours. Hardly long enough to form any lasting impressions.
I studied the reaper for a moment, wondering if he was telling the truth, then wondering what he'd have to gain by lying, and added, "Why do you think my father would even bother contacting me after all these years?”
"He has come to Melbourne for a reason. We believe you might be that reason.” He shrugged—a small, economical movement.
"On the other hand, he might just have come home to die.” After all, the Aedh only bred when they sensed their death was near, and while I was just over twenty-eight years old, that was merely a heartbeat in Aedh years.
"That is also possible.”