Sorceress, Interrupted - By A. J. Menden Page 0,77
Rath and for all of my other children, names and faces now just ghosts in my mind. Just like I will for Emily,” he said, glancing toward her.
He got up from his seat and strode over to take me by the shoulders. “All the children I’ve sired over the years have grown old and died. All except you. You act like you’re meaningless to me, when the truth is that you might be the person with whom I can share the deepest connection, other than Lainey, who shares a part of my soul. You’re the one constant in my life, Fantazia. Every other child but you, even Emily, will one day pass on. For whatever reason, you remain a constant, living and unchanged. I don’t know why—I don’t know if you even know why—but I’m glad to have you.”
I bit my lip so he wouldn’t see how affected I was by his speech. “Just lucky, I guess.”
He sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know how many times we’ve had this conversation over the years, but I want this to be the time we finally resolve your pain. You’re the one thing I’ll always have, Fantazia, no matter what, and I don’t want to live any further succession of lives with you hating me.”
“I don’t hate you,” I blurted. “God, how can you think I hate you? It’s stupid to be like this after so many years, when I’m thousands of years old, but damn it, there’s part of me who’s just a small girl who wants her daddy.” I was actually crying. Apparently I’d bottled up this emotion for far too long and now it was all bursting out and I was powerless to stop it. “We both look like we’re the same age, but I still look at you and think, ‘That’s my father.’ And you’re right, I am the one constant in your life, while you’re inconstant in mine. Which means I get to be hurt by you over and over again. I really needed you when Andrew was dying, Dad. I tried everything and couldn’t stop it. I guess some diseases can’t even be healed by magical means. I tried to come to you . . .”
He stared. “I don’t remember reading about this.”
I sighed. “It just so happened that it was during one of your newly reincarnated periods, and you’re not so helpful when you first come back. By the time you’d gotten it together to help, it was too late. He was already gone.” Tears burned my eyes. “I’m sorry, but you couldn’t be relied on to be there when I needed you. I . . . Well, eventually it just got easier to act like I hate you in order to avoid the hurt and disappointment.”
At some point he’d switched over to hugging me and I hadn’t even realized. He smoothed my hair like I was little child. “I know. And I’m sorry,” he said against my temple. “If I could change it, I would.”
“But you can’t. This is a cycle we’re doomed to repeat. You’ll forget me and I’ll react with distance. I have no one. And unless the Dragon, Dylan and their unnamed pal get their way and eventually bring back the Ancient Ones, we’ll be doing this again in, oh, about sixty years or so.”
“Only twenty years last time,” he reminded me wryly. “But I get your point. I wish I had a way to fix things, but I don’t. Still, can’t we call a truce for the next sixty years or so? Can’t we enjoy the time we do have?”
I looked into the eyes of my father and knew one thing: too much fighting was going on around us, and I just didn’t have the energy or will to continue this battle. If I was going to be involved with the Elite Hands of Justice, or even with my sister Emily, which I wanted, I couldn’t maintain this anger anymore. He was right that a truce was in order. At least for this lifetime.
Wow. Something was severely wrong with me. I was rapidly making my way toward working with superheroes to save the world, was getting close to admitting feelings for a guy, and now was trying to reconcile with my father. What had happened to the selfish bitch I’d used to be?
“All right, Wesley,” I said. “Truce.”
“Good.” He gave me another squeeze and then let go.
“Now,” I said, looking forward to changing the subject. “I can’t take any