Deity

If Aiden was training then I knew where to find him. A cold, damp breeze sprayed my cheeks as I burst through the lobby doors and headed toward the training arena. The milky gray sky was typical for late November, making summer seem so long ago.

Classes for lower level students were being held in the larger training rooms. Instructor Romvi’s impatient barking from behind one of the closed doors followed my quick footsteps down the empty hall. Toward the end of the building, across from the med room where Aiden had brought me after Kain had handed my ass to me in training, was a smaller room equipped with the bare necessities and a sensory deprivation chamber.

I had yet to train in that thing.

Peeking through the crack in the door, I saw Aiden. He was in the middle of the mat, squaring off with a punching bag. A fine sheen of sweat coated his ropey muscles as he swung, knocking the bag back several feet.

Any other time I would have admired him rather obsessively, but my fingers spasmed, crunching the letter. I slid through the gap and crossed the room.

“Aiden.”

He whipped around, eyes flaring from a cool gray to a thunderous shade. He took a step back, wiping his arm across his forehead. “Alex, what… what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in class?”

I held the letter up. “Did you read what was in this letter?”

He had the same look as Leon. “No. Laadan asked me to make sure you got it.”

Why had she trusted Aiden with such news? I couldn’t even begin to figure that out unless… “Did you knowwhat was in this letter?”

“No. She just asked me to give it to you.” He bent, swiping a towel off the mat. “What’s in the letter that has you chasing me down?”

A stupid, totally unimportant question rose to the surface. “Why did you give it to Leon?’

He averted his eyes, growing still. “I thought it would be best.”

My gaze dropped from his face to his neck. There was that thin, silver chain again. I itched to know what he wore, since he wasn’t a jewelry type of guy. I dragged my eyes back to his face. “My father is alive.”

Aiden tilted his head toward me. “What?”

A bitter feeling settled in my stomach “He’s alive, Aiden. And he’s been at the New York Covenant for years. He was there when I was there.” The swirling emotions I felt when I first read the letter picked up again. “I saw him, Aiden! I know I did. The servant with the brown eyes. And he knew—he knew I was his daughter. That must be why he always looked at me strangely. It’s probably why I was so drawn to him whenever I saw him. I just didn’t know.”

Aiden looked pale under his natural tan. “Can I?”

I handed him the letter and then dragged shaking hands through my hair. “You know, there was something different about him. He never looked doped-up like other servants. And when Seth and I were leaving, I saw him fighting the daimons.” I paused, drawing in a deep breath. “I just didn’t know, Aiden.”

His brows furrowed as he sca

Turning away from him, I hugged my elbows. The sickening feeling I’d been staving off flowed through my stomach. Anger boiled the blood in my veins. “He’s a servant—a freaking servant.”

“Do you know what this means, Alex?”

I faced him, shocked to find him so close. At once I caught the scent of aftershave and saltwater. “Yes. I have to do something! I have to get him out of there. I know I don’t know him, but he’s my father. I have to do something!”

Aiden’s eyes widened. “No.”

“No what?”

He folded up the letter in one hand and grabbed my arm with the other. I dug in my heels. “What are you—?”

“Not here,” he ordered quietly.

Confused and a bit startled by the fact that Aiden was actually touching me, I let him lead me to the med office across the hall. He shut the door behind him, turning the lock. An uncomfortable heat flooded my system as I realized we were alone in a room with no windows, and Aiden had just locked the door. Seriously, I needed to get a grip because this was sonot the time for my ridiculous hormones. Okay, there really wasn’ta time for them.

Aiden faced me. His jaw flexed. “What are you thinking?”

“Uh…” I took a step back. No way was I admitting that. Then I realized he was angry—furious with me. “What did I do now?”

He placed the letter on the table I’d once sat upon. “You will not do something crazy.”

My eyes narrowed as I snatched up the letter, finally catching onto why he was so angry. “You expect me to do nothing? And to just let my father rot in servitude?”

“You need to calm down.”

“Calm down? That servant in New York is my father. The father I’d been told was dead!” Suddenly, I remembered Laadan in the library and how she talked about my father as if he was still alive. Rage socked me in the stomach. Why hadn’t she told me? I could’ve spoken to him. “How can I calm down?”

“I… I can’t imagine what you’re going through, or what you’re thinking.” He frowned. “Well, yes, I can imagine what you’re thinking. You want to storm the Catskills and free him. I know that’s what you’re thinking.”

Of course I was.

He started toward me, his eyes turning a brilliant silver. “No.”

I backed up, clutching Laadan’s letter to my chest. “I have to do something.”

“I know you feel like you need to, but Alex, you ca

“I wouldn’t storm it.” I edged around the table as he grew closer. “I’ll think of something. Maybe I’ll get in trouble. Telly said all I needed to do was make one more mistake and I was being sent to the Catskills.”

Aiden stared.

The table was now between us. “If I could get back there, then I can talk to him. I have to talk to him.”

“Absolutely not,” Aiden growled.

My muscles locked. “You can’t stop me.”

“You want to bet?” He started around the table.

Not really. The fierceness in his expression told me he’d do everything to stop me, which meant I needed to convince him. “He’s my father, Aiden. What would you do if it was Deacon?”

Low blow, I know.

“Don’t you even dare bring him into this, Alex. I won’t allow you to get yourself killed. I don’t care who it’s for. I won’t.”

Tears burned the back of my throat. “I can’t leave him in that kind of life. I can’t.”

Pain flickered in his steely gaze. “I know, but he’s not worth your life.”

My arms fell to my sides and I stopped trying to outmaneuver him. “How can you make that decision?” And then the tears I’d been fighting broke free. “How can I not do something?”

Aiden didn’t say anything as he placed his hands on my upper arms and guided me to him. Instead of pulling me straight into his embrace, he backed up against the wall and slid down, bringing me along with him. I was nestled in his arms. My legs curled against him, one of my hands fisting his shirt.

The breath I took was shallow, filled with a kind of hurt I couldn’t let go. “I’m tired of people lying to me. Everyone lied about my mom, and now this? I thought he was dead. And gods, I wish he were, because death is better than what he has to live through.” My voice broke and more tears spilled over my cheeks.

Aiden’s arms tightened around me, and his hand smoothed a comforting circle over my back. I wanted to stop crying because it was weak and humiliating, but I couldn’t stop. Discovering my father’s true fate was horrifying. When the worst of the tears subsided, I pulled back a little and lifted my teary gaze.

Damp silky waves of dark hair clung to his forehead and temples. The dim light of the room still highlighted those high cheekbones and lips I’d memorized so long ago. Aiden rarely ever fully smiled, but when he did, it was breathtaking. There’d been a few times I’d gotten to bask in that rare smile; the last time had been at the zoo.

Seeing him now, truly seeing him, the first time after he’d risked everything to protect me—I wanted to start crying again. Over the last week, I’d replayed what had happened over and over again. Could I’ve done something differently? Disarmed the Guard instead of shoving my blade deep into his chest? And why had Aiden used compulsion to cover up what I’d done? Why would he risk so much?