Dad started to stir.
‘Fine,’ I said. ‘But when you start flinging lies in the air, don’t expect me to go along with them. Unlike you, my version of “everything” will actually contain the truth.’
Before she could respond, Dad’s eyes fluttered open.
‘Violet?’ he said, his voice crackly and uncertain.
‘Dad, it’s okay,’ I responded, putting a hand on his shoulder. ‘You’re home and safe.’ I gave Evelyn a warning look then turned my attention back to my father. ‘No one will hurt you again.’
His eyes came into focus and, despite his confusion, he smiled at me. I smiled back. Then he saw Evelyn. He gasped and I had to grab hold of him to keep him steady as he scrambled to sit up.
‘Dad, breathe. You’re going to have another panic attack,’ I said as soothingly as possible.
His eyes were so wide they were mostly white. ‘Oh, God. I didn’t imagine it. Who are you? You … You look … ’ he stammered.
Evelyn took a deep breath and locked her eyes on his. ‘You took me on a carriage ride through Central Park on our first date. You only had enough money for half the trip so we were dumped in the middle of the park and had to walk back. You picked flowers for me along the way. When you said goodbye that night, you kissed me and said, “This is only the beginning.” We met for breakfast the following day and every day after that, for the next six months. The first morning we didn’t have breakfast together was our wedding day.’
Dad was frozen. I think I was frozen too. From one small speech I now knew more about their relationship than Dad had ever told me. And it only made me more livid.
How could she have done this to him?
Time seemed to stand still. Evelyn looking at Dad, imploring him to accept this impossibility, Dad staring back at her with disbelief. My eyes shot between the two of them … My parents.
‘Evelyn?’ he breathed the word.
She nodded.
‘Are you …’ he swallowed. ‘Are you a ghost?’
‘No,’ Evelyn said calmly. ‘I’m human. Mostly.’ Her brow furrowed. ‘I think.’
‘Oh,’ Dad said.
I rolled my eyes at her.
Great clarification.
‘ explain. We would like to be able to tell you everything if you’re willing to listen, but we must warn you – once you know, you will become a part of this world …’ She glanced down, a sadness creeping into her voice. ‘And you can never go back.’
I ground my jaw. I hated that she was right. I also hated the way she united us. There was no ‘we’. She’d kept her secrets from Dad since the moment they had met. Everything had been a lie. Then, when I was born, she’d accepted an angel’s bargain – probably for a penthouse suite in heaven – and committed me to a life as a Grigori. Sure, I’d had to choose whether to accept it, but I was learning fast: angels are determined beings and what they want, they usually get.
She would have known that, too.
Worse, not only had she handed over my fate the moment I was born, she’d given me to an angel of the Sole, making me the one and only human Grigori to have ever been empowered by the highest-ranking and most mysterious order.
Yeah, I’m high up in the freak department.
‘Violet?’ Dad said, interrupting my thoughts, his face still a picture of shock.
I sighed, drawing my eyes away from Evelyn. ‘It’s her, Dad. I … found her when I was in Greece. Are you sure you’re up to hearing the whole story?’
He shifted position and began rolling up his sleeves, the way he did when he’d set his mind on something. He took my hand, gripping it tight, and cast a wary glance in Evelyn’s direction.
‘I know my daughter. I knew my wife. You look incredibly like her, but she died seventeen years ago and you … You look the way she did the day she died.’ He glanced at her wayward hair. ‘Almost.’
I smiled, proud of Dad for not just falling into her arms.
‘I will hear the entire story, nothing spared.’ He gestured to Evelyn. ‘You know things other people wouldn’t, but that doesn’t prove anything as far as I’m concerned.’ He let go of my hand, stretched his arm across the back of the sofa and raised his eyebrows. ‘Start talking.’
It must have taken every ounce of courage not to break down right there, not to grab Evelyn and hold her tight – whether he believed it was really her or not. Dad loved her like he loved no other person in this world and I knew nothing had changed that over the past seventeen years.
Evelyn was staring at him, a thoughtful look on her face. ‘You’ve changed,’ she said finally.
‘Apparently you haven’t. Talk!’ Dad demanded.
Go, Dad!
Evelyn saw the amusement in my eyes and rolled hers in response.