Chapter 285

My dad sits quietly by me as I finish telling him what Jackson and Luca have asked of me, as I wipe a few stray tears from my eyes. Dad is strong and stoic as I speak – the rock in my life that I always need him to be, letting me feel my pain and sitting quietly by me as I do. And when it passes, he’s still there, holding my hand.

“What do you think?” I ask, my voice a little shaky, wanting to know.

He sighs. “Well, I’m not surprised,” he says, tilting his head to the side. “The possessiveness I feel towards your mother – there was a moment when we thought she had a second mate too, and I… completely flipped out –“

“What!?” I gasp, shocked. Why – why are there all these things about my parents’ past that I had no idea about!?

Dad laughs a little, squeezing my hand. “I ripped the door basically off its hinges, went tearing through the Palace looking for him, fully intending to murder him, scared poor Conner nearly to death.” He laughs again, like it’s a fond memory, as I stare at him with wide eyes.

“But he wasn’t her mate?”

“No,” dad says, shaking his head. “Just…a misunderstanding. We checked with the Goddess, who confirmed things.”

My eyes go wider. “How does one check with the Goddess!?”

“Cora can do it,” dad says, waving a passive hand before reaching for his coffee. “Just summon her up – the rest of us can’t see her, but…”

He goes still for a second, staring into space and collecting his thoughts, as I just gape at him. Aunt Cora can just summon the Goddess? God, and I thought it was impressive that she could control

the weather.

“Actually,” dad says, turning his green eyes back on me and gently taking his hand from mine while he takes a sip of his coffee, sensing that my sadness has passed fully now. “You should consider asking Cora to call the Goddess for you, or see if you can do it –“

“If I can do it!?” I gasp, appalled.

“You’re a little demigoddess too, Ariel,” dad says, grinning over his coffee at me. “I mean, we avoided saying that to you as much as we could when you were a kid because we didn’t want you getting a big head about it. But being the grandchild of a goddess – the first girl, too? It…might have some perks.”

I just stare at him, completely baffled, before I blink myself out of my shock and concentrate on his words. “Wait, so, why would we summon the Goddess? To ask what?”

“To ask if you need to choose between Jackson and Luca,” dad says, nodding slowly to me. “I mean, I’m not saying that you should break your word to your mates. But, I think it’s worth realizing that if the Goddess gave you two mates, she probably had a reason for it. After all, she gave me Lydia, I think, so that my loving her, and then rejecting her, would make me become the man who was worthy of being her daughter’s mate.”

I grin at dad now, seeing where this is going, and very warmed to think that my dad really is the best – that if anyone on earth deserves mom, who is so amazing, only he can fit the bill. So, maybe his first mate really was part of the Goddess’s plan – that she made him go through a trial by fire to create the only man who was good enough for my mom.

“So,” I say quietly, “you think I should talk to her?”

Dad nods slowly. “And I think Jackson and Luca should be there. Just to…get things on the same page. I think she has her reasons,” dad continues contemplatively, “and she gave you two mates at once for one of those reasons. If you ask, she may tell you why, or give you advice on how to proceed.”

I exhale a deep breath and look down at my plate of food, suddenly not hungry anymore as I contemplate the fact that I’m adding “summon a goddess” to my list of things to do. noveldrama

My dad laughs a little, gently, turning my attention back to him. “Don’t let it scare you, Ariel,” he says, his voice a little growly as he leans forward and smiles at me, fond and loving and warm. “If anyone can handle this, it’s my brave girl.”