There were a few statues on his desk along with a framed picture, something that was called a yo-yo, and a coffee cup that said Taste the Rainbow.
The shadows were pulled away from my father’s face to reveal his dark skin, the color of burnt porcelain, and golden eyes. His buzzed black hair only accentuated his square jaw and arresting features.
“Father,” I said in way of greeting. I rescinded my own hold on the shadows, allowing my face to peer through. Dad looked up from where he was bent over a stack of papers, muttering.
Over his shoulder, an immense map of the territories hung. The Capital was directly in the middle with smaller human communities scattered around it. These communities were not recognized by the powers that be, but I knew for a fact that Z had lived in one of them, just between the Capital and the Incubus Kingdom.
In a circle around the Capital, the seven kingdoms sat. There was no rhyme or reason for their placement, except for the fact that it had been decreed by the original sins. Or something like that.
I had never been a particular fan of history or geography. Still, my eyes zeroed in on the Mermaid Kingdom, nestled between the Shifter Kingdom and Vampire one. It was nothing more than a splattering of islands inside a large, salt-water ocean. It by far had the least amount of land compared to the others.
“What are you working on?” I asked, finally directing my attention back to my father. His head was still bent over his latest project, indistinguishable muttering escaping his parted lips. At my words, he snapped his head up and widened his eyes.
“I didn’t see you there, boy.”
“You invited me inside,” I pointed out, amusedly.
He waved a hand in the air as if to say let bygones be bygones.
“What do you need?” He finally looked away from his stack of papers, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands over his stomach. He was muscular from long days in the gym...and my mother’s consistent harping about his weight. The one time he had grown a beer belly, my mom never let him hear the end of it.
“Any new information?” I asked. I hated how desperate that one question was. How pleading.
Father’s eyes dimmed slightly, a curtain being drawn closed. He shook his head once, and it felt as if he had punched me in the face.
“Only what I told you before. They’re up to something. This task isn’t what it appears to be.” His lip curled up distastefully. “Your mate is going to have to be extra careful.”
I gave him a decisive head bob, but my mind was already wandering. If what my dad said was true, and I thoroughly believed it was, Z was in danger. The task the Mermaid King had chosen for her was designed for her to fail.
Designed for her to die.
The thought had me clenching my fists and grinding my jaw against the onslaught of emotion.
With a heavy sigh, Father glanced back at his desk. He looked tired, disheveled, and unlike the impeccably dressed and put together man I knew.
“I don’t know what else to say,” he admitted tersely. “I don’t know exactly what they have planned...but I would keep an eye on her, son.” There was a short pause as he grabbed a pen, scribbling something on a ledger before glancing back up. His eyes were soft in what most would’ve considered a hard, glacial face. “Does she make you happy?”
The question took me by surprise, a physical blow that had me staggering back a step. My hand steadily unclenched, and my muscles relaxed. Thoughts of Z no longer aggravated me, worried me, but instead brought about a long forgotten sense of peace. I tried to keep the dopey smiles to a minimum though, and instead gave my father a brisk nod, face solemn.
“Yes.”
“Good. That’s good. You need some happiness...” Father trailed off as his eyes narrowed on the slip of paper. “That doesn’t make any sense? It should be less than that...”
As he began his usual mutterings, I realized I was excused. When I was younger, I had found his constant chatter embarrassing and confusing. Now, I only found it endearing to see the old man talk to himself as he sorted through a particularly hard problem.
I waited a moment longer, to see if he would once again acknowledge me, before slipping out of his office.
My thoughts traveled to what he had told me...or the lack of what he had said. I tried not to feel irritated, but it bled through anyway. How was I supposed to protect Z when I knew nothing about the threat?
Fuming, lost in my own thoughts, I pulled the shadows back around me and slid into my bedroom.
The room would give Z a run for her money. Weapons lined the walls, some of them dated to the before time while others were brand new. Swords, knives, spears, and even a couple of axes. Smirking at the collection that would make my girl orgasm, I grabbed twin swords off the wall and slung them over my back. They were my preferred choice of weapon, and I could wield them like an extension of my limbs.
There was a soft knock on my door.
Even with a wall separating us, I could feel her presence as if she was standing beside me. I fortified the shadows around me, making sure there wasn’t a crack in my barrier, before taking a deep breath.
I knew she would come for me, but I was hoping to delay the inevitable.
“I know you’re in there!” Her irate voice shattered the last of my resolve, and before I realized what I was doing, I had the door pulled open.
Z stood there, hands on her hips and a frown on her beautiful face. Like me, her body was adorned in weapons. A bow and arrow. A sword. And if I had to wager a guess, throwing knives up her
