Page 11

Not that I meant to manipulate him per se, but it was the best way to make sure he knew what my true intentions were.

That I’d had sex in the bathroom too, well, that was a bonus and a secret.

“I often wish things were different,” he said. “Sometimes, I wish I could take you all to the movies, or out to dinner to a fancy restaurant.”

“So, why don’t you?”

“You know why.”

“Because we’re dangerous? Or humans are dangerous? We can keep our magic wands in our pants for a few hours, surely.”

“It’s not as easy as that, Beatrice. Some of them know we aren’t like them.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“There are humans out there who seem to feel that we’re different. They don’t know exactly why but they’ll look for an excuse to become aggressive, something as simple as looking at them ‘funny’. Those humans, at least any I have ever come across, have always lashed out at me—physically—like they wanted to destroy me.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. It’s as if some ancient instinct in their brain takes over, and they need to attack. The worst part is, it’s contagious. As soon as one of them comes for you, the others around join in. Suddenly, you’re faced with an angry mob of humans, your magic fails because of how many of them there are, and they beat you to death with their hands and feet.”

“Dad…”

“I’m not saying this to frighten you. Or maybe I am.”

“You’ve never told me this before.”

“Because I didn’t think you were ready for that knowledge, for that burden.”

“And you think I’m ready now?”

“No, but you’ve forced my hand. I don’t know how many times you’ve snuck out of the house, but it’s a miracle you haven’t come across one of these humans already.”

I paused, studying him carefully in the rearview. “Is this story true?”

His eyebrows pinched together. “What do you mean?”

“Other stories you’ve told me, stories of demons, and holy crusaders—stories about the Shadow War. Some of them are too fantastic for me to believe.”

“You don’t have to believe them. They’re facts.”

“How come I’ve never seen a demon before? Or run into one of these killer humans?”

“The Recondites and the Divergents have changed their ways, and the Codex Magica prevents the Diaboli family from dealing with demons. As for the humans, it’s honestly blind luck. Beatrice, I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to you or your brother.”

“Nothing’s going to happen to me, dad. You can loosen the iron grip sometimes… Max and I are fine.”

“I’m sure I could… but not tonight. You are in a world of trouble.”

“Max had nothing to do with this. It was all my idea.”

“Oh, I know who the brains of this operation was; trust me, you’ll get the full extent of my punishment. Now, hand over your aunt’s amulet.”

Fuck.

He knew.

He knew all along.