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He had delved into my mind without my consent, taking information that wasn’t for him to feed his fucking master. That call, that move from him, was the pinnacle that led us to the caves and me and my friends into the Realm of Shadows with no way back.

Does he regret it?

Does it hurt him to know the amount of pain he’s caused?

Not just now, but all these years since he supposedly died.

He clears his throat as Raven and the guys shift on their feet. They surround me, waiting for me to decide how this will proceed.

“Father,” I grunt before he can speak first, and his onyx eyes bore into mine for a beat before he finds his voice.

“We need to talk.”

“I don’t believe we do,” I retort, and his gaze hardens.

“I’m not asking, Creed.”

My teeth grind together with anger, but despite the fury rising inside of me, I see the pleading in his eyes.

Fuck.

“Who knows that you’re here?”

“No one.” His response is quick, but not so quick that I can feel a lie. “You can check my mind if needed,” he offers, and it irritates me even more.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to throw some back-handed retort at him since he never gave me the chance to offer when the roles were reversed, but that’s not what right now is about. Glancing at Raven, I notice the uncertainty in her eyes as she instantly sees the wavering inside of me. Rising up on her tiptoes, she presses her lips to my ear as she whispers.

Each word holds power and strength, and my eyes fall closed as I absorb each one of them. Each syllable resonates inside of me as I take action, doing as she says, only blinking my eyes open when I feel the walls in my mind are firmly in place.

I don’t know who taught her this but thank fuck they did. Shit, I’m sure it’s something I should have known since mind power is my thing, but classes haven’t touched on the subject of warding our minds, and I’ve never figured it out for myself, either.

I can stand here and face this man without worrying he’s going to get in my head.

He can’t.

She takes a step back, slowly releasing my hand as I stand taller.

“I shouldn’t be more than five minutes. If it gets to ten, come get me.”

Locked in a stare-off with my father, I’m certain I’ve wasted the first five minutes already, neither one of us starting the much-needed conversation. But I’m standing here for him, not me. So if he wants to waste the entire time, then that’s on him.

As if sensing the mental step back I’m about to take, he swipes a hand down his face. “I’m sorry.”

His words hang heavily in the air, but he’s going to have to be a little more precise than that, and we both know it.

“What for?”

His head dips, his eyes unable to remain fixed on mine.

“For taking your thoughts without your permission,” he clarifies, and my eyebrows rise in surprise.

I wasn’t expecting him to acknowledge that he fucked up. It’s a start, I guess, but it doesn’t fill me with the confidence I wish I felt when I look at my father. The man who had been such an important part of my life as a child.

“Why are you here?” I ask, not wanting to let myself get distracted by his presence like I have every other time he’s spoken with me at the academy.

His gaze finds mine again and the despair is clear this time. “When you didn’t come back with Raven and Brax…” His words trail off, unable to finish that thought, and I snicker.

“Did you think I was dead just like we assumed you have been all this time?” I bite, beyond infuriated with this man, and he shakes his head. I don’t know whether it’s with disappointment or disbelief, but I push on before he can voice his feelings, desperate to drive the nail home on his actions and the damage they caused. “I don’t think you’ll ever understand what you did to us, to mother and me, the pain and terror you left in your wake. And for what? What do you gain from this?” I’m eager to fucking know, but once again, he shakes his head.