Page 76 of Deceiver

“Once. While her name was never given, it was clear to me that it was the Queen of the Underworld.”

My thoughts stutter while I absorb that. “Persephone?”

Wilder smiles. “The very same. In fact, it’s rumored that it was her who put the Soul Chasers together.”

“Wow. Okay.”

“Anyway, back to the Horror.” Wilder pats my hand. “It will be contained for eternity. It will lose any autonomy and exist in a cage, aware of its plight but unable to alter it. There is no worse punishment.”

I nod, picking at the cuticle on my thumb. “I think it’s true, Wilder. I think my dad really killed people. He said it was a demon, but…” I shake my head. “If the thing talking to me tonight was ever a part of him, then he did everything the cops said he did.”

Wilder searches my eyes. “How do you feel knowing that?”

I scoff. “How do I feel being the son of a serial killer? Pretty fucking bad.”

“Apologies. I didn’t mean to sound callous.”

“You didn’t. I guess I thought knowing would heal something or settle it. I think I hoped so much that it wasn’t true so I couldremember him differently, but those were the hopes of the little abandoned boy still inside me. I wanted him to be better than he ever was. He was a bad father and a terrible human.”

Tears stream down my cheeks, but I’m too wounded to be embarrassed.

“He…ittried to make me kill someone tonight.”

Wilder’s expression softens as he reaches out to rub my arm in comfort. I kind of want to crawl in his arms and cry my eyes out, but his touch is a good reminder for me to breathe.

“I’m sorry but I have to tell you something else.”

I lift my gaze. “What?”

“Before you came to, do you think it’s possible there were events you can’t recall?”

“Like what?”

Wilder’s brow creases. “Like hurting Talon and Mercy.”

“How would I know? Why are you asking me that?”

“They were attacked earlier today.”

My jaw drops. “Fuck,” I whisper.

“No one has been arrested yet, and I doubt that will happen. I feared when you disappeared that the Horror would hurt you or…” He pauses, as his jaw twitches.

“Make me hurt someone else,” I finish. “It tried. What if it had control over me before I remember?”

“There isn’t much we can do. I asked in case it triggered a memory for you.”

Shaking my head, I laugh darkly. “I haven’t missed the irony of any of this. I wanted a father so badly I brought this nightmare to life.”

“No.” Wilder takes my hand. “It’s not your fault it exploited you. That’s what they do. It’s their whole angle. They can’t get back to this realm without assistance.”

“I should’ve let it lie. I should’ve just accepted what the reports said. I should’ve loved my life the way it was.”

“These kinds of thoughts aren’t productive. It won’t change anything. There are a thousand things in my life I should’ve done differently, but I did what I did. All of them brought me here. With you.”

“The highlight of your year, I’m sure.”

Wilder tilts his head, searching my eyes in a way that makes me feel naked and vulnerable.