Page 127 of Solar Shadows

He pulled me into a hug. “Stop now.”

I hugged him so hard it became a crush.

“Can’t breathe!” he wheezed.

“Sorry.” I broke off, ruffling his hair. “How are you holding up?”

He dipped his head. “Struggling with the Dad thing.”

My chest clenched. “I know. I’m sorry we haven’t discussed this yet.”

We climbed onto the bed, sitting side by side again. He looked up at the window, the curtains drawn against the night, another downpour coming down hard.

“Drake still can’t find him,” he said, lifting his legs up, resting his chin on his knees. “And the Kingwoods have vanished off the radar again, back in their hovel.”

“Just another day in the land of bullshit,” I responded.

If Daniel, the Kingwoods, and Preston were all missing, that meant the shadow witches might have our father locked up somewhere. Unless he was biding his time in the hideout, ready to strike.

Why does he care so much?I thought.

There were some daddy issues ready to be dealt with. I wanted to talk to him too, to ask him why he chose to keep Riley but not me and Preston.

Oh, and kick the shit out of him for killing my little brother.

I wriggled my spine against the pillow, sitting up straighter with my legs crossed.

“I love him so much, even if he did kill me,” Riley said.

That hit me hard in the heart with an iron fist.

“I just want to talk to him,” he added.

“Oh, honey.”

He titled his head to face me, his left cheek now resting on his knees. “How are you feeling about everything?”

“Confused as fuck.”

Daniel had helped me with Tony, which did count for something, I guess. But Hecate only knew how he’d found me when Drake couldn’t break through Tony’s magic initially.

There were answers to get, along with all the others still hidden in a murky pond.

Ugh.

Tony. Tony. Tony. Loved me, did he? I supposed he did. Gutting me like that could be considered a crime of passion. And I was passionate about committing many crimes on him.

Just fucking wait…

I wasn’t sure what would happen with Blood House now. I’d told Erin, and she said she would deal with it.

I couldn’t deal with it. The speed of the massacre, the dust, the way my face would have been the last thing they saw, sat stagnate inside me. Toxic, ready to drown me in grief.

Even though technically I hadn’t killed them, that didn’t matter. My body and magic still played their parts.

Riley’s sigh came as a welcome distraction.

His eyes regarded me with his usual softness, fanned by his long lashes. “There’s more.”