Page 16

16

CALLIOPE

T he power hadn’t fully left me. It hummed under my skin like a second pulse, just quieter now that the danger had passed. “Whatever had been buried in my blood is wide awake now.”

Adan cradled me against his chest, his arms holding me together as my body trembled with the aftershocks of the power I’d unleashed. His lips brushed my temple, murmuring something low and soothing, but the words didn’t register. Not over the ringing in my ears and the thrum of something wild still singing through my blood.

“And it’s a beautiful thing,” he murmured against the top of my head.

I stayed in his arms, our breathing ragged in the quiet. The assassin was gone, but the storm still flickered outside. Adan’s hands were still burning, but hellfire didn’t scare me. It felt as though it belonged to me…like he did.

I’d just helped defeat a supernatural assassin. Me.

I tightened my grip on Adan’s bare shoulders, grounding myself in the now-steady rhythm of his breathing. I could still smell smoke and ozone, but beneath the lingering scents from our battle was all him—leather, dark spice, and heat.

Just as I was ready to celebrate the fact that we had survived, the air shifted again. My spine stiffened, and Adan cursed softly under his breath as shadows thickened at the edge of the shattered atrium. The space hadn’t even settled from the battle, but something new was already pressing against it.

Two presences bled through the remaining wards, and a voice echoed across the broken atrium. “Looks like my daughter saved your ass, Deville.”

Adan exhaled sharply but didn’t loosen his hold on me. “Your timing’s impeccable, as always.”

Two figures stepped into the fractured light. I recognized Abaddon instantly but not the other man.

His presence wasn’t oppressive like Adan’s father’s. It was raw and fierce. He moved like thunder, and his hair looked like windswept smoke. His armor was traced in cobalt and pale gold. He was both beautiful and terrible.

And he had the same storm-kissed eyes as me now that my power had awakened. Pale green, edged in silver.

He tilted his head. “I’ll give your mother credit where it’s due. She made something extraordinary.”

My knees might have buckled if Adan hadn’t still had an arm wrapped around my waist. “You’re?—”

“Typhon.” His mouth curved but not into what I’d call a smile. “Your father.”

“Not sure you can call yourself that when you’re just meeting the girl,” Abaddon muttered with a shake of his head.

Adan shifted to my side, keeping his arm around my shoulders as we faced our fathers. “Never thought I’d see the day you’d be handing out parenting advice.”

Abaddon didn’t seem bothered by the insult. He just shrugged it off. Which was as it should be, considering the stories Adan had shared with me of what his life was like growing up. The things his father had asked him to do were inhuman, even for demons.

Typhon ignored their byplay, and his gaze slid back to me. “You’ve done well for yourself, daughter. Though I can’t say I’m thrilled that your mating bond is with his bloodline.”

His chin jerked toward Abaddon, and the disdain in his voice wasn’t subtle.

Abaddon crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t let your petty jealousies cloud your judgment. You have no reason to complain.”

Typhon snorted, the faintest curl of wind stirring around his boots. “Your boy waited until after the assassin came to brand his mate.” He glared at Adan. “Did your father teach you nothing about how demon matings work?”

“I didn’t forget.” Adan’s arm tightened around me. “I waited because she deserved time to breathe before the world started demanding things from her. Including me.”

Typhon’s gaze sharpened, and something ancient flickered behind his storm-touched eyes. “And now that she’s awakened? You think she’s ready?”

I lifted my chin and huffed, “I’m more than ready for you to stop speaking as though I’m not standing right here.”

Typhon’s lips curved into a pleased smile. “Tell me then…are you ready to become Adan’s mate?”

I tilted my head back to look up at the man who’d stolen my heart. “I thought I already was.”

“You are, baby.” He claimed my mouth in a deep kiss, not caring that our fathers were watching. “We just need to complete the bond so you’ll be officially recognized as mine in the supernatural world.”

“Sweet words, but she hasn’t been branded yet.” Typhon stretched a hand out to me. “You’re unmarked. Unbound. I could take you with me if you wanted. Let you learn what your bloodline is truly capable of, away from this place.”

“The Abyss is her place,” Adan growled. “And she’s not going anywhere.”

Typhon quirked a brow. “That’s not your decision.”

“No,” I said, stepping between them. “It’s mine.”

Both demons stilled.

“I’m not going anywhere. The Abyss is my home now. With Adan.” My heart thundered, but my voice didn’t shake. “I’m more than ready for whatever we need to do to complete the bond.”

“You heard the girl.” Abaddon laughed and slapped Typhon on the shoulder in a gesture strong enough to knock down a lesser man. “Though I’m guessing you wished you hadn’t, considering what they’ll be doing soon.”

I wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but I didn’t let my confusion show on my expression because I didn’t want to give my father another reason to push for me to leave. After our battle with the assassin, the last thing Adan and I needed was to take on the powerful demon who’d gotten my mother pregnant.

“There’s your answer. You had twenty years to find Calliope and claim her as your daughter. I won’t let her be taken from me now.”

Typhon didn’t flinch at Adan’s words. He just looked at me. There was something in his expression I hadn’t expected to see—regret.

“Now that I’ve seen how you are together, I won’t try to take her,” he said finally, his voice quieter than before. “But I had to come and see for myself what kind of power my blood passed down. And to make sure she survived her awakening.”

The tension in Adan’s frame didn’t ease, but he didn’t interrupt my father.

“I owe you an explanation, Calliope. For not being there. For letting you grow up without knowing what you were.”

I swallowed, unsure what to say. I hadn’t expected an apology from him. Or anything, really.

“My mother said she never knew your name,” I managed. “Just that you were beautiful, mysterious—and gone by morning.”

His mouth twitched. “That sounds about right.”

Anger stirred, but not the kind that burned. It was more like a cold ache that had been waiting quietly beneath my skin. “You could have found me. But you didn’t even try, did you?”

“I did, but I waited too long,” he admitted. “By the time I realized your mother had carried my child, she was already gone.”

My breath caught. “From cancer, but she passed away two years ago.”

Typhon nodded slowly. “I know. I saw her burial but from a distance.”

The ache bloomed sharper. “Why didn’t you come then?”

“Because I didn’t feel like I had the right,” he explained, raking his fingers through his hair. “I’m not used to being anything less than confident, but seeing you, I had no clue what to do. How to tell you who I was without terrifying you.”

His explanation wasn’t enough to ease my pain. “You didn’t give me the chance to decide.”

“I didn’t, and I’m sorry for that,” he conceded with an apologetic smile. “I never expected to have a child. I’ve lived longer than you can imagine without a fated mate, and offspring with anyone else is almost unheard of in our world.”

I looked up at Adan, and he nodded, confirming that what my father said was true.

“I won’t pretend I know how to be a father, but I am your blood. I’d like to be part of your life now, if you’ll let me.”

I stared at Typhon, searching for some false note behind the words. But all I saw was a man who had made too many mistakes and didn’t want to make another.

Adan didn’t speak, but he laced our fingers together, anchoring me.

“I don’t know what having a father looks like,” I admitted. “But I’m willing to try.”

Typhon’s posture softened. “Then we’ll start from here. And if you ever want help exploring your storm born gifts, I’d like to be the one to help you understand them.”

My pulse kicked up at the promise, but I didn’t back away. “Deal.”

Typhon gave me one final glance before turning toward the shattered archway. “You chose well, daughter. He may be Abaddon’s son…but I can see he’d burn the world down for you.”

Then he disappeared into the wind.