Page 32 of The Immortal’s Curse (Bound to the Immortals #2)

DARCIE

Hours later, the front door creaks open. A thud is followed by Dad’s warm voice, “Happy birthday, sweetheart!”

He rounds the corner holding a bouquet of bright lilies—my favorite.

“Hey, Dad,” I fake a carefree smile and move away from the back window where I’d been sullenly staring out at the falling snow and walk into his open arms.

He squeezes tight. “Oh, man. It’s good to see you. I’ve missed you.”

Emotion thickens my throat. “I’ve missed you, too.”

Right then and there, I almost tell him everything. That Immortals are real. That rebels attacked me in Portland last night. How vampires exist…

But the words lodge in my throat, tangled in fear.

If I tell Dad the truth, and if he believes me, he’ll want to help. He’ll want to get involved. But every instinct I have screams that if he does, he’ll only get hurt.

So I stay quiet and struggle to battle the guilt slicing through my chest like a knife .

He pulls back, eyes shining, and fumbles in his coat pocket. “Before I forget… here.”

I blink as he presses a tiny velvet box into my hand, adorned with a pretty white bow.

I open it.

Inside rests a delicate silver heart pendant, swirled with tiny, elegant patterns, six minuscule diamonds scattered across the curves like stars.

My breath catches. “It’s beautiful.”

“It was your mom’s,” he says gently. “She left it behind for you. I thought… maybe you’d like to have it now.”

The knot in my throat swells until it chokes me. I don’t want her things. I don’t want the reminder of someone who walked away. Still, the weight of Dad’s hopeful expression presses against me, and I can only nod like I’m grateful.

With a smile, Dad takes the necklace. I turn, and he fastens it around my neck. When his hands fall away, I turn back around.

Emotion warms his eyes as he takes me in. “Perfect.”

I clutch the pendant, swallowing the unkind words clawing up my throat. “Thank you.”

His smile grows, unaware of my inner turmoil, and guides me into the kitchen. “Now, how about some breakfast?”

My forced smile strains at the corners. “Breakfast sounds great.”

I perch on a stool at the kitchen island, pretending calm while Dad whisks pre-made pancake batter with milk and eggs. The scrape of the metal against the bowl fills the silence I’m too afraid to break. He pours the first round onto the skillet, the sizzle sharp in the air.

He talks while he works, his voice warm and animated. He tells me about the publishing deal he scored in New York and his editor’s reaction to the book. He sounds alive in a way I haven’t heard in months.

He slides a plate of golden, steaming pancakes in front of me. “So,” he says, flipping another onto his own plate, “how’s Kevin?”

“Good.” I cut into the stack, then swiftly change the subject. “Classes have been crazy, though. Professor Vance assigned this massive essay on symbolism, and then I’ve got exams piling up. It’s like all the professors want to drown us at the same time.”

Dad chuckles and sits beside me. I offer the syrup. He pours it over his pancakes. “Sounds brutal. When do you work next at Bean Bazaar?”

I glance at my plate, careful not to meet his eyes. “Uh, the schedule doesn’t come out until tomorrow.” The lie slips out smooth, practiced.

There’s no way I’m ever going to work for Alex again.

Dad nods, satisfied, and takes a bite. “What about last night? Did you and Kayla go out?”

I shift in my seat, pretending to check my phone. “We just got drinks and then went to see a movie,” I say lightly. “Nothing exciting.”

The conversation drifts after that, but my chest feels tight. Every answer is a half-truth or evasion. And I hate every second of it.

For months, Dad was a shadow of himself, trying to pretend everything was fine after his cancer diagnosis. Now, thanks to Lome, he’s whole again. Healthy. Happy. I can’t steal that from him. I won’t. Not unless I absolutely have to.

We finish eating, and I offer to help clean up, but Dad refuses. While he stores the leftover batter and does the dishes, I wander into the living room and sink into the couch. My hands clench in my lap, staring at the blank TV screen, my thoughts raging in my head.

Any second now, one of the Immortals could walk through that door and take me back to Greece. I’m not na?ve enough to believe that I can continue to stay away from them. Not after last night. Not after learning I’m supposedly cursed .

“Darcie?”

I tilt my head to rest on the back of the sofa and blink. My dad’s frown comes into focus. “Yeah?”

Worried eyes scan my face. “Is everything okay?”

No.

“Of course.”

“Are you sure?” He rounds the couch and sits next to me. “You look pale, and you’ve been staring at that TV for a while now…”

I bite my cheek, debating what to say. I could claim to be sick and hide away in my room. But I haven’t seen him in weeks. I don’t want to miss this time together. I have no idea how long it will last.

“Is this about Kevin?”

My eyebrows shoot up. “What?”

Dad clears his throat, gaze fixed on the blank TV screen like it’s suddenly the most fascinating thing in the room. “ I…uh, I noticed you didn’t seem to want to talk about Kevin during breakfast,” he says carefully. “And you didn’t mention if he went out with you and Kayla last night.”

Probably for the best, considering we were attacked by rebels and saved by vampires.

“Relationships are hard, sweetheart,” he adds, still not looking at me. “I just want to make sure you’re alright.”

Tension seeps out of my shoulders. This is at least something I can be honest about.

“I think I’m going to break up with Kevin,” I confess.

“Really?” Dad turns, surprise flickering across his face. “Is there a reason?”

I chew my cheek. “There are a couple of reasons, actually.”

He nods but doesn’t pry. Oddly enough, his silence motivates me to say more.

“Things with Kevin just aren’t what I thought they’d be,” I admit. “I mean, we’ve known each other forever. I thought dating would be easy. And it is. But it’s not...”

I trail off, trying to find the word.

“Right?” Dad offers gently.

I nod.

Des’s face flashes in my mind. His voice. His eyes. That stormy, impossible presence of his. But I shove it all down. Hard .

“Hm.” Dad leans back into the couch, crossing one leg over the other in that calm-professor way he always does when thinking something through. “That’s tough.”

“Yeah.” I slump into the cushion beside him. “It is.”

He slips an arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side. I let him. His chin rests lightly on the top of my head.

“You know,” he says, his voice quieter now, “this situation reminds me of your mom.”

I stiffen. “It does?”

He nods against my hair. “Mhmm.”

Dad never talks about Mom. Like… ever .

Out of loyalty to the man who raised me, I rarely ask about the woman who gave me life and then abandoned me a few short years later. I’ve seen only a few pictures of her. They’re tucked away in Dad’s nightstand.

But now he’s bringing her up out of nowhere?

I always thought talking about her would make him sad. But right now… he sounds… I don’t know. Wistful?

I have to know more.

“How does this remind you of mom?”

“Before she met me, she was in a failing relationship, too.”

I frown. I wouldn’t say Kevin and I are failing. We just… never had a chance. Not since I met the Immortals. Not since Des.

“What do you mean?”

Dad takes a deep breath, chest rising slowly. “Your mom was dating someone she’d known her whole life. From what she told me, everyone figured they’d end up together. So, as a teenager, that’s exactly what she tried to make happen.”

I sit up, turning toward him. “Then, what? She met you and dumped the guy?”

A smirk curves his lips. “Pretty much.”

My eyebrows shoot up. “Seriously?”

He chuckles. “Don’t look so shocked. Your old man wasn’t always a middle-aged guy with a dad bod. I had some charm back in the day.”

“That’s not what I meant,” I say, rolling my eyes. “I just meant… did it really happen that fast? She meets you and boom , she ditches the childhood sweetheart?”

His smile softens, eyes drifting to some distant memory. “We were friends for a while before anything happened, but yeah. Once it did, it moved fast.”

“Oh.” I look away, clearing my throat. “That’s… nice.”

The story would be romantic if I didn’t know it ended with my mother gone and the two of us left behind.

“It was,” he says, smile lingering. “I don’t regret a single moment I had with her. Especially not since she gave me you.”

My throat tightens. I press my lips together, unsure what to say. How can he look so happy talking about her? She left us. Is he just remembering the good parts? Has he forgotten the heartbreak?

Before I can ask or change the subject?—

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The sound crashes through my head like a gunshot. My heart lurches, and my head whips to the door.

No.

The Immortals can’t be here yet.

I’m not ready to go.

“Is that for you?” Dad asks after a beat.

My hands shake. “I-I don’t know. ”

“I’ll get it.” He moves to stand.

“No!” My hand lands on his shoulder. “I’ll get it.”

If it is the Immortals, I can beg them to give me more time, to let me at least spend the day with Dad.

He settles back on the couch, shooting me a curious look. “Okay… holler if you need me.”

“I will.”

My body doesn’t feel like my own as I stand and move to the front door, my heart racing. My fingers wrap around the door handle. I take a deep breath and rotate my wrist.

A gasp flies past my lips.

Kevin.

Relief floods my veins, but it’s swiftly replaced with discomfort. With all that happened, I haven’t stopped to think about what I will say to Kevin the next time I see him.

I have to end things, but now that he’s standing on my porch, bundled against the frigid winter air, looking at me with such a broad smile, I don’t know what to do.

“Hey, Darcie! Happy Birthday.” He leans in for a kiss. I barely manage to turn my head so his lips land on my cheek.

“Thanks.” I swallow and step back. “What are you doing here?”