Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
I exchange a wince with Hanna, which makes her father gasp.
“No,” he cries out. “No, you didn’t marry him.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell him, biting back a grin. “But you are, in fact, my father-in-law now.”
He’s about to spring to his feet again, but Hanna keeps him down.
“We didn’t get married under the best terms,” she tells him. “And it wasn’t always easy, but it’s much easier now.”
His nose wrinkles. “I don’t understand. How can you call marriage to the God of Death easy?”
“I don’t know,” she says, and something cold and calculating gleams in her eyes. “I mean, marriage is hard, isn’t it? Sure, I was forced into marriage with Tuoni, but at least it was honest. At least there were no lies between us.” She pauses, and I can tell she’s going in for the kill. “At least Tuoni is a good husband, not one who goes off and impregnates both a demon and the goddess of the sun.”
If I thought I felt sorry for Torben earlier, I really feel for him now. Granted, this is his mess that he created, and it’s a big fucking mess when you consider what both of those offspring are doing right now in the Underworld. Still, it must be hard to realize you’ve fucked up that badly.
“What…what are you…” he begins.
“There is no point pretending with her, Torben,” I warn him. “She’s smart, and she’s rightfully upset by your hypocrisy, as am I.”
“You?” he cries out. “Why should you be upset? None of this concerns you.”
I laugh, the sound dry and mirthless. “Oh, but that’s where you’re so very wrong. You see, it was because of your careless indiscretions that the two of us are here to begin with. We aren’t in your world by choice. We stumbled here trying to find a way out of Inmost, because your dark magic daughter, the one you created and discarded with the help of my ex-wife, whom you know intimately, and your bastard, red-headed son, decided that now was a good a time as any to try and kill the both of us and raise the Old Gods.”
Torben’s brows go up to the ceiling, his fingers curling around the arms of his chair. “What?” He looks to Hanna, shaking his head. “I don’t…”
“What are you denying?” Hanna asks. “The bastard, or the abandoned magic baby?”
He swallows, looking pained. “The bastard.”
She looks over at me. I nod, giving her the floor. Since he doesn’t know, he should hear it from his daughter.
“Rasmus,” Hanna says to him. “Your son is Rasmus.”
He blinks in shock. “No. He can’t be.”
“I’m sure if you look deep inside, you’ll know it’s true,” she says gently. “Perhaps you’ve always suspected in some way, in your heart.”
“But…how?”
I sigh and lean forward with my elbows on my thighs. “You’re asking how? Allow me to explain to you how a particularly demonic woman can be especially good at seduction.” Hanna stiffens at that, and I wink at her. “Fear not, fairy girl, I’m not singing her praises. Her demon ways also allow her to be adept with magic. Some magic is irresistible to a Shaman. Isn’t that why you often came to Tuonela, Torben? For the magic? Well, Louhi worked her magic on you.”
Fear passes over his face, distorting his features. “No.”
“Yes,” I tell him emphatically. “Rasmus is your son. Louhi gave birth to him thirty years ago and had him deposited in this world. And because the Creator and the Fates have a sense of humor, you took a baby created with shadow magic and deposited it in my world. Speaking father to father, you’re not doing that great of a job at it, are you?”
“And what of you?” he scowls at me. “You think you’re coming across as someone worthy of respect? Someone with morals? You kidnapped me.”
“You were trespassing,” I tell him sharply. “And perhaps I should have kidnapped you a long time ago, if not to teach you a lesson so you wouldn’t mess with the gods like you have.”
“You’re a monster,” he sneers.
“I am what I am,” I counter. “Sometimes, I am a monster. Sometimes, I’m a father, a god, a king…a husband. Sometimes, I am just trying to do the right thing, and that’s why we’re here. Because I need to do the right thing, or else the entire world will be in jeopardy.”
“And that’s why we need your help,” Hanna says to him. “Papa, I know you have your misgivings about what happened between you and Tuoni, with me and Tuoni, but we have to put that aside for now. We need you to take us to the portal, the one by the resort, the way I got in. We need to get back home.”
He stares at her for a moment, heartbreak in his eyes. “But this is your home, Hanna.”