Chapter 53

Luthor stares at the window behind my head, the moon high in the sky, “We met on a mission of hers, she was supposed to kill me.” he laughs a little as he recalls the memory. “But it never happened. I was too strong for her, but i didn’t want to hurt her either, so i knocked her unconscious and i took her home with me. Something the wife i had at the time wasn’t thrilled about.”
I scoff, sceptical, “So what, you raped her and got her pregnant? Is that what happened?”
I swear to god if i am a rape baby I'm going to scream, and then I'm going to fucking kill him.
His eyes widen with rage, “Of course not, i did nothing like that, not until she asked me for it.”
I scoff again, crossing my arms, “I don’t believe you, my mum would never...”
I stop before i can sig myself a hole, because in truth, i know very little about my mother and what she would do.
She died when i was small, and i missed out on everything a daughter should have from the woman in her life. I was raised by warriors, i had no time to play. Not after she left me.
“I know this is hard for you to believe.” he says, slowly leaning forward, “But we eventually fell in love, and i let her go, i didn’t know she was pregnant, not until she had already vanished.”
“You think that the council had something to do with that?” Mihai asks, taking the question right out of my mouth.
He rubs circles down my back, trying to keep my calm. But it’s harder than i thought to listen to this, i wanted to know, i have always wanted to know.
But now I'm thinking that maybe it should be left in the dark. Maybe it is a story i shouldn’t hear. Not when my emotions are so wild.
“I know that they took her, they hid her for the entire pregnancy, and then i heard about her death, but i never knew what became of the child.” He turns to me, “I didn’t know you were alive, otherwise i would have come for you.”
“And you expect me to believe that?” i ask, rage consuming me and covering my mind like a blanket of anger. “You are supposed to me a powerful Nati lord and you couldn’t even find your own child?”
“The hunter council are powerful, and they have endless resources thanks to their connections with the government. It wasn’t easy to get any information back then.” he looks genuinely guilty as he shakes his head, leaning back in the chair with a thud. “I tried for years, but it was only when Mihai contacted me that i knew the truth.” his eyes darken a little. “Lisa never told me that she already had children. She didn’t even mention the man who raised them. I thought she was all alone.”
I haven’t heard anyone speak my mother’s name in years, it seems so strange to know it, but not know the person that it belongs to.
She hid so much, from everyone.
Maybe he really did know nothing of my brothers, or Nathanial. Because even know that seems like the hardest part to believe, he looks so genuine. He looks like a man who lost everything. Just like me.
I want to ask more questions, i want to know everything he does, but i don’t think that now is the time. He's vulnerable, and i don’t want to make him angry.
“Why is everyone so scared of you?” i blurt out, instantly regretting it when i see the darkness of his eyes.
He looks behind me at Mihai, holding his stare as Mihai speaks, his tone cold, “He’s known as the bloody Luthor.”
“What does that mean exactly?” i ask, glancing between them.
“For the last twenty years i have done all i can to avenge your mother, and I've killed so many of them. Even the children.” He runs a hand through his hair, “I like to rip hunter’s apart and leave their blood in pools beneath them and then i hang what is left, just like they did to Lisa.”
Oh. I shouldn’t have asked. I didn’t need to know that.
But I'm not angry about it, he was avenging the woman who he loved, and the child that he thought was lost. Can anyone truly call that evil? Because i would call it loyalty.
“You did all that for my mother?” i ask, tears sliding down my cheeks.
I didn’t want to look weak, not in front of a killer, but the fact he spent all these years trying to take down the council because they killed her tears me apart in a way that i can’t explain.
My brothers would have never done that, she was always a traitor to them. Sean once said that they should have made her suffer, that hanging was too easy. I broke his arm that day, and he never spoke about her again. Not around me.
“No, i did it for the both of you.” he smiles, “And i would do it all again if it would lead me to this exact moment.” he laughs a little, “You have the same fire in your eyes as she did.”
Pain strikes at my chest, my breath choking me. I cough, and gasp, and cry. Nathanial always said i was too much like her, that i was weak to the pains of the heart. So i grew colder.
I turned off the parts of me that wanted to feel, and i hid them deep inside of me where only i could get to them.
I swat at my face, trying to move the tears, “Why are you telling me all of this? Why did you come here?”
I shouldn’t cry, not weakness. Not in front of anyone.
Weakness is dangerous. It can get you killed.
“Because you are my youngest child, and you are coming of age, it is tradition for me to be present during your ceremony.” he stands, “I’ll be back in twenty-four hours, and we will prepare. You will take my blood and become who you were born to be. You are my daughter, and your gift will be strong. I have no doubt about it.”
“But I'm only half Nati.” I say, frowning.
I'll be much weaker than anyone else.
“You are my daughter, you have strength in your blood.” he turns to Mihai, “I will leave my personal guard here to watch over her safety. I expect you to treat him with respect.”
Mihai nods, but his hands tighten on my hips, “he will be treated the same as any of my other staff.” he lies.
Luthor takes one last look at me before he turns to leave, a softness in his eyes that i never expected to see.
I thought he would rip me away from Mihai, but instead he has left me here, with a guard. Perhaps he trusts that i am safe. Or perhaps he is waiting for the right time to take me away form this place.
But that will not happen. I am going nowhere. Mihai is my home. My comfort.
He was there for me when no one else was, and i know he will protect me, even if it means his own demise.
We are one, and no one, not even my father, can stop us from being together.