"It's not my fault you married somebody so fragile."
She shook her head. "So much for searching for the perfect man, huh? I don't think he exists."
"I could have told you that."
Her smile widened. "So young and so cynical already. Just like your good old mom."
I was silent for a moment. "Is that why you've been married so many times? Because you're trying to find somebody perfect? Maybe that's why you write romance novels."
"Are you trying to be my shrink? Because my messed-up love life could use some analyzing."
"What about my father?" I asked. There was no time to beat around the bush. I had to learn everything I could about him as fast as possible before something even worse happened than breaking Robert's arm.
Her mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?"
"Tell me about him. You always avoid the topic, but I really want to know. I need to know. Was he the perfect man?"
She stiffened. "Your father left me."
"I know that part already. But who was he? What did he look like? Was he nice or was he a jerk like Robert? Was there anything… unusual about him?"
Like, was he a demon from another dimension? I thought. That was unusual. Very unusual.
She shook her head. "Your father was… I thought he was the love of my life. But I was wrong. I was young when I met him. I didn't know any different."
That much I knew. My mother had been in her teens when she gave birth to me. She was only thirty-four years old now, which seemed old to me, but I knew it wasn't. Some people even mistook us for sisters.
"Your father," she continued, "took a few classes with me my first year at college. We hit it off. Went out a few times. Obviously we got a little too close too soon and I became pregnant with you. Then he left and I never saw him again. I'm sorry, Nikki, but the story isn't terribly romantic. You'll have to read one of my books if you want a happy ending."
I concentrated on everything she was saying, trying to pick out something that might help me understand. So far, nothing. "But his name was definitely Desmond."
She nodded, her face clouding over with emotion. "That's right."
"Did you love him?"
A single tear slipped down her cheek. "I did."
My heart clenched. "Where did he go?"
"I don't know." She wiped a hand across her face and looked at me sternly. For a second she didn't look beautiful, she looked tired and sad. "It was a long time ago. I've since learned that true love only exists in fiction. The sooner you accept that, Nikki, the happier you'll be in your life. Love only brings pain and disappointment."
"And men like Robert," I finished.
Her expression hardened. "Seems like it, doesn't it?"
"Are you going to leave him? Are you going to move us across the country again?"
"You'll be the first one to know what I decide, okay? I promise." She let out a long sigh. "Now, if you want dinner, there's some pasta and sauce in the kitchen. I think I'm going to my office to work for a while."
Before I could say another word, she stood and left my room.
She didn't know that my father was a demon. She couldn't possibly know.
Robert didn't come back. Not that I heard, anyway. I forced down some dinner even though I wasn't hungry and then I watched TV even though I couldn't concentrate and ended up just flipping channels. My mother's bedroom light was out by ten o'clock.
I waited until ten thirty before I quietly descended the stairs and slipped out the front door. I started walking down the street, not paying any attention to where I was going.
It had started to snow again and I pulled my coat tighter around me.
I figured it would only take a minute or- "Princess, what are you doing out? It's not safe." — even less before he showed up.
I suppressed the smile that wanted to appear and turned to look at Michael. His dark eyebrows knitted together with concern.
"I'm curious," I said. "What's with the Van Halen T-shirt, anyway?"
He looked surprised by the question and glanced down at his shirt. "When I knew I was coming to the human realm I made sure I found some suitable clothes to wear. Isn't this okay?"
"Maybe twenty years ago. But it's fine, really." I was quiet for a moment. "Is it different here than where you're from?"
"The Shadowlands?" He glanced around the cold, dark street. "It's definitely different."
"How?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Fewer demons here."
I exhaled shakily at that. "So, are you ready to take me to see my father?" I was surprised at how confident I sounded. "Let's go now before I chicken out."
"Are you serious?"
I looked at him. "You're arguing with me?" "No… of course not." He gave me one of his devastating smiles. "He'll be very pleased to see you."
"Probably not after I've had my say."
Michael eyed me for a moment. "So you're not afraid?"
I contemplated how to answer that and decided on the truth. "I'm scared beyond belief. But I don't think I can avoid it anymore."
"Did something bad happen? Did your powers manifest?"
"Still not liking those words much." I had a Technicolor flashback of what I'd forever mentally refer to as the "incident." "But, you could say that. I broke my mother's husband's arm like it was a twig."
His eyes widened at my admission. "Your strength has increased. That's to be expected, of course."
I crossed my arms tightly in front of me. "And my eyes turned red."
He put his hands on either side of my face, pushing my long hair back, and stared into my eyes. I inhaled sharply at how close we now were and it reminded me of our almost-kiss in the alleyway. "They're back to normal."