Chapters (55)
He blinked, taken aback. I could just discern his face—the face of a forty-seven-year-old man who I had implicitly trusted—as a nearby lamp limned us with faint light.
“What?”
“You heard me,” I snapped.
“I have no idea what you mean, Clem.”
“It’s Anna. And you do know, Ambrose.” I drew my hair away from my neck, so he could see the bruises.
The shock and fury on his face were electrifying. My father reached for me but I evaded him, my stomach knotting. I was going to be sick. I was shaking, fuming. My anger was so keen it felt like I might break apart.
“Did he do this?” he demanded, his voice trembling.
“No, Phelan did not do this to me. You did. Last night.”
“Last night?” he whispered, bewildered, and then he realized it had been the new moon. “Wait a minute, Clem. Wait!”
But I had already taken a step away from him. When he moved to follow, I held up my hand and he halted.
“Where did you get the armor? What spells are you casting to step into the dreams? Why did you wound Phelan twice? Why are you disguising your face?”
He stared at me as if I had lost my mind. I felt trapped in an upside-down world with him, one where nothing made sense, and all I could hear was my own uneven pulse, beating like a drum in my ears.
“I have no idea what you speak of, Clem!”
My eyes burned with angry tears. “I know you’re wearing a glamour. One that makes you look far older than you are. And I want you to stay away from me, in both worlds. The waking as well as the new moon realm. Stay away from Mama and Imonie. Do not come near me or Phelan again, or I will have the duke eviscerate you. Do you hear me?”
“Daughter, please,” he said, stepping nearer to me. “Explain to me what happened. Did you see me in a dream?”
For a moment, I almost believed him, that he had no recollection of last night. But I wouldn’t be deceived by him and his act.
“Don’t come any closer to me!” I warned. “Did you not hear me? I don’t trust you. You are vile and deceptive and I want no part of you.”
I turned and began to stride away.
“Clem! Clem!” he shouted, which only fueled my anger as he recklessly exposed my cover.
I gathered my stealth charm about me, slipping from his reach and his sight. And yet I couldn’t resist. I glanced over my shoulder to see my father on his knees in the street, dazed as if I had just given him a mortal wound.