“You should.” Xev crossed his arms over his chest as he continued to glare at Menyara. “Your conception and birth were no accident, Nick. Your entire existence was a trap set for your father.”

That had better be a joke. “Excuse me?”

Nodding slowly, Xev turned to face him. “It’s what makes you so powerful and dangerous, and sets you apart from all the Malachais who’ve come before you. You’re not just born of the Mavromino. Like the very first Malachai who started this, you, too, through your mother, carry the blood of a Sephiroth warrior.”

Those words hit Nick like a fist to his gut. “Excuse me?”

Kody sucked her breath in audibly as Simi gaped so wide, she exposed her fangs.

“It’s what gives us hope for him.” Menyara stood to face Nick. Wringing her hands, she swallowed hard. “But it wasn’t supposed to happen like it did. None of it.”

Fret knitted her brow as Menyara tried to explain it to them. “You have to understand, child. We never meant to hurt you or your mother. That wasn’t our intent. We only meant to curb Adarian’s powers. To leash his anger and fulfill a prophecy that was given to us long ago.”

Stunned breathless, Nick exchanged a frown with Simi as he took Kody’s hand. Just knowing she was there kept him anchored and grounded as he struggled to come to terms with what Menyara was trying to tell him. Part of him had always suspected this truth, but the other part was angry and hurt. “I’m so confused.”

“The Simi bewildered, too. I done gots lost around the block a whiles ago.”

Xev laughed bitterly as he spread his arms out and braced his hands on the couch to lean against it. His eyes turned a bright, flaming red as they blazed hot with his own anger and hatred. “It’s what they’ve done to us since the dawn of time, Nick. We who are born of darkness are creatures of great power. Tiamat. Braith. Caleb. Me. You. Your father. The list goes on infīnitās. It is hatred, pain, bitterness, and rage that feeds our strength. Adversity is the stone on which we hone our swords for battle. What breaks lesser beings and sends them sniveling to their graves fuels us to victory. The cruelty of others doesn’t faze us even a little. It’s all we know. It is why we are invincible. Why they,” he jerked his chin toward Menyara, “can’t stand toe-to-toe in battle with us. And they know it. So they break us with the one thing we have no defense against.” His gaze went to Kody and then to their locked hands.

Nick frowned. “I don’t understand.”