His words were no doubt intended to tempt her into traveling to his home. Unfortunately for him, they only reminded Sally of the difference between herself and her siblings.
Princesses? Princes?
She would be a joke.
Feeling Sariel’s piercing gaze, she ducked her head. “I’m nothing more than a stranger to them.”
“You rescued me from the Nebule. You would be a hero to them.” His voice was coaxing. “They will no doubt compose songs and poems in your honor.”
Sally grimaced in sheer horror. “No thanks.”
The perfect features tightened, as if he was irritated by her response.
“Then what about your family?” he insisted.
“What about them?”
“Among the Chatri nothing is more important.” He chose his words with care. “Would you deny them the opportunity to meet you?”
Sally couldn’t deny a pang of regret.
She’d been so alone for so long, always secretly dreaming she would find a place to call home.
Now that she was actually being offered one, it was unbearably wrenching to turn her back on it.
“I’m not truly family,” she whispered.
His grip tightened on her fingers. “What do you mean?”
“I’m a half-breed,” she reminded him. “I doubt the princes and princesses would be happy to have me pop out of the proverbial closet.”
With his usual arrogance, Sariel shrugged aside the inevitable horror at her arrival among the coldly aloof, shatteringly beautiful Chatri.
“They will accept you.”
A sad, wistful smile tugged at her lips. He was king. He could probably force his people to bow and scrape before her if that’s what he commanded.
But he couldn’t make them think of her as anything but an interloper.
There mere thought made her shudder.
“I’m looking for more than gruding acceptance,” she told him softly.
He frowned. “I don’t understand.”
She smiled wryly. “I know.”
He hesitated, his supreme confidence faltering as he studied her in exasperation.
Had he expected her to leap for joy at his invitation?
Probably.
“Tell me what you desire.”
She turned to glance toward the house they’d left behind. She could see no more than the roof, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t need to see the sprawling mansion to know that Roke was inside.
Unconsciously she lifted a hand to rub it against the center of her chest, directly over heart.
“Love.”
Sariel studied her in confusion. “Love?”
The word was clearly unfamiliar to her father. Perhaps the Chatri considered messy emotions beneath them.
But Sally didn’t.
She’d devoted years to futilely trying to earn her mother’s love. And then even more years trying to pretend it didn’t matter.
Why shouldn’t she be blessed with the happiness other people took for granted?
“It’s what I’ve wanted my whole life,” she admitted. “And I’m not going to stop searching until I find it.”
Sariel studied her with a steady amber gaze, the scent of intoxicating wine filling the air.
“Does the vampire love you?”
Sally grimaced.
Her father certainly had a way of striking where she was most vulnerable.
It was a question that she’d refused to consider.
She’d told herself that any emotions Roke might or might not feel for her were nothing more than a result of the unwanted mating. And that once she’d reversed her spell, he’d walk away without a backward glance.
But while she hadn’t consciously allowed herself to nurture dangerous hopes, a few had managed to creep beneath her defenses and lodge themselves deep in her heart.
A part of her desperately wanted to believe that when the mating was at last broken, Roke would feel more than relief. That he would . . .
She bit her bottom lip, trying to leash her fantasies.
It wasn’t fair to Roke. He’d already sacrificed so much for her. How could she expect him to fall in love with the woman who’d bewitched him, bonded him, and then nearly gotten him killed a dozen times?
And she knew him well enough to realize that if he suspected leaving her would break her heart, he would feel guilty. Or worse, try to pretend he wasn’t desperate to get away from her.
“I’m not certain.” She was careful to keep the yearning out of her voice. “I know he cares, but how much of that is a result of the mating and how much is genuine affection is impossible to know.”
“Not impossible,” he assured her.
She met the amber gaze. “You can remove the spell?”
His pale, beautiful face gave no indication of his inner thoughts. “It’s a simple enchantment spell but because your powers were surging at the time, they triggered his mating instincts.”
Sally grimaced. She hoped her powers would level off soon. The goddess only knew what disaster she might create next time.
“What happens if you remove it?” she asked.
“You’ll know the truth of his heart.”
She nodded at his blunt words.
It’s what she wanted. No, wait. It wasn’t what she wanted. The thought of Roke leaving was a sharp, jagged pain that threatened to destroy her.
But it was what she needed.
What they both needed.
There was only one question that had to be answered first. “Will it hurt Roke?”
“No.” Her father’s lips flattened in disapproval. “Unfortunately.”
She ignored Sariel’s lack of enthusiasm for her mate. The two males were way too alpha not to strike sparks off each other.
She had far more important things to worry about.
Drawing in a deep, painful breath, she squared her shoulders.
The spell had to be broken.
It was the only way Roke could be free to choose the future he wanted, not the one she’d inflicted on him.
“Then do it,” she said before she could lose her nerve.
A smile that bordered on smug curved her father’s mouth. “Only if you agree to visit my home.”
Sally snatched her fingers from his grip, stepping back with a deep scowl.
She should have suspected her father’s help wouldn’t be freely given.
He no doubt invented the Trojan horse.
“No way.”
Sariel’s expression remained calm, his fingers absently smoothing the sleeve of his pure white robe.
“I said visit, not stay.”
She told herself to walk away. Hadn’t she just convinced herself she had no place among the Chatri?
Besides, she didn’t trust this man.
If he wanted her to travel with him to her homeland, then there had to be an ulterior motive. And she doubted it had anything to do with ending her mating with Roke.
But even as she told herself to turn around and return to Styx’s lair, her feet refused to move.
Instead she remained frozen in place, her curiosity overcoming her common sense.
“Why?”
He paused, his amber gaze lowering to where tiny flowers were beginning to bloom along the edge of his bare feet.
It was the most amazing sight.
“I am beginning to realize that I have not been the father you wish me to be,” he at last said, the stiffness of his tone indicating how hard it was to concede he might not be perfect.
She jerked her gaze up to study his carefully composed expression.
“That’s not your fault.”
And it wasn’t.
Sariel was the leader of people who obviously didn’t put value on emotions. He couldn’t have known how desperately she wanted a father who could fill the dark void in the center of her heart.
“Given time I believe we can create a better understanding of one another,” he persisted.
Sally frowned. Was he being for real?