on and eat your lunch, Dana. I’m not hungry.”
I shook my head, so not getting what was the matter. I looked up at my dad with narrowed eyes.
He lifted one shoulder in a hint of a shrug. “It’s not just me.” Once again, he gestured toward the door to my suite.
I didn’t get it right away. “ What isn’t just you?” I asked as I headed toward the door.
Dad didn’t answer, and as we walked down the fortified hallway to my suite, I started to understand. “You mean this whole classism thing you Fae have going on goes both ways.”
Dad nodded. “Finn is a Knight, and while he may accept assignments in Avalon—and often does—he was born and raised in Faerie. He has enough experience to understand that humans have a much more egalitarian attitude than the Fae, but he himself is still Fae. He would never be comfortable sitting down to eat with me like an equal.”
Dad made himself at home in my kitchen, putting down the bag and rummaging through my cabinets for plates. I understood what he was saying, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.
“I still think it’s a crappy way to treat someone who’s willing to take a bullet for me.”
Dad turned to look at me. “Perhaps it is. But that doesn’t change the reality.” He smiled. “And just because protocol insists Finn and I not socialize doesn’t mean the same applies to you.”
I refrained from pointing out that I didn’t care what his stupid protocol said. I wasn’t treating Finn like a piece of furniture like my dad did, and I never would.
Dad halted his efforts to serve lunch and gave me another of those almost vulnerable looks of his.
“I can’t help being who I am,” he said. “I know I seem terribly set in my ways, but it’s just part of being a native of Faerie. We have deeply ingrained expectations of one another. I’m truly sorry it makes you uncomfortable.”
My dad was still pretty close to a stranger to me, but I believed he was sincere. He’d never told me how old he was, but I knew it was old old. It wasn’t fair of me to expect him to change, especially not overnight. When I’d come to Avalon to meet him, I’d had no idea what to expect. Half the time, my mom had made him out to be the devil incarnate; the other half, she’d made him sound like a candidate for sainthood. The reality was that he was somewhere in between.
“I know, Dad,” I said. “And I’m trying my best to understand. Honest.”
He smiled at me, and it was impossible to miss the paternal affection in his eyes. Maybe as an old Fae, he couldn’t be as demonstrative as I might like, but I knew he loved me, even having known me only a short time. All in all, he was a pretty good dad, even if there were things about him I’d have liked to change.
* * *
I met Kimber in the lobby of the spa. I felt weird and conspicuous walking around with both my dad and Finn acting as bodyguards. I felt even weirder walking into the spa with them.
The lobby was every bit as girlie as I could possibly have imagined. The walls, furniture, and carpet were all in gently muted pastels, and a wall-mounted fountain filled the room with the sound of trickling water. Candles flickered from sconces on the walls, and little bowls of potpourri scented the air.
My dad and Finn looked completely out of place, and the woman at the reception desk looked at them with wide, startled eyes. I’m sure they weren’t the only men ever to have set foot in the spa, but at the moment, it kinda felt like it.
Kimber had gotten there before me, and she leapt to her feet as soon as I walked in, dropping the fashion magazine she’d been looking at.
“Right on time!” she declared, looking as excited as a five-year-old at Christmas.
Although Kimber had only just turned seventeen, she’d be starting her sophomore year of college in the fall. We hadn’t really talked about it in any detail, but I was pretty sure she had about as much experience making friends her own age as I
I shook my head, so not getting what was the matter. I looked up at my dad with narrowed eyes.
He lifted one shoulder in a hint of a shrug. “It’s not just me.” Once again, he gestured toward the door to my suite.
I didn’t get it right away. “ What isn’t just you?” I asked as I headed toward the door.
Dad didn’t answer, and as we walked down the fortified hallway to my suite, I started to understand. “You mean this whole classism thing you Fae have going on goes both ways.”
Dad nodded. “Finn is a Knight, and while he may accept assignments in Avalon—and often does—he was born and raised in Faerie. He has enough experience to understand that humans have a much more egalitarian attitude than the Fae, but he himself is still Fae. He would never be comfortable sitting down to eat with me like an equal.”
Dad made himself at home in my kitchen, putting down the bag and rummaging through my cabinets for plates. I understood what he was saying, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.
“I still think it’s a crappy way to treat someone who’s willing to take a bullet for me.”
Dad turned to look at me. “Perhaps it is. But that doesn’t change the reality.” He smiled. “And just because protocol insists Finn and I not socialize doesn’t mean the same applies to you.”
I refrained from pointing out that I didn’t care what his stupid protocol said. I wasn’t treating Finn like a piece of furniture like my dad did, and I never would.
Dad halted his efforts to serve lunch and gave me another of those almost vulnerable looks of his.
“I can’t help being who I am,” he said. “I know I seem terribly set in my ways, but it’s just part of being a native of Faerie. We have deeply ingrained expectations of one another. I’m truly sorry it makes you uncomfortable.”
My dad was still pretty close to a stranger to me, but I believed he was sincere. He’d never told me how old he was, but I knew it was old old. It wasn’t fair of me to expect him to change, especially not overnight. When I’d come to Avalon to meet him, I’d had no idea what to expect. Half the time, my mom had made him out to be the devil incarnate; the other half, she’d made him sound like a candidate for sainthood. The reality was that he was somewhere in between.
“I know, Dad,” I said. “And I’m trying my best to understand. Honest.”
He smiled at me, and it was impossible to miss the paternal affection in his eyes. Maybe as an old Fae, he couldn’t be as demonstrative as I might like, but I knew he loved me, even having known me only a short time. All in all, he was a pretty good dad, even if there were things about him I’d have liked to change.
* * *
I met Kimber in the lobby of the spa. I felt weird and conspicuous walking around with both my dad and Finn acting as bodyguards. I felt even weirder walking into the spa with them.
The lobby was every bit as girlie as I could possibly have imagined. The walls, furniture, and carpet were all in gently muted pastels, and a wall-mounted fountain filled the room with the sound of trickling water. Candles flickered from sconces on the walls, and little bowls of potpourri scented the air.
My dad and Finn looked completely out of place, and the woman at the reception desk looked at them with wide, startled eyes. I’m sure they weren’t the only men ever to have set foot in the spa, but at the moment, it kinda felt like it.
Kimber had gotten there before me, and she leapt to her feet as soon as I walked in, dropping the fashion magazine she’d been looking at.
“Right on time!” she declared, looking as excited as a five-year-old at Christmas.
Although Kimber had only just turned seventeen, she’d be starting her sophomore year of college in the fall. We hadn’t really talked about it in any detail, but I was pretty sure she had about as much experience making friends her own age as I
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