Chapter 7 #2
I crouched next to Liam, keeping my voice soft. “They’ll be here soon,” I said, gently pulling a clean towel from the counter and wrapping it around his arm to slow the bleeding. “We’ll get you patched up. I promise.”
He didn’t meet my gaze, but nodded slightly. It was enough for now.
I straightened, my resolve hardening. Let Carnell and Cal judge me all they wanted. I wasn’t about to let the shadows of mine consume Liam’s life.
Salima and Eve arrived quickly, stepping into the apartment with a sense of purpose. Salima’s sharp gaze immediately found Liam, and without a word, she moved toward him, her long coat brushing the floor as she knelt beside his chair.
“Let me take care of this for you, honey,” she said softly, her voice warm and maternal in a way that always caught me off guard.
Liam hesitated for a moment, glancing at me, but I just nodded. He turned back to Salima and finally gave a small nod of his own, letting her touch his injured arm.
Salima placed her hand gently over the wound, her eyes closing as a soft glow began to emanate from her fingertips.
It wasn’t flashy—just a dim shimmer of light—but it was enough to make Liam’s eyes widen in awe.
The torn skin knit itself back together in seconds, leaving nothing but smooth, unblemished flesh.
“That’s… incredible,” Liam said, his voice low and filled with wonder. He flexed his arm experimentally, then grinned. “I could’ve used that after I fought that biker last month.”
My stomach dropped. Fought a biker?
Shock rippled through me, but I stayed quiet as my thoughts raced. Why the hell hadn’t Max told me Liam had been hurt? How bad had it been? And why hadn’t Liam told me himself?
But as I looked at him now, sitting there with that easy grin, my frustration hit a wall of realization. My son wasn’t a boy anymore. He was a man—a capable, grown man who made his own choices. I wasn’t ready to treat him as one, even though he clearly expected me to.
Salima patted his arm, her smile soft. “Glad I could help. But maybe avoid fighting bikers next time, hmm?”
Liam chuckled, and even Eve cracked a small smile as she leaned against the counter, watching the exchange.
Eve pulled a small glass vial from her coat pocket, holding it up to the light. The liquid inside shimmered faintly, catching Liam’s attention immediately. “This will strengthen you a bit,” she said, her voice smooth and calm.
It was true—just not in the way Liam would assume.
Liam eyed the vial with curiosity, then reached for it, his fingers brushing against hers as she handed it over. “Strengthen me how?” he asked, turning it over in his hands.
Eve smiled, her expression unreadable. “It’ll help you recover from all… this,” she said vaguely, gesturing to the room and the tension still hanging in the air. “Trust me.”
Liam hesitated only for a moment before unscrewing the cap and tilting the vial to his lips. He drank the potion in one quick motion, grimacing slightly at the taste. “Ugh,” he muttered, setting the empty vial on the table. “Could use some sugar or something.”
Eve smirked, leaning back against the counter. “It’s not meant to be gourmet.”
Liam wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and turned to me, his curiosity bubbling over. “Okay,” he said, his voice steady. “So, what now? I mean, I get that the world’s full of… things. Witches, shifters, demons. But how does it all work? How do mundanes not know about any of this?”
I crossed my arms, leaning against the wall as I watched him. “Because they’re not supposed to,” I said simply. “The supernatural world stays hidden for a reason. Mundanes wouldn’t understand it. They’d be terrified—or worse, they’d try to exploit it.”
Liam nodded slowly, his brow furrowing in thought. “And Grandpa Neil? He’s not… like Carnell, right? He’s just a regular human?”
“No,” I said firmly, shaking my head. “Neil’s human. Mundane, through and through. He knows nothing about any of this, and it’s going to stay that way.”
He leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping absently against the table as he processed everything. “It’s a lot,” he admitted. “But I guess it makes sense. You’ve always been a little… different.”
I bit back a smile, watching as he continued to ask questions, his curiosity shifting from skeptical to genuinely interested. He had no idea the potion was working its way through his system, blurring the edges of what he’d seen and what he’d remember.
I waited, my chest tightening with every passing moment.
Soon, the memory potion would do its job, and this conversation—this glimpse into the world I’d spent years hiding from him—would fade.
But until then, I let him talk, soaking in every word, every question, every piece of him that I knew I was about to lose all over again.
Liam leaned forward in his chair, his eyes locking onto mine with a determination that made my stomach twist. “My grandfather was a demon,” he said, his voice controlled but laced with tension. “How did he die?”
The question hit me like a punch to the chest. I’d told Liam years ago that my father was dead, mostly because it was easier than explaining the truth.
The reality was far more complicated—my father wasn’t dead, but he might as well have been.
He was unlikely to ever return to the human world while I was alive.
Before I could open my mouth to answer, Carnell stepped in, his calm, measured tone cutting through the silence. “Your grandfather had to return to the Underworld,” Carnell said, folding his hands in front of him. “Faith was honor-bound to report him as dead. It’s… complicated.”
Liam frowned, turning his gaze to Carnell. “So, you’re older than you look?” he asked, suspicion and curiosity mixing in his tone.
Carnell’s lips twitched into a faint smile. “Yes,” he said simply, inclining his head. “Much older.”
“How much older?” Liam pressed, leaning back slightly, his arms crossed.
Carnell chuckled softly, his gaze steady. “Let’s just say I’m not exactly your grandfather. I’m your great-grandfather… with several ‘greats’ added on.”
Liam blinked, his expression a mix of shock and disbelief. “You’re kidding.”
“No,” Carnell said, his tone still calm, but there was a flicker of amusement in his eyes. “I’ve been around a very long time, Liam.”
I stayed quiet, watching the exchange with a knot in my chest. Liam’s world was already upside down, and now this—another layer of truths and half-truths to process. He looked back at me, his expression searching, as if trying to piece together all the missing parts of the puzzle.
“And you knew?” he asked, his voice softer now.
I nodded, my throat tight. “Yeah, I knew. But I didn’t think you needed to.”
Liam shook his head, a wry smile tugging at his lips. “This just keeps getting weirder.”
Carnell chuckled again, a deep, rich sound that somehow felt grounding in the chaos. “You’re handling it better than most would,” he said, his tone carrying a hint of approval.
Liam gave a small, reluctant laugh, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah, well, I guess I don’t have much choice.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Just tell me one thing. Did Dad know?”