Page 91 of The Secret Keeper's Daughter

He’s right, not that I had any doubts. But if I did have any, they’d be shot down by now. I’d always thought my name was a shortened version of my mother’s, but it’s clearly a mixture of both of theirs.

The silence is deafening as I take it all in.

Harek puts his arm around me. “We’re not going to your place. It would be far too easy for you to kill her.”

I start to object, but he has a point. Even though Einar is my father, we don’t know anything about him except that we will have to fight to the death. And given that he’s a beast of a man, it’s clear who has the advantage.

He must see the hesitation in my expression because he nods. “Fair point. The last thing I want is any harm coming to her, but you have no reason to believe me. How about we go to a restaurant and talk over dinner? My treat.”

Harek and I exchange glances. That’s an offer we can’t refuse.

I turn him. “That sounds good.”

“Great. I know the perfect place. It was your mother’s favorite.”

How can I turn that down? We follow Einar down the road. If nothing else, hopefully I’ll learn more about my parents before I die at the hands of my own father.

Chapter

Thirty-One

Since we sat down,I haven’t stopped stealing glances of my father. He seems genuine—the easy way he smiles as he talks about my mother makes me think he loved her as much as I did. It almost seems too good to be true. I want to trust him, but I have to be careful.

The aromas are too much, and unfortunately now I can’t read the fae lettering so I have no idea what to order as both Harek and my father read from the menus.

Einar sets his down and glances at me. “What do you want to eat?”

I shrug. “What was my mother’s favorite?”

A smile tugs at his mouth. “I’m not sure she had one. She loved trying new things, and anywhere we went she wanted to taste everything at least once.”

“That does sound like her.”

“But not you?”

“I’m adventurous,” I say a little too quickly. “I just, uh, can’t read the menu.”

“You don’t read?” His eyebrows wrinkle with surprise.

“Not fae writing. I was raised believing I was nothing more than a human.”

He jolts. “You were raised as ahuman? When you’re one of the rarest fae alive?”

The words surprise me, though I suppose they shouldn’t after hearing him say there’s never been a female hunter before.

Harek glances up from his menu. “Maybe that’s why she raised you as a human. Nobody ever suspected anything.”

My father tilts his head toward him. “You never knew?”

“Of course I did, but I was sworn to silence.”

Einar studies Harek. “You’re part of Tyra’s pack.”

“Yes.” He returns his attention to the menu.

That catches my attention. “You knew she was a shifter?”

“I can tell what any fae is. That’s another thing you’ll pick up on before long, though it might take a while if you’re completely new to fae life.”

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