Page 100 of Kiss of a Hellish Prince

Arik nodded, grabbing a brown paper bag with grease stains. He pulled out a cardboard container with tots and one with popcorn chicken.

“Vivi said you would need comfort food, and this was your go-to ‘fuck this day’ meal. Whatever that means.”

“It means Vivi is the best,” I said, reaching out for the food.

Instead of handing it to me, Arik arranged it on an adjustable table, then slid the table over so it sat across the bed just above my lap at the perfect height so I could eat without having to move too much.

I dipped one tot into the honey mustard and relished in the salty, greasy goodness while trying to figure out what else to say to this man.

He was my father. But I didn’t know him. I didn’t know anything about him. Mom had never hidden information from us. I just never asked.

He left. Mom was pregnant with Vivi, and he had abandoned the three of us. That was all I needed to know, but now… After seeing him chained to that desk, I wondered if maybe I should have tried to get more information from Mom?

My mind wandered to the last conversation she and I had. She had called me on my bullshit, and I lashed out at her like a child. I knew she was right during our fight, but I was being stubborn and defensive.

I thought about her ultimatum: enroll in school or get a full-time job and a place to live before she got back home.

Apparently, she was back. My time was up.

I was sure, given the circumstances, I could have gotten an extension on that ultimatum. But I didn’t want it. She was right; I needed to do something, and working part-time at a bookstore wouldn’t cut it, assuming I wasn’t fired.

I was probably fired.

Either way, it was time for me to grow up. I needed to make a plan for my life and stop watching as it passed me by. I just needed to see what options were still available to me after all of this.

“Does she know why you left?” I asked, breaking the tense silence before taking a piece of the popcorn chicken. Chicken was protein, right? I needed protein to heal.

Arik nodded, still not making eye contact.

“She didn’t want you to go, though, did she?” I asked, reading his body language.

“No, she didn’t.”

“Did they catch Kylie or Sif?” I knew they probably got Sif, but I didn’t remember seeing Kylie anywhere when we got upstairs.

“Kylie was gone, but they are hunting her down. Sif didn’t get away.”

“What happens now?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” He looked me in the eye again. “Darrius and Ulric have people sweeping the offices under the dog track, and they have Sif in custody, and she is being cooperative. They’ve found a lot of evidence damning Kylie, but I don’t know if it is enough to clear my name. If not, I go back to Hell to stand trial.”

“Clear your name for what?”

“I am being framed for a terror attack in Hell.”

“The Goblin Market?” I asked, remembering Murmur mentioning it.

“I didn’t do it. I would never… So many innocent people…”

“I don’t know much about it. But Vivi said that the leaders of the Folkvang setting off that bomb made little sense. I trust her judgment.”

“How did she figure that out?”

“Vivi said something about how the Folkvang was making actual progress, and an act of violence would never do anything but hurt the progress already being made. So, it didn’t make sense. I don’t know. When she was talking about it, I only half listened,” I admitted.

“Maybe she will help convince Ulric I didn’t do it.”

“Maybe. Probably. Honestly, if she believes in something, she can be a force to be reckoned with.” I nodded before pushing the food back. I popped another few ice chips into my mouth and then leaned back against the pillows as another wave of exhaustion hit me. “What happens if your name is cleared? Will you go back?”

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