Page 112 of King of Knights

I ignore her comment about my dad. I’m more concerned with the fact that I feel her weakening. I haven’t said anything, but I’m really worried about her. When I get back to the clubhouse, I’m going to double down on trying to find a way to find Knox.

The Hall of Sirens has to give me something. I’ve been asking for a way to find Knox, but I keep receiving the same texts. Especially the one with the prophecy and Kendrick’s family history.

“Ah, here she is,” my father croons as he opens my door for me, pulling me from my musings.

I step out of the car. He then pulls me into his embrace. I have to admit, I miss his hugs. He has always had a way of soothing my anxiety with his embrace.

“How you doing, Ray?” he says and kisses my forehead.

“I’m good, Daddy.”

“All right. That’s good to hear. Come, let’s eat. You can tell me all about what you’ve been up to.”

I look around the warehouse. It’s just like that time when I was younger. Lights are strung up all over the place. He has stars projected across the ceiling in my favorite color, purple.

I remember being so giddy when I was ten. The memory has me smiling in the moment. I’ll have to do this for Avionne someday.

“I had them make your favorite. The pasta and vodka gravy.Mangiare. Wine?” he asks and holds the bottle over my glass.

“No, I shouldn’t.”

“No?”

“No, I have some bookkeeping to do when I get back.”

A look of relief comes over his face, sending up red flags. Venus’s warning starts to play in my head. I push the thought back.

This is my dad. If anything, he’s always been overprotective of me. I shake my head and dig into the food before me.

“Mm, this is good. New chef?”

“Yeah, Gordo took a vacation. I brought in someone special for tonight.”

“Good call. This is delicious.”

He places his fork down and works his mouth to clean the food out. I give him a smile. I know all his mannerisms so well. He’s about to say something that’s been on his mind.

“You know. I did have reasons for everything I’ve done. In hindsight, none of it would have mattered without you. I wanted to leave you with the Ricci legacy.

“I got over not having a son the moment I held you in my arms. When I found out I couldn’t keep you all, I couldn’t touch the others. I clung to you, wishing I had the power to protect you all and watch you all grow up to be women,” he says sadly.

“Daddy?”

He holds up a hand and looks me in the eyes. I chew on my lip. I want to tell him I know about my sisters.

“Hold on. I have something I want to talk to you about.” He pauses and clears his throat. “I… our family. We have this thing with your boyfriend and his people. We’ve been in for four generations. Each son gets one of these rings.” He holds up his right hand.

That ring has always caught my attention. The few times I’ve interacted with my Uncle Pauly, I’ve noticed he has one too. I thought it was a family heirloom or something.

“You do know he’s not human?”

“Yeah, I know that.”

“Um, well.” He gives a curt nod and purses his lips. “He and his brothers are some sort of wizards or some shit, but I guess you know that too. They’ve kept our family out of fed shit and the money has always flowed as long as we’ve been connected to them.

“Anyways, we can only keep the bond through the males in the family. Sofia and I tried to have kids. It never happened. Pauly wasn’t having any luck either.

“So this woman introduced herself to your grandfather and said she could help. I’m not gonna lie. Life has been good as a Ricci. I wanted to keep this thing going.”

---