“Leave my father out of this. I’m not a halfling. You’re wrong.” “But he could have been a demon.” Blood thundered in my ears and I raised my hands to cover them. “I don’t want to talk about that man. He deserted us when we needed him most. Or wait.” I flung my hands wide. “Is that what demons do? Abandon the people they’re supposed to love?” Tears welled in my eyes and I blinked them back. “Is that what you’ll do?” “Katya, demons, like humans, are not all the same.” He stepped into the shower, fully clothed and lifted my hand to his lips, water soaking his shirt and trousers. No matter how badly I didn’t want it to happen, I couldn’t stop the tears from coming, mixing with the shower’s spray. “Damn it! Damn it all to hell! I swore I’d never cry again and look at me.” I pulled loose from his grip, backed against the wall and slid down the tile, wrapping my arms around my knees.
