A Darker Past (The Darker Agency #2)(23)

I could tell I’d surprised him by the way he tensed, but it didn’t last. A moment later, he was squeezing back just as hard. Probably a little harder, because breathing became an issue. When I finally pulled away and sank back into my chair, slightly embarrassed, Dad had turned serious again.

“You need to start shadowing more. In theory, that will help. If we don’t shadow, we grow sick and weak. Because you’re half Shadow demon, I’m guessing you need to as well.” He frowned. “How is everything with Valefar?” His eyes took on a protective gleam. “Is he treating you well? Were there any repercussions for the mistake you made?”

“It’s fine. Promise. Other than being an irritating and slightly intrusive pain in my ass, he’s, well, Valefar. He said I got one ‘get out of jail free’ card.”

He nodded, but didn’t look entirely convinced. “Should an occasion arise and you have trouble, you come to me. Understand? Trouble, or questions. Anything. I know I was away a lot when you were growing up, but I’m here now and am going to make this work. For you and your mom.”

I loved my dad, but had always maintained that his traditional involvement in my life wasn’t necessary. Father-daughter dances, lectures about staying out too late, boyfriend interviews… I’d never missed it because I’d never had it. And even though I didn’t need him to keep me safe—Mom made sure I could do that myself from the time I could hold my first weapon—I kind of loved the overprotective shtick.

I sucked in a breath. “Actually, I do have a question…”

I had his attention. “Okay.”

“Lukas seems…different.”

Dad frowned. “That’s not a very helpful description.”

“Right after you saved him, you told Mom and me that he’d start showing signs of demonic abilities.” I slipped into my game face. I knew this wasn’t a topic he wanted to discuss; he’d skirted the question for months now, but it was time to lay it all out on the table. “Time to fess up. What’s really going on with him? He’s still Lukas, but sometimes he’s…”

“Different,” he repeated my word.

“Yeah.” That was as much as I was willing to say. Somehow, it felt like a bad idea to tell my demonically charged dad that Lukas had been gropier than usual.

Dad sighed. “It’s not that he’s different, he’s just changing, and when you add that to the fact that he will always retain a bit of Wrath, it gets complicated. I’m working with him to keep his emotions in check.”

A sick feeling bubbled up in my stomach. “Keep his emotions in check? What exactly is he changing into?”

There was a moment of hesitation before he sighed. “A demon.”

And, boom. Bubble explosion. Bile rose in my throat, and I swallowed it down. It burned a fiery trail, and I nearly gagged. “He’s—how—what?”

Dad looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there at that moment. He sighed again and ran a hand across his face. “Jessie, how do you think new demons are made?”

“Mom went over the birds and bees thing with me a long time ago,” I said with bite. A demon? How could my dad do this to Lukas? Better, how could he do this and not tell us? “At least this explains the crack the demon made at Town Hall.” I hadn’t given it much thought then, but now it made sense.

“What crack?”

“When we accidentally freed that demon from the mirror, he was all, ‘Oh look. A Darker and her demon.’” I shrugged. “It didn’t really register at the time. Does Lukas know?”

“Demons aren’t born. We can’t have children with other demons, and the half-human offspring don’t—typically—have demonic abilities. They’re made.”

“Made,” I repeated, feeling the room start to swim. Like, what, a bowl of pasta? Granted it wasn’t a subject I’d given a ton of thought to, but how the heck did you make a demon?

“You remember I told you the Seven Deadly Sins were the core demons? The originals? They created seven demons—the only full-blooded demons ever to walk free—from pieces of themselves. They, in turn, created more by turning humans.”

A twisted curiosity had me wondering what pieces of themselves the Sins used to create the demons. A chunk of skin or a lock of hair? Ick. Maybe a hunk of demonic liver? “Like vampires?”

Dad rolled his eyes, but nodded. “I suppose you could say that, since there needs to be an exchange of blood.”

I let it all sink in, and boy, did it ever. Realization smacked me upside the head like a cow falling from the sky. “Wait—so you were human?”

“I was,” he admitted. There was a sad ring in his voice. “But before you go asking a ton of questions, it was a very long time ago. I don’t remember it.”

I wasn’t sure I bought that. “Nothing?”

“Nothing,” he confirmed. It was a lie and we both knew it, but I didn’t push. “I only know Valefar saved me from death. He was created by Lucifer, who is one of the seven pure demons, created from Pride.”

I took a deep breath. This was a lot to take in, but… “You didn’t answer my other question. Does Lukas know? What’s happening to him, I mean? Does he know he’s changing into a demon because you saved him?”