Moonlight Prince (Vampire Girl #4)(48)

Ace leads me to an old apartment, where the walls are covered in graffiti and the air smells of vomit. He leads me up a flight of stairs to the second floor and knocks on a green door at the very back of the hallway.

An elderly woman opens the door, her grey hair wrapped in a bun, her face kindly. "Master Ace," she says, hugging him. "It's been so long."

He chuckles. "Too long. Is she awake?"

"Yes. Was just about to put her to bed."

"Would this be a good time?"

"Oh, of course, of course." She shuffles out of the way, letting us inside the apartment. The walls are painted red. A thick ornate carpet covers the floor. A brown plush couch sits in the living room, opposite a roaring fireplace. Clearly, this place is a step above the rest of the building. A few steps actually.

In the corner sits a little girl, around eight, stacking wooden blocks. When she looks up, her face lights up. "Uncle Ace!" She jumps up and runs into his arms, hugging him fiercely.

"Hey pumpkin," he says, kissing her cheek. "How have you been?"

"I've been great," she says with grand gestures. "Want to help me build a tower?"

"Sure," says the prince. And then he sits with the little girl, and together they build a tower out of blocks.

I try to figure out what's happening here, but this… this is the last thing I expected.

"Patricia," says Ace. "Patricia. I have someone for you to meet." Ace motions me over to the girl. To Patricia. "Patricia. This is Ari, a dear friend of mine. Ari, this is Patricia."

"So nice to meet you," I say, sitting down beside them.

"Nice to meet you, too," says Patricia. Her hair is long and brown and messy. Her eyes are dark brown. "You want to help us build?" I nod, and she continues. "I think we should make a castle next. But they are much harder than towers. We must make sure we have the proper foundation. Here. Let me show you how."

She guides me through the process while Ace watches, his face the happiest I have seen. We work long into the night. And when I ask Patricia to pass a block, I realize she is asleep. Ace lifts her up and puts her to bed as I watch from the doorway. He kisses her on the forehead, and sings her a song about a princess looking for home. I have never heard Ace sing before. His voice is deep and gentle. A soothing one to fall asleep to.

When the song is finished, he kisses Patricia one last time, and leaves the room, closing the door behind him. He speaks softly to me. "Do you understand now, what I have to lose?"

I think on the entire night, the pieces clicking together in my mind. "She's your daughter, isn't she?"

He nods. "I loved a woman once. A long time ago. But we… we couldn't be together. Our worlds were too different. So we decided to stay apart. But one day, one day my love returned, and she told me of our child." He sits down on the couch, gazing into the fireplace. "Until that moment, I didn't realize how much I wanted to be a father. How much joy it could bring. I still remember the first time I met her, how she wrapped her hand around my finger and stared into my eyes. I vowed then that I would keep her safe. That I would never let any harm fall upon her." He pauses. "Patricia is not a full vampire. Her blood, like your blood, tempts my kind. It makes us see you as inferior. And I could not… I could not subjugate her to that fate."

"So you kept her secret," I say. "But why not turn her?"

"And curse her?" he asks. "So that the sun burns her? So that she craves blood above all else? No. I would not wish this upon anyone. Not even my worst enemies."

I sit next to him, holding his hand. "Where is her mother?"

"Gone somewhere I do not know," he says, his eyes turning red. "Her life, her life was not that of a mother's. My life not that of a father's. So I brought Patricia here, where Old Meg takes care of her, raises her, teaches her the things she needs to know. I visit when I can. Less and less frequently these past few months."

"Why not stay here always?" I ask. "I know I would do anything for my child. Even give up a realm."

He nods, picking at a seam on his brown cloak. "I would give up my realm. I would give up even all my inventions. But what I cannot do, what I will not do, is hurt Patricia. If I stay here, if I let her know who I truly am, she will care for me all the deeper. And I for her. And yet, I could not give her all she deserves. I could not be with her during the day. If she ever got a cut and bled, I could not help her. I would have to leave just to keep control of my senses. I would have to abandon her at times she needs me most." He clenches his fist, gazing into the fire. "I hate this curse. I hate it more than I have ever hated anything. It keeps me from remembering all the wondrous things I see here. It keeps me from the woman I love. It keeps me from my daughter."

"Perhaps," I say, my voice soft, "she would prefer a father, one who spends even a little time with her, over an uncle who barely visits."

Tears well in his eyes, and he turns away. His voice breaks with sobs. "We are of the same blood yes, but I'm not her father. I'm not here enough to be her father. But I wish I could be. I wish it with all my being." He turns to me, his eyes full of sorrow. "Whatever happens tomorrow, we must win. Because I must return to her. I must return, do you understand?"