Harley Merlin 18: Persie Merlin and Leviathan’s Gift
Page 29
“And that’ll still be your job, but this is good. If anything, the Institute should take a load off your mind, because as long as I’m away from the SDC, Leviathan won’t be able to pester me anymore.” I clutched her as hard as she clutched me. “And you should probably tell Dad about the brochures. He’ll want to know, and I bet you’ll be surprised by his reaction. He’ll understand, no matter what, because he’s… Dad.”
“When did you get so mature, huh?” she joked, leaning back to smooth the hair out of my face. I noticed a glimmer of something in her eyes—hesitancy, or confusion, or disbelief. It was hard to decipher, but at least she had a smile on her face.
I grinned back. “Sometime between Victoria Jules, the raiju, and the banshee.”
“The raiju?”
I cuddled back into her. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it on the phone, once I’m settled into my new room.”
She stroked the back of my head and placed a soft kiss on my hair. “I’m going to miss you, Persie, but… I’m so proud of who you’ve become. Prouder than I can put into words.”
“I’m proud of you, too.” I held her tight and let all the mayhem of my life fade away, at least for as long as we were in that room. I wanted to hug my mom and enjoy this moment, because I had no idea when we would see each other again. Together, we’d pick up the twigs and the scraps of fur and the bits of string, and we’d find a way to rebuild the nest of our relationship. True, it might never be the same again, but that didn’t have to be a bad thing. And the nest would never truly be empty.
Thirty-Three
Harley
I’m not ready, I’m not ready, I’m not ready…
“Are you ready for this?” I held Persie in a firm side hug and planned to continue as long as I could. We’d returned to the Institute from Remington’s old office, our group reconvening in the grand entrance hall: Wade, Finch, Hector, and Genie. Kes had already been taken back to the SDC by Ryann, where I imagined she’d be trying to figure out a way of grounding him that wouldn’t hasten the future rebellion I sensed.
Persie peered up at me. So creative, so smart, so beautiful, and about to take her first step into the adult world. I only wished I’d had more time to prepare, which made me a hypocrite for the second time that day.
“I’m ready,” she replied. “And I promise I’ll stay in touch and tell you everything. Just… promise me we’ll be honest with each other from now on.”
I gave her a squeeze. “From now on.”
And I hope I’ll have some good news to tell you soon. Wade and I wouldn’t be defeated by the Children refusing to help. Not yet. Not before we’d well and truly exhausted every possible solution. We had some digging to do on Echidna, and Tobe had agreed to help us. It was our last remaining avenue of hope, but it didn’t need mentioning in that moment. I wouldn’t dampen my daughter’s excitement with talk of that prophecy. She’d wanted this so badly, and she’d done it all by herself. I had to let her have this, without tainting the memory with Leviathan. He’d crushed her enough.
“And you’ll send our stuff?” Persie reached for Genie’s arm, the two of them giddy as schoolgirls.
Wade scooted in to give our daughter a squeeze of his own. “I’ve got boxes at the ready. Although it won’t be easy sending them away.”
“What about O’Halloran?” Persie continued, her voice slightly pained. Wade hadn’t said much when he’d come back into Remington’s old office, except that we should get back to the Institute.
“He’s decided to hold his ‘urgent’ meeting for tomorrow morning, so I’d say that’s a promising sign that he’s sleeping on it,” Wade replied. “I’m hoping it’ll make him more amenable to letting everyone carry on as they are.”
And I won’t get a wink of sleep until he does come around. Without O’Halloran’s blessing, things could turn complicated. But the Basani Institute was notoriously protective of their trainees. And if Victoria Jules had taken a liking to my daughter, that could only help.
“Well then, I guess that’s it.” Wade pulled Persie into his chest and held her. “My little girl going off to fight monsters. Terrifying. But I’m damn proud of you, Persie. And I can’t wait to hear all about it during the million calls your mom is going to make.”
I chuckled as tears threatened. “I’ll keep it in the hundreds, I swear.”
“Be good, study hard, and… stay out of trouble.” Hector wrapped his daughter in a bittersweet embrace. They’d been through a lot, and this would be tough on her dad. He’d lived for Genie for so long that I doubted he knew what to do without her around. I knew how that could be. But we had to do this, for their sakes.
Genie laughed sadly. “That’s all you’re going to say?”
Oh, Genie… His words sounded unfeeling, but I’d heard the nuance. He adored her with every fiber of his being.
“No, but I thought I’d lead with the practical part.” Hector rested his chin on the top of her head, smiling. “I love you, Genie. I know you’re going to do tremendous things, and I know your mom would be so proud of you… just as I am. I will be thinking of you. I may not call a hundred times a day, but I’ll think of you that much or more.”
Genie looped her arms around his neck and squeezed him in a bear hug. “I love you too, Dad.”
“I promised myself I wouldn’t cry.” Finch pretended to sniffle and dab at his eyes, making everyone giggle. “I promised your mom I wouldn’t embarrass her. Our little girl, heading off to learn how to make jam out of monsters.” He sobered, a rare occurrence. “You take care of yourself, okay? And take care of each other. You were sneaky enough to get into this together—major brownie points from me, by the way—but now you need to get through this together. And I will be taking all the pictures when you graduate. I want poses, cap throwing, the whole shebang, even if they don’t do that here.”
“I’ll miss you, Uncle.” Persie walked into his open arms and gave him a farewell hug. I resented letting her go even a second before I had to, but Finch deserved a proper goodbye too.
“It’s okay, we don’t have to say it out loud—you’re going to miss me more than your mom and dad. They know. They’ve accepted that I’m the cool one. It’s an open secret.” He flashed a wink at me. “Knock ‘em dead, kid.”
Persie nodded. “I will.”
“And here’s a decent piece of advice.” Finch released her, and she came right back to me. It warmed my grieving heart. “If you come across a monster that you can’t fight, make sure you can run faster than the person next to you.”
“Finch!” I snapped.
He grinned. “Your accomplice being the only exception. Accomplices have to stick together.”
“Noted.” Genie parted from her dad for her own Finch goodbye. He did give good hugs.
Finch raised a finger to offer more of his questionable wisdom. “And make sure you’ve got a truckload of bath salts, because you’re going to hurt like nobody’s business. Training is always a bitch.” He flashed me a sheepish look. “I’m sorry, but there’s no other way to phrase it.”
Persie chuckled and laid her head against my shoulder. “I know things are going to get worse before they get better, but I’m really ready for this. I’m going to do whatever it takes to succeed, bruises and aches and all.”
“I love you.” I held onto her, feeling our farewell come to its end.
She smiled up at me. “I love you too.”
“Stay safe, okay?”
“I will.” She shuffled in for one more hug from Wade and me, the three of us gripping tight. And then, just like that, I knew we had to be the ones to step back and let her go. Kissing her forehead, I did just that. Wade followed, with Hector and Finch joining us. There we stood as Persie and Genie set off through the entrance hall to where Victoria waited at the far end beside a display case with a giant crossbow inside.
You take care of my girl, Ms. Jules, or I’ll use that bow to fire an arrow into your ass. I kept watching my daughter and her
best friend until they turned a corner with Victoria and disappeared from sight. They looked back a few times, but they were eager to go. Their future was calling, and they were answering.
But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t need us anymore. We’d always be their parents. The shoulder they’d cry on when things got tough. The people they’d call when they were in trouble. This wasn’t the end of our book, but the start of a new chapter. I’d messed up by not preparing her for the future before. I wouldn’t make that mistake again. She’d need all the help she could get, and, right now, the Institute was the best place for her to be.
Give them hell, Persie… I missed her already.
HARLEY MERLIN 19: Persie Merlin and the Door to Nowhere
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Persie Merlin and the Leviathan’s Gift. I hope you enjoyed it!
Continue the journey in Harley Merlin 19: Persie Merlin and the Door to Nowhere — releasing June 12th, 2020.
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Bella x
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