Page 96 of A Trial By Blood

“She’s happy.” I sat forward. “The happiest she’s ever been. And we’d prefer it if you stayed away from her.”

His brows shot up. “I would never do anything to hurt Daisy. Rose—”

“Abandoning her while she was pregnant with your kid was a pretty hurtful thing to do, don’t you think, Vesa?” Mags said, leaning forward.

His looked between Mags and me. “I never meant to hurt her…but I…I…”

“I’m not here to talk about Mom.”

He sat back in his seat. “Of course. Look, I just, I want to get to know my daughter. I know it’s probably too late, but if there’s anything I can do, anything, all you have to do is ask.”

A female came to take our order. Mags ordered us all a pot of tea.

“I have questions,” I said when the female walked away.

“Anything.” His expression was open, his arms uncrossed, hands on the table. His body language said that he was exactly that, open, that he was telling the truth, that he had nothing to hide.

“I lived my life not knowing what half of my DNA was made up of. I have this whole side I know nothing about.”

“I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t think that would happen. You’re like a rare treasure, Rose. This is something that only happens every hundred years or so. Usually, when we breed outside the colony, the mother’s genetics are dominant in our offspring.”

“She almost starved to death after a life of sickness. Maybe you should have checked in just to be sure,” Mags said acidly.

His gaze flew back to me. “God, Rose, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.” He dragged his fingers through his hair. “I fucked up badly. I’d do anything to make that right.”

He looked genuinely horrified, and maybe it was twisted, but I was glad he felt that way. Making him feel bad wasn’t why I was here, though. “So what can bat shifters do? Do you have any special powers?”

He blinked at my sudden change of subject but rolled with it quickly. “Apart from shifting? And the way we feed? No, not really. We’re stronger than humans, though, like most shifters, and longer lived.”

“Do you shift fully into bats, or is it some other kind of transformation?”

“We don’t shift into bats, not like our animal cousins. We do have wings, though, leathery in texture. Our ears elongate into points, as do our fingers.”

“And you can control this? You can make the shift at will?”

“Yes. It can also happen during times of stress. Usually to adolescent bats while they’re still learning to control it.” He gave me a pointed look. “I’m not sure if you’ve shifted, or if you have the ability? But that’s something you should watch out for.”

“I haven’t shifted like you’ve described, but I do have wings.”

“You do?” He leaned forward. “And you can use them without physically shifting any other way?”

“Yes, so far. As for using them? I haven’t actually flown yet.”

“You will.” He smiled kindly. “How many shirts have you destroyed?”

“A few.”

“It’s hard to get the tucking right when you’re first learning. Our young often have half their wings tucked in and half out. Don’t be embarrassed if that happens, it’s all part of learning to control them.”

“I haven’t had that problem,” I said and didn’t miss the surprise on his face. “They don’t fold into my back, they vanish completely.”

“Jesus,” he said and sat back. “You don’t have wing slits in your back?”

Mags screwed up her face.

“No. I had a hump on my back while they grew, but once they broke through, my back returned to the way it was before.”

He looked stunned. “Amazing. You really are a mix of your mother and I.” He grinned. “Who knows what other differences there are.”