“Hang on. I am still confused as to why your father was an advocate for white fae, being that he was dark?”
“Molly, his stepdaughter,” Kalen answered.
“That didn’t anger him that your mother had an affair?”
“Oh, it bothered him, but he loved Molly regardless. After she died, he started fighting to have those responsible for the plague brought to justice.”
“Did they get brought to justice?”
“Some were caught and killed, but we never found how the plague originated, only that it was fae-made,” Darius told me.
I nodded, not wanting to pry too much since he was being civil, and I didn’t know how quickly that could change if I asked the wrong question. I picked up another piece of cold meat and plopped it in my mouth.
“I have another question?” Kalen said, and I looked at him.
“Why didn’t you try to contact your internet friend before you left to tell them to expect you?”
“Honestly, I panicked. By the time that thought arose, I was already gone.”
“So, you never tried to contact him after that?”
“Why do you keep assuming it was a man?” I said with a click of my tongue.
“Well, I was just assuming…”
“I am pretty sure they were female or gay, either one,” I told him.
“Why would you assume that?”
“Because of how they spoke. They seemed pretty gender-neutral.”
“Well, that is stereotyping,” Kalen chuckled.
“Yeah, I suppose it is. It doesn’t matter now, though. Not like I will speak to them again.”
“Would you if you could?”
Darius growled, and I looked over at him. His hands clenched the arms of the chair, his knuckles turning white. I swallowed, not bothering to answer.
“Well, if they are gay or female, what does it matter if she spoke to them?” Kalen snapped, and Darius seemed to think.
“And you had no other friends?” Kalen asked, pulling my attention back to him. I shook my head.
“So, you spent six years alone?”
“Bullshit!” Darius scoffed.
“I was doing fine on my own, and yes, Kalen,” I answered.
“So, you met nobody else?”
“Well, of course, I met people along the way, but I mostly stayed away from cities unless I thought they were human ones. I just never found one.”
“Six years, and you never found one?” Kalen asked incredulously.
“Not one.”
“If you weren’t attacked the night we found you, would you have called on us? Eventually?” Kalen asked, and I looked away. I swallowed thickly.