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    The next morning, I finally met with my father for the first time. Not in a state of dire stress or danger, but instead


    Breakfast.


    Enzo and I walked into therge dining room together to see a long chestnut table, at one end of which was a stunning array of fragrant breakfast foods, brightly colored fruits, and steaming cups of coffee. My father was sitting at the chair at the end of the table, and stood when we entered. Without a word, he simply held his arms out for me and walked up to me, pulling me in for a tight hug before I could even say anything. I felt a bit tense being hugged by this man who I hardly knew, despite the fact that he was my biological father, and when we pulled away I stammered toe up with something to say.


    "I know it''s a lot to process," my dad said. "Let''s eat instead of trying to figure it all out." He stepped out of the way and gestured for Enzo and I to sit at the table, and we did. Enzo sat beside me, his hand resting firmly on my thigh underneath the tablecloth.


    We ate in silence for a couple of minutes. The food was delicious and warm, and as I ate I realized how starving was after sleeping for two days. There was an array of warm pancakes and fresh fruit, juicy sausages and crispy bacon, steaming hot potatoes and bitter coffee; I ate all of those things and more, and my stomach still didn''t feel full. I thought to myself that if I could eat like this forever, I would. And I had lost so much weighttely with everything going on that no one batted an eye at my voracious appetite.


    But at the same time, it almost felt wrong to be eating at the moment. My twin sister had just died brutally, and although I hardly knew her and most of our interactions were filled with her evil nature that was caused by the Luna''s maniption, I still felt oddly empty. She was my twin, after all, and we had a strong magical bond.


    "Um..." I set my fork down and swallowed, feeling my face go red. "Selena..."


    My father did the same. I could see his hands gripping the edge of the table so tightly that his knuckles were white, and he stared numbly down at his te. "There will be a funeral," he said, his voice low and strained." Tomorrow. I hope you''lle."


    I nodded. "Of course," I replied.


    My father seemed pleased by this, and offered me a weak smile. He looked over at Enzo then, who sat stolidly beside me. "I know that Selena was a lot of trouble," my father said quietly as he leaned back in his chair. "I hope you can understand that the Luna... My wife... Was a practitioner of old magic. She came from a lineage of witches mixed with werewolves, and her powers were unparalleled. I never wanted to marry her. She ruined my family... She was the one who hired the Crescents that killed your mother and stole you, Nina." He looked at me then, and his eyes were full of sadness. "After that, she sank her ws in. For twenty years, your sister and I have been puppets because of her powerful magic.


    It all made sense now; the Luna was behind everything. From the beginning, she had a card in the game. I was certain that there was so much more to learn, but right now, I had more pressing questions for my father.


    "My mother," I said, "what was she like?"


    As I spoke of my mother, my father''s eyes lit up. A soft smile spread across his lips, and he tilted his head back slightly to look up at the ceiling. "Her name was Ophelia," he said, his voice sounding almost dreamy. "She looked just like you. You and Selena could have been photocopies of her. Except for you... You got my brown eyes."


    My father''s words made me smile. Selena''s blue eyes belonged to our mother. I was d to have had the chance to experience those eyes before Selena sacrificed her life.Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    *Was Selena like her in any other ways?" I asked, to which my father nodded vigorously.


    "Oh, yes," he said with a grin. "The Luna''s magic was strong, but Selena''s true nature came out sometimes. She was sweet and innocent. A little naive at times, but bravely intelligent nheless. I wish that you could have had


    the chance to see more of that side of her..."


    I shook my head. "I saw it," I said. "A few times. I could tell that it was in there somewhere." As I spoke, I felt Enzo''s hand tighten slightly around my thigh. When I looked over at him, his eyes were soft and understanding. When Selena was alive, after we turned her into a human, he never really believed me when I said that Selena had some good inside of her, and I still didn''t me him for that. But now, I could tell that he saw the truth: that she was just a little girl who was manipted by an evil stepmother.


    After that, it turned out that my father had a lot of questions. I exined everything to him, everything that he had missed over the past twenty years while he was under the Luna''s spell: the rise of the Crescents, the Luna''s negative effect on the werewolf realm, Selena''s n to take Enzo from me, and everything else about my life. told him about my adoptive mother, my brother and his curse, and I told him about my friends and my career. By the end of it all, it had somehow gotten well into the afternoon. I didn''t realize it at the time, but we had been talking for hours upon hours at that table.


    Finally, my father stood. His face was grim, but happy nheless.


    "I''ll let you rest until tomorrow," he said. "After the funeral, I have some more questions for you; but let''s wait until then to talk more. Unfortunately, I''ve got quite a lot of work to do. Things really pile up when you''re in a daze for twenty years. And, judging from what you told me, it seems as though I''ve got two realms that need to be cleaned up thanks to my secondte wife''s shenanigans."


    For the first time during that entire conversation, Enzo suddenly spoke.


    "If you need any help, I''d be happy to be of service, sir," Enzo said.


    My father''s eyes widened slightly. He nodded, pping Enzo on the shoulder. He held Enzo''s shoulder firmly as he looked at him. "All I ask of you, son, is to take good care of my remaining daughter," my father said, his voice firm. "Devote yourself to her, and make sure that nothing ever happens to her."


    Enzo looked at my father for a moment before nodding affirmatively. They didn''t speak again after that, but it seemed as though they had said all that they needed to; and something about it made me smile.


    Before my father left, he suddenly pulled me in for another tight hug. And that time, I hugged him back.