[Rhett]When I arrived home, I found Dolly in the kitchen eating some fruit. I was happy to see her eating something other than meat. Her eyes widened, and she tried to hide the fruit in her hands.“Do you like those? Did you have a chance to eat some of the other fruit I got for you?” I asked with a smile as I removed my gloves.I’d dressed hastily but had on every piece I normally wore. No one had ever called me when I wasn’t expecting it. I didn’t know whether it irritated or amused me. “You’re not mad?”“I told you to eat whatever you want. I’m glad you’re eating other foods. Have you come up with any ideas about what you want me to keep in the house?”“I like these,” she said, showing me the pears in her hands. “They are like a thing I used to eat from behind a place that smelled really good. It had bits of something on it that I liked. I don’t know what it’s called. I should know what things are called, shouldn’t I?”Dolly kept her eyes on the fruit in her hands. I went to her and knelt. She looked into my eyes cautiously.“If you had a normal upbringing, then you would. That’s fine. We’ll work together. I can help you learn everything. I’ll find out everything you like and we’ll always have it around the house.”She smiled at me, and I saw the gold flash in her eyes again. I put my hand on top of her head. She was my little angel.“You were gone a lot today.”“The people who came to see you a couple days ago are helping me to make a better house for you. One that is warmer, cleaner, and more stable. One where you can have your own bedroom. Once you’re more comfortable, we can get you a bed and decorate your room in whatever way you want. Until then, you’ll stay in my bed, okay?”“Will you sleep with me, Papa Rhett? Mama used to sleep next to me. Sleeping has been lonely since she stopped waking up,” Dolly asked quietly.“I have some work to do at night. Would it be okay if I stayed with you until you fell asleep, then went to do my work? I wouldn’t ask, but I’m trying to keep you safe from the monsters.”Dolly lowered her eyes and nodded. I knew she wasn’t happy with me, but leaving her in order to strengthen our defenses was important. I couldn’t explain it any better. She would probably understand when she was older. I tried to keep myself from falling all over myself to make her happy again.No one had ever affected me like Dolly. There must not be many children of angels wandering the part of the world where I had lived most of my life. Maybe it was more than just being a descendant of angels. Goblins were pretty dark creatures. Perhaps she was more internally balanced, and that was what called to me.There was no point in questioning it. I didn’t need all the answers. It wouldn’t change anything. Dolly was my child, and now I would make sure she had the best possible life. I ensure she had everything her mother probably wanted for her.“Sit at the table. I’ll get you some more food. Are you still hungry?” I asked.“A little,” she admitted as she stepped around me and went to sit down.My darkness pulled a chair out for her and, after a brief startle, she sat down. I started putting together some dinner for her. My darkness helped get things out while I stoked the fire in the stove. I put a pan on top of the stove.While it heated, I cut up fruits and mixed them together. I wrapped a couple of potatoes in aluminum foil and tossed them into the firebox of the stove. Dolly watched me as I moved around the kitchen. I used magic to speed things up while I worked, so the potatoes would be done when the rest was finished. Managing the speed of time inside such a small area wasn’t as difficult as it was in a larger area.I found the container I’d hidden in the icebox earlier and pulled out two large, thick steaks. Dolly’s eyes lit up. She was eager for the meat. I seasoned it and cooked it carefully, making sure it was as rare as possible while having a nice sear on the outside.When I looked over again, Dolly was leaning toward the kitchen with her eyes closed. She was smiling at the smell of the food. My darkness swirled around the room. No one had ever had a more perfect and adorable daughter. And if anyone else said they did, I’d make them regret it.Once the food finished cooking, I plated it all up and set our places at the table. My darkness brought drinks and silverware to the table. Dolly laughed as the items danced through the air.“Watch me,” I told her once I sat with her.I picked up the fork and stabbed at a piece of fruit, then put it into my mouth. Dolly mimicked me and grinned widely when she got a piece of fruit onto her fork. I showed her how to use the fork and knife to cut her meat as well. Dolly was a very attentive student.“Like this?” she asked as she struggled to cut a piece of meat.Moving behind her chair, I corrected how she was holding them and guided her hands. She ate the piece of meat she cut off, then I let her do another one on her own. Dolly struggled but managed to get a piece cut. I went back to my seat and ate some more of my dinner.“Why can’t we use our hands?” Dolly asked.“Because there are a lot of humans in the world and you’ll end up having to take part in their society. Eating with your hands makes you stand out. Some foods are eaten with hands or with other foods as utensils. I’ll make sure you know everything you need to know in order to fit in. No one will know you’re different.”“Is it bad to be different, Papa Rhett?”“There are some terrible humans out there who don’t like anyone who isn’t a human. If they find out you’re not human, they will try to kill you. The best way to ensure that doesn’t happen is to hide it.”She put her hand up to her ear, then smoothed her hair over it. I reached over and tucked her hair behind her ear. Dolly looked at me.“You’re in your home. When you’re on our land and in our home, you never have to worry about it. I’ll see about having Rock come teach you how to use your glamour. He was an ass when he first met you, but he’s a good guy,” I told her with a smile.“The tall man? Will he bring the woman with him? She was nice to me. Her voice reminds me of Mama’s. She talks softly.”“I’ll talk to them about it. Over the next year, you will meet a few other people. I know you’re going to like them. They are all very nice to children.”“But I’m staying with you. You’re mine and you won’t leave me,” Dolly said, grabbing my hand.“I’m yours, you’re mine. I’ll never leave. One day, you will fall in love with someone and leave me, though. That won’t be for a long time. Not until you’re a grownup. Until that time, I will always be there for you. All you have to do is call for me and I will appear,” I promised.“I don’t want to love anyone else. I only want to love you.”“You’re not old enough to understand what I’m telling you. One day, you’ll get married and the person you marry will love and protect you much like I do, but different. That doesn’t mean I’ll be going away. I’ll watch over you, then over your babies when you have them. I’ll be around for a very long time and I’ll watch over your family forever.”“What if I want to marry you?”Part of me wanted to laugh, but I didn’t want her to think I was laughing at her. She didn’t understand what that meant. I remembered hearing one of the little girls in my town tell her father she was going to marry him when she grew up. She ended up with a man who very much reminded me of her father.If Dolly ended up getting close to a man like me, I’d kill him. When she was old enough to fall in love, I’d make sure the person she ended up with was better than me. I’d do everything in my power to get her someone who would love her like the mates the supernaturals have.“We’ll talk about it when you’re older. For now, let’s focus on getting you healthy and teaching you all the things you should have learned. Carmen said you didn’t speak to anyone for years while you were in the cave,” I said, changing the subject.“I didn’t want to talk to them. If the other people talked to me, the man would hurt me. And he told me only to call him ‘master’. If I didn’t talk, then I was safer, and I didn’t have to call him that. He isn’t my master.”“You know what that word means?” I asked.“A master owns you. You aren’t a person if you have a master. Mama said we were free, and we had no masters. She said she would make sure no one ever made us call them ‘master’ again.”That gave me pause. Again? It appeared her mother might not have been captured by goblins. I doubted they would ever consider making someone call them ‘master’.“Did your mama ever tell you where you came from or where your father is?” I asked.“Mama said she couldn’t say his name, or he’d find us. The master-man wanted her to make a baby with him. He was the one who punished her and gave her to a monster. She said the monster was nice and tried not to hurt her, but the master-man splashed her with something. The monster wasn’t owned like she was. He helped her get away from the master-man.“She said the monster was my daddy, and she wished she could have taken him with her, but someone attacked him and he told her to go. He was sending her to the place his family was from. Mama told me my daddy was a hero. She told me a hero is someone who saves other people. Like you, Papa Rhett. That’s why I want to love only you. You saved me. You’re my hero,” Dolly told me with a smile.My darkness roiled inside of me. We both recognized who she was talking about. There were two great darknesses in the world that were stronger than me. Harmony was one of them, and now that she was trained, she was even more of a threat than before.The other was an original fae who was pure evil. It wasn’t a misunderstanding between species. He could hear and travel through shadows. It wasn’t an ability common to his species, but he had gotten it through his sick experiments.When I was traveling, I came across him and knew he could destroy me. The things he had done to himself made him immune to my magic. He wasn’t something I could defeat.All the information I’d gathered from shadier fae let me know how to stay safe. It was the reason I went with magic guns, so I could fight without my darkness if I ever needed to defend myself while he was in the area. If he ever met me and saw my darkness, he would want to experiment on me.He collected people who interested him, and there were very few warlocks in the world. To my knowledge, there were even fewer who were as strong as I was. I didn’t want to find out what could happen to me if he got hold of me. There was nothing shameful about hiding from a threat you couldn’t handle on your own.It appeared that he didn’t know where Dolly’s mother had gone. Her father said that was where his family was from, but if any goblins had lived in that cave, they would have killed Dolly and her mother. Was it possible that the satyr wiped out the goblins in that cave and took their children?There were whispers in the shadows about him collecting children to use for guards and servants. I also knew he collected ‘interesting’ women for his harem. It was all coming together for me. He’d found Dolly’s mother fascinating enough to take her, but she could resist him.That wasn’t common. Most women couldn’t resist the song of a satyr. It probably interested him even more. No doubt he would want to get his hands on Dolly if he knew about her. That wouldn’t happen. I’d keep her safe, just like her mother did.She kept Dolly even safer by never speaking the satyr’s name. If someone spoke his name, he could hear it and find that person, just like me. I’d spent centuries staying hidden from him. I could keep her hidden, too. Pronomos wouldn’t take my daughter from me.