Daughter of Zeus ✔

16

Weeks went by with Ada in limbo. She repeated the purge many times, many times without her father present but with Kressick assisting. When she recovered from each ritual, she felt all the stronger, even as her talents took time to build up to their full potential for hours afterward. Purging was addictive, and she needed to be careful. She didn't know when she might need to be ready to deal with the real Moretz.

Shana kept in touch. The updates were detailed, and she seemed on the verge of finding what Ada requested. When she did, Ada was ready to drop everything for a side mission. Atlanta had been a twisted adventure, full of bad choices and more bad choices. She still recoiled when she remembered Phennell, and she felt even worse when she thought about Moretz.

There were quiet dinners with Kressick, and a few times, Moretz sat in to eat with them. He asked Ada about her day, about her life plans, and other questions parents ask their grown children. She resented his interest in her because it humanized him. She no longer called him "the bastard" in her thoughts, and she was beginning to forget why she wanted to kill him.

On Sunday's, dinner was at the Moretz estate. One dinner, he sat next to her and accidentally brushed his knee against hers. At the contact, she experienced a tingling sensation. It took her a few seconds to identify the tingling as revulsion. Amid the revulsion came a flood of memories, all of them unpleasant, and she excused herself, leaving a half-eaten plate.

In the large entryway, Ada paced. Her footfalls echoed on the marble tiles, reverberating on the rounded ceiling. She was wasting time. Where was her focus? Phennell? Darcy? Cybil's daughter? Yet, she wasn't certain she could act out the final stage of her original plans. Moretz had ruined her, and she hated him, but killing him now seemed ridiculous. Gemina's hospital balance was partial proof of his goodwill. Maybe the mask he'd worn all these decades changed him, because he didn't seem the intolerable bastard her mother had cautioned her against.

Her wristlet buzzed with an incoming call. She read the caller id: the hospital.

"Hello?"

"Ada?" Her mother sounded small and very, very far away.

"Mom! Are you okay? How long have you been awake?" Tears immediately welled and rolled down Ada's cheeks, and she swiped at them impatiently.

"I'm okay. The doctor says my body needed time to recover after the new transplant. Been awake a few hours." Gemina slurred her words. "Where are you?"

Her heart rate picked up pace. What would she tell her? Was it safe to tell her anything? "I'm in Atlanta. Visiting...my father."

Her mother's shuddering intake of breath whispered across the line. "Why, why, why would you do that?"

"I wanted to meet him." Ada's mind raced ahead, planning on a return trip back to Colorado. Obtaining travel papers would be hard, but not impossible with Kressick's connections. She could get money easily. Her mother shouldn't be alone, but then she remembered Cybil and relaxed somewhat.

"He's dangerous," Gemina said. "I got away from him 'cause he hurt you, and I wasn't gonna have that."

More memories crowded in Ada's brain, all of them fuzzy. "Mom, I know, but he's different now, and has a family—"

"A family?" Panic elevated Gemina's tone. "Other children? Young children?"

"They're fine," Ada said, hating herself for defending Moretz.

"You don't remember, not everything, or you wouldn't have gone near him. I was glad you blocked out the worst of it, but you need to know now," Gemina panted out the words.

Ada's bad memories pushed out all else.

The clammy hands never stopped. Ada said she didn't want to, but that didn't matter. She was little, and he was big. She hated how big and clammy he was.

She slapped the hands away. The man laughed, his face a blur. Suddenly, his face came into focus.

Later in the mirror, she tried to deny the features. His features. She wanted to look like someone else.

Shame ate at her heart. Dirty. She was dirty, and she would never be clean again.

She gasped as though in physical pain.

Ada remembered all the family dinners and all the times he'd playfully referred to "Darce," one hand lingering on her sister's knee.

A renewed hate for him bloomed. Moretz was dangerous, and had so much more to answer for. She had to stop him before he hurt anyone else.

"I...I remember, Mom. It wasn't your fault." Tears clogged her throat, and she could barely speak. Her next words came out hoarsely. "He is dangerous. I'll come get you in a few days."

Her mom sniffed, an indication she must be crying. "Kressick too?"

"Kressick too."