Deliverance [malexmale]

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Why not? I was given my first weapon when I was her age."

"Menoetius! You were a child soldier and you weren't supposed to be. Do you really want to scare Amenti when she's this young? Besides, according to Akin, her teeth are pretty sharp. She bit the dentist when Akin got her her first appointment. She still needs to go back for a full cleaning, which I rescheduled with another dentist across town who specializes in children."

"Why does she need to see a dentist? I don't trust someone to stick sharp things in her mouth."

"That's not what a dentist does."

"The website called YouTube begs to differ."

"That's it; I'm cutting your web-surfing time down to half an hour. You're a menace with that thing. Besides, dentists aren't supposed to hurt people. They just check to make sure their teeth are okay. If she doesn't see the dentist, she'll cry after she gets a cavity or her tooth falls out."

The very thought of Amenti crying broke my heart and I'd panicked for the rest of the night, hadn't slept a wink. Now, I was standing outside the school building with Amenti holding my hand and Arikos standing beside me, probably to make sure I didn't actually run back home with Amenti.

"You'll be okay," Arikos told Amenti with a warm smile, "You get to make lots of friends here. You get to go on field trips and learn stuff that you can teach Menny. Then you get to tell him what to do." Amenti's eyes glinted at that and I grimaced, but she offered me a smile, surprising me when she squeezed my hand before letting go.

"I'll be okay, Menny. Promise! I'll come back and tell you all about it! So don't be sad, okay?" She beamed and I swallowed, giving her a nod. She threw her arms out in expectation of a hug and I knelt down in front of her, letting her throw her arms around my neck and squeeze me so tight, my breath left me in a gasp. I hugged her back, not hard enough to hurt, but wishing I could just keep my arms around her forever.

She gave me a kiss on the cheek, then went over to Arikos to give him a hug and a kiss too. Then she was racing off through the front door, Mr. Rowan O'Brian smiling at her as she came inside before looking up at me and Arikos. He waved, then gave us a thumbs up.

"What's that mean?" I asked Arikos, who smiled.

"Means she'll be okay." I nodded, though I kept eyeing the building behind us as we walked away, feeling mild panic at not having Amenti at my side, her tiny hand in mine. My hand felt empty and cold, at least, until Arikos took my hand and filled the space.

"You did good," Arikos told me as we headed down the curving street that took us back toward a bunch of office buildings, "I actually thought you were just gonna run back home."

"I was tempted," I muttered, giving his hand a squeeze to ease the anxiety building in my chest, "What if she gets hurt?"

"Fae's have some pretty good healing abilities. I'm sure Mr. O'Brian will take care of her."

"What if he hurts her?"

"He won't."

"How do you know?"

"Because you're the one who did a background check on him. He's worked as a principal at human schools, Menoetius. The only reason he left those jobs was the fact that humans were beginning to grow suspicious about his age. That's it. As far as I'm concerned, he's going to be wonderful."

"Maybe." I still wasn't convinced, which was illogical, but I was beginning to learn that there was no such thing as logical when it came to having a child. Everything was a threat in my eyes. Everyone was a danger. And Amenti's tears were my greatest weakness. She'd stubbed her toe at the park and cried and I'd nearly cried with her, unsure why when I knew it was just going to heal quickly, and it wasn't nearly as bad as, say, getting stabbed in the stomach or crushed by a mountain of rocks. But it was the sight of her tears and the pain that jacked up my fear and concern.