Luc met Hope’s eyes and leaned toward her as he started his story. “Leto and I met at the grocery store. I admit I was mesmerized by her beauty, but after an afternoon of chatting about . . . well, everything, I knew I couldn’t let her go.” He ran his hand over Leto’s head in a soft caress. “We dated and, as you know, fell in love and got married.”

“If you loved her, why did you leave?” Hope wasn’t angry anymore, but she wasn’t going to let him off the hook on this either. “People don’t abandon those they love, right?”

“You are right.” Luc’s shoulders slumped. Then, after a deep breath, he continued, “We’d been married for about a month, maybe two, when your mother asked me to sit down. She had something she needed to tell me . . .”

He closed his eyes and took another deep breath. When he opened them, his features smoothed out and he smiled, as if the memories were right there, in front of him.

“I wanted to put the conversation off,” he said then turned to Leto. “Remember, I wanted to go on a date.”

She swallowed, and her eyes filled with tears. “I remember.”

“It was almost like I could feel your fear, and I wanted to make it better. But mostly, I was worried, because I had deceived you. You called me Symeon, and every time it made my heart ache. I hadn’t even told you my first name.”

Leto waved away his concern. “I love both your names.”

Hope wanted to tell them to speed it up already; their mushy declarations of love were weird and made her uncomfortable. Like her parents needed some time alone. “Do you want me to come back another time?”

Leto smacked Hope’s leg. “Manners.”

Hope blushed from the reprimand. She was being rude. How hard would it be to bite her tongue while he finished his story? Clearly, her mother loved Luc. It was the least Hope could do. “Sorry.”

Luc leaned over toward Hope. “It’s okay that you’re upset. I won’t begrudge you that. But I do care, and I think you really do want to know what happened.”

He was right, and Hope settled back into the couch to hear his story.

“Your mother refused to go out, saying that what she had to say couldn’t wait, not even a few hours. We sat down on the sofa, and . . . I held her hand in mine. I think that was the first inkling I had there was something more about her. Her skin was . . . is the same golden tone as mine.”

“She made me promise not to be angry, and I was so surprised. What could she say that would make me angry? I promised. Of course, I promised. Then, she asked me if I believed in the gods.” He flinched as if the memory caused him physical pain. “In that moment, my concern shifted to apprehensive unease. Had she already suspected me? Did she know what I was?”

Leto shook her head. “I had no idea.”

Luc nodded. “I know, dear.” He looked back to Hope. “I tried to be casual and asked her why she wanted to know, but I had no idea what was coming. She told me she wasn’t human, whispered it in a pained voice and closed her eyes. She was so afraid of my reaction she refused to look at me, and it made my heart ache. But inside, I was relieved. I thought she’d meant she was a demigod, and I was excited with all that could mean. We could spend eternity together if we were careful. I thought the Fates had smiled on us. I thought it was a divine blessing.”

He pursed his lips.

Hope no longer wanted to interrupt him. She clenched her mother’s hand and waited for more.

“I tried to reassure her, but she cut me off, telling me there was more she needed to say. Her persistent anxiety was making me nervous, and I wanted to tell her it was okay because we were the same. But she had to tell me something before it was too late. Too late . Those were the words that made me close my mouth and just listen.”

“She told me that a god had tried to court her grandmother, and my frenzied mind misunderstood. I knew how demigods were formed. But then she said that her grandmother had refused the god and chosen her mortal lover. That’s when I knew something wasn’t right. That couldn’t be right. But it was her next words that made my heart stop. She asked if I believed in curses.”

Pulling her hand away from Hope’s, Leto wiped at the tears streaming down her face. “I’m so sorry.”

Luc knelt in front of his wife. Cupping her face with his hands, he wiped away the rest of the moisture with his thumbs. “You are not to cry for me anymore. I don’t mourn my choice. I’ve never regretted it.”

He sat on the floor at his wife’s feet and looked up at Hope. “Leto asked me if I believed in monsters. I couldn’t believe it at first. It was impossible. Monsters were half-breeds, and your mother was physically human. I knew that was what she was implying, that she was a monster, and for a brief moment, I thought maybe she was insane. But as to my belief? I knew that monsters existed. I’d seen them: centaurs, the Mer, even a griffin. I admitted my knowledge, even as I wondered where the conversation was going.”

“She told me that her mother was a monster, and I tried to think of how that could be possible. The only explanation I could conceive was that some of the primordial deities had the ability to appear as monsters as well as human. But your mother assured me her mother wasn’t a primordial deity.

Luc sighed. Resting his head on the couch, he closed his eyes as he continued, “My father used to tell me stories. He’d tell me of conquests . . . and curses. I’d heard the story of the Sphinx more than once, but I didn’t know she could become human. I don’t think anyone did.”

“Leto told me that her grandmother refused the advances of the god, and in vengeance, the god had killed her and cursed her newborn baby. The baby, her mother, sought the aid of the Graeae, who reinterpreted the curse, thus allowing the monster to live as human . . . most of the time. She told me that the curse had passed from mother to daughter, and she now carried it. In that second, that very second, I knew.”

He straightened and faced his wife and daughter.

Hope’s heart seemed to be breaking as she watched the pain wash over her parents.

Looking up into Leto’s eyes he continued, “I knew what you were going to say, but I prayed I was wrong. I wanted so much to be wrong in that moment. But then you said the words. As soon as you admitted to being the Sphinx, I felt so much shame. It was my father that cursed you. My own father. I knew he wasn’t perfect, far from it. He is emotional, rash, and dismissive. But there is one thing I’ve seen him totally fanatical about, and it’s consistent.”

Luc raised his hand and pointed at Hope. “He is fanatical about his ownership of the monster he created. You are the one creature he considers wholly his, and he is determined to possess you. The entire purpose of the curse is to break you to his will. He will stop at nothing . . . absolutely nothing.”

He swallowed. “I was too weak, or too naïve, to fully comprehend what that meant. I kissed your mother and offered false platitudes that we would be fine. That it was okay. But my words were in earnest. I never meant to be untrue. And every assurance of my love was sincere and heartfelt. I did, I do, love her.” He stared up at Leto with wide eyes. “I love you.”

Hope was still trying to reconcile the story her father was telling with what she’d believed her entire life. Not that she didn’t believe him, but if he loved Leto so much . . . “So what happened? Why did you leave?”

Luc stood and resumed his pacing. “She told me she was going to change at first light, said I could leave if I wanted to. As if I would abandon her so easily.” He pointed at Hope. “Which is probably why you believed me to be so callous. And I’d be lying now if I didn’t admit I was scared. There was no way to hide what I’d done, and I didn’t want to. But I also knew my father would find out, and I’d need to explain what had happened. At some point I would have to face him. But as I held your mother in my arms, I knew with every fiber of my being, I couldn’t let her go. And I would do whatever was necessary to keep her safe, even if it meant defying my father.”

Hope had never really understood the term watching a train wreck happen until that moment. She knew where this was going, but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything to stop it.