Chapter 38:

My father's blue eyes tracked the movement of the large dragon that was now sprawled out on the table top in front of me. However, now, there was definitely a spark of fear shining in those blue eyes. As much as I hated it, as I looked a little closer, I remembered that face. Back then, it had been blurry from my tears and looked far younger, but there was no doubt this was the man who left me crying in the fucking dirt. 

"Aria, it doesn't have to be like this. You don't understand. I had to leave you. I was only trying to make a better life for you." 

"Oh, because that makes it right to leave your own child crying in the dirt, right after her mother had died right in front of her, and the house we used to live in burned to the fucking ground. You didn't even bother to so much as glance back or care as you walked away from me back then, so what makes you think I'm going to trust anything you have to say now? Oh, and to answer your question from earlier, no, I will not be asking the one person at this table that I trust to leave, especially not for you." The fucking gall of this man. "You might as well just get on with whatever you summoned me here for and be done with it." I all but spat out at him, and Xavier pulled me in a little closer so that his hand rubbed over my arm in a soothing gesture that I took far more comfort in than I thought I could at the moment. 

"We should order drinks first. I'll get you a water." He said with a wave towards the waitress to get her attention, but Xavier was the one to surprise me this time. 

"She can order for herself, and damn well doesn't need you telling her what she can and can't have." Xavier all but growled out in a low tone that left zero room for argument. My father glared at him, but Xavier simply just held his stare. 

'Will you remind him that I don't have any money?' I asked Bane, who was still glaring daggers at my father, right alongside Xavier. 

Bane only laughed at me as he flicked his long tail over my thigh. 'If I told him that right now, he would throw a fit simply over the fact that you think you have to with him around. Trust me when I say that he doesn't mind in the slightest, and even if he did, he would still do it simply just to spite this asshole.' Okay then, I guess I'll just have to thank him later. 

The waitress walked over, and my father cleared his throat, finally glancing away from Xavier to look up at the young girl. "I'll take an ale, please." He told her before looking pointedly towards Xavier. 

"Put ours on a separate tab, please," Xavier told her before looking over at me. "What would you like, princess?" He asked, giving my arm a slight squeeze, but I didn't miss the glare my father shot his way at Xavier's nickname and blatant disregard for the typical gender norms of the Celestial community. Typically, all of Celestia treated women more like an afterthought. We went last in everything, so seeing Xavier put me first was a huge slight towards my father. 

I just smiled at Xavier, though. I genuinely appreciated the gesture from him, especially right now, even though I didn't have the first clue about how to order anything other than water here. I've never had alcohol in my life, so instead I made a quick decision. I gave the waitress a sweet smile before making sure my father saw me slide my hand from the table before placing it on Xavier's thigh as I leaned into his hold a little further. 

"Just make it two of whatever you want." I might have been laying it on a bit thick, but it was pretty obvious that our relationship was pissing my father off, so I was more than happy to play into it as I lay my head against Xavier's shoulder as I looked up at the waitress. Xavier raised an eyebrow at me, but I saw the hint of a grin that crossed his lips before he looked back up at the waitress. 

'You might end up regretting that choice.' Nova told me with a snicker, but honestly, I really didn't care. 

'To be completely honest, I really don't care, as long as it's coming from Xavier and not that damn man.' I told her, and she looked at me for just a moment before looking back across the table. 

'He's telling the truth, by the way. I can smell it.'

'I know. I remember his fucking face.' I couldn't help the anger, but she just rubbed her cheek against mine. 

"Whiskey, neat, and a plate of whatever kind of meat you have. I wouldn't want a nice girl like you to have to clean up after a hungry dragon. It tends to get a little... messy." Xavier told the girl, who was inching away from us, the more he spoke, before swinging his gaze to my father at the last word. Bane let out a low growl, causing my father to shrink back slightly away from the clear threat. The poor girl all but ran from the table with a nervous smile the second she had everything written down, and I sat back in my chair once more, but made it a point to leave my hand on Xavier's thigh.

My father swallowed hard before pulling his gaze from Xavier's, glancing down at Bane, and finally looking at me. I felt Xavier's whole body tense the second those eyes landed back on me, but he made no move to actually act on it. 

"Aria, you have to think about this. I was only trying to help you. Yes, I moved to the capital that day, but I couldn't have brought you with me. No one in Calista would have hired a widower with a five-year-old girl. Leaving you was the only thing I could do. The only thing that matters in that city is power, and I had to start over entirely in order to make it back here to you." I just shook my head at him. That only fueled the fire burning in my chest to know that he knowingly left me there without even bothering to find me a place to stay beforehand. No, he just up and left.  

I was done attempting to think past the anger simmering in my veins, knowing he did it on purpose, shattered any hope of that into a million pieces. "You know, it turns out that no one here wanted a five-year-old girl either. Do you have any idea what people do here to a five-year-old that not only just watched her mother die in front of her, but also then watched her own father simply walk away and completely disown her?" I couldn't stop the empty laugh that fell from my lips. "They ostracized me. The foster family that was forced to take me in did the bare fucking minimum to keep me alive, and only ever even so much as spoke to me if it was necessary. Everyone avoided me unless they wanted to use me. Do you have any idea what that does to someone?" 

Xavier's hand started slowly rubbing over my arm once more, but this time his movements were far more stiff. I could tell that it was taking everything in him to keep his temper under control. The urge to strike seemed to almost radiate off him with every breath after hearing that. 

I stole a glance at him and realized that while on the outside he looked rather relaxed, posture-wise at least. I could feel the tightening of his muscles as they coiled to strike, and those sharp emerald eyes tracked every single little move my father made.

That, however, happened to be the moment when my father decided it would be a good idea to move. He started to reach across the table towards me, but not only did Bane snap at him, Xavier moved far faster than even I could catch. The only thing that I caught was the flash of something right in front of me before there was the telltale sign of the thunk of steel meeting the solid wood table. Everyone, except for Xavier, flinched back from the large dagger that was now sticking out of the table top directly between my father and me. Bane even scooted back towards me, but my father almost tipped his chair over backwards in his scramble to back away from the blade. 

Xavier's hand slowly released the grip of his dagger, leaving the blade there as yet another, very clear warning to my father. My father's blue eyes frantically landed on the warrior beside me, and I watched as Xavier's lips pulled back into a cold smile that seemed far more like he was baring his teeth at the other man rather than anything close to a smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to mention that I tend to get a little twitchy when I feel that something of mine is being threatened." Xavier told him, but there was no hint of actual apology in his tone, only the cold undertone of a very clear threat that I knew he would make good on if my father actually tried anything.