Page 41 of Beauty At Stake
“Daddy was angry when he left,” Shahzadi said to me. Her tone seemed a little sassy, but that was standard for her, so it was difficult to say if she was chiding me or not.
Raza said it was a trait of all Dragon-Djinn—that they're born feeling superior. I, however, think it's because he coddles her. Nurture versus nature. And Raza's nurturing was that of a man wrapped around his daughter's finger. Maybe that's why she loved her daddy the best.
“Yes, I know,” I said to her. “And don't tell tales about your father. What happens between us is not your concern.”
“Seren,” Raza whispered.
I lifted my brows at him as I stood up—a challenge in the act.
He sighed. “Your mother's right. You don't need to tell her things about me. She knows all.”
Shahzy pouted, but then said, “Okay, Daddy.”
“Okay, Daddy,” I muttered.
“Seren?” Raza gaped at me.
“Sorry. It's nothing.”
Raza cleared his throat. “Come here, dragonling.”
He picked Shahzy up even though she was too big for that now. That didn't matter when you were Raza's size. He could have carried me in the same way—propped on his hip like a country woman with a toddler. Shahzy immediately vanished her wings to make carrying her easier on her father.
“Are you staying a while, Mommy?” Shahzy asked.
I instantly felt guilty. It was my fault that I didn't have the same connection with Shahzy that Raza had. I simply didn't spend the same amount of time with her. That was the price of having so much love in your life. The love you give gets thinned out.
I frowned, thinking of Star and how much thinner my love would get if it had to stretch to include him and a family on Hell.
“Mommy?” Shahzadi asked again.
“Oh! Sorry, baby.” I stroked her cheek. “Oh, my beautiful girl. You are so special.”
She beamed at me.
“I wish I could spend more time with you.”
Her smile faded. “But you have to work?”
Ugh! This was what human mothers went through. This terrible guilt. Enduring those very words. Except that human mothers had to work to support their children, while I worked because Anu asked it of me. I suppose God's request is just as important as taking care of your family, but it didn't feel like that when I looked at my daughter and saw her crestfallen expression.
“I do,” I said. “But you know I'll come to see you when the mission is done, and we can go flying, then have a picnic, and whatever else you want to do.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.” I kissed her cheek. “I love you, Shahzy.”
“I love you too, Mommy.”
My other children, except for Miri, called me “mother” or “mom.” They were almost ten, after all. And Shahzy did too, but she also called me mommy a lot, especially when she felt needy. I blamed that on Raza too. Because I could.
Raza set Shahzy down. “Go on now, dragonling. Your mother and I have to look for something that could be important to her mission.”
“What?”
“A book?”
“A book?” She frowned.
