Page 72 of Princess Fallen
Iwait.I wait not so patiently for the answer to my question.
Finally—
“No being is inherently more powerful than any other, Hannah,” my father says.
“That’s crap.Vampires have mind control.”
“We do, but we also have blood lust.We can’t exist without blood once we hit a certain age.For every strength, there is a weakness.”
I hate to admit it, but my father’s words make sense.
“And wolves…” I begin.
“Have the power to shift, and then they have the power of the animal.The strong teeth, the feral nature.”
“What’s their weakness, then?”
“The same thing.Their animal natures.Their minds may stay—or at least remain close to—human, but their physical needs will win.A strength can also be a weakness.”
He’s not wrong.
“What is a demon’s weakness?”I ask.“How can I protect Larissa and Mom?”
“As I said, Richard broke his vow to me when he kidnapped you and then had you shot with one of his flaming arrows.Are you all right?”
Am I?I look down.Rogan has dressed my wound, and the pain… The pain is now minimal.How long has it been?
“I guess I’ll live,” I tell him.“But I swear, when that thing hit me, I thought my life was over.”
“Your life is far from over, Hannah.Richard will pay for this.”
“How?”
“I’m working on that.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” I say.“What is a demon’s weakness?”
“Evil, Hannah.Evil is a demon’s greatest weakness.”
“But they have incredible internal strength.They can suppress the evil.”
“True, and that is their strength.But Hannah, evil is evil.It will always win when a demon is cornered.”
“So what I witnessed…”
“You witnessed your stepfather’s evil.He’s the king, and he’s nearing seven centuries in age—”
“Are you kidding me?Seven centuries?I knew he was older than Mom, but my God.”
“Yes, he’s almost seven hundred years old, and he’s faced with what could become a mutiny.”
“They’re trying to dethrone him?”
“Think of it this way,” Dad says.“He needs to show his strength, and the best way to do that is to turn on his wife and stepdaughters.Especially his wife, whom he professes to love.If he shows that evil, he’ll be perceived as strong, and his subjects will continue to fear him.”
“He swore to me he wouldn’t hurt my mother.”
“That’s another thing about demons, Hannah.They lie.”