Harry paced his bedroom, wearing down the floorboards. Liam remained seated and stared at his father, trying to process his secrets.
Surprisingly, Liam took the news rather well. If Vincent tried to tell him when he first discovered that he was turning into a God, the information might have tipped his sanity over the edge.
Before, Liam needed a father, a regular and simple human.
Maybe Vincent knew that.
"I have more questions," Haz said, not stopping to see his father nod in response. "I don't get your ageing process. If you were seventeen in the twelfth century, why are you not only seventeen now if one thousand human years is one year for all of us- "
Vincent cleared his throat to stop his son, wanting to answer one question at a time.
"We aged a lot faster back then. The ageing process has changed to sync with the war. I don't doubt that the angels had something to do with it. Heaven will be heavily involved, and they want the wisest, fittest, and the strongest on their side."
Harry sat by the window, ready to carry out his interrogation. The summer breeze filtered through his dark hair.
"Why didn't Reyana recognise you? And are you not mad? She killed your mate."
"In the Enchiridion, it says Gods can only see other Gods when it matters. I only saw Reyana once, and that was when she tried to kill me and killed my mate. I would have died if I had you boys at the time, but the power couldn't leave my body because l had nobody to pass it onto, so I lived. Also, I'm older now, so maybe she thought I was a human relative," Vincent said, smiling through the sorrow.
Liam wondered what kind of horrific pain his father went through after losing a mate. He couldn't imagine losing Zayn, his heart
would shatter.
"For a long, long time, I wanted to find Reyana and kill her for what she did. My dad had to physically hold me back some days, and even comfort me when I was struggling with the heartache. It has been a long time now and what kind of person would I be if I was still revengeful?"
"Was it hard seeing Reyana again?" Liam asked.
"Yes, it brought back a lot of unwanted memories," Vincent said truthfully and diverted his eyes to the ground, finding it hard to look them in the eyes after lying to them for so long.
"I feel like a terrible father. You boys deserved to know the truth from the beginning."
Harry walked over to the bed. "But you were protecting us, right? That doesn't make you a bad father."
"It's the lying. You deserve to feel confident when putting all of your faith into a parent. My life is a huge thing for me to keep a secret and it changes everything about me."
"It doesn't change you, though," Liam said quietly. "It is a bit weird knowing you're actually hundreds of years old." The thought would remain strange for a while.
"Come here, both of you." Vincent laid on his back and stretched his arms out, leaving space for his sons to lie close on either side. He wrapped his arms around them like he did when they were little.
"I'm not a God anymore. I don't label myself as anything other than your father. You boys are the most important people in my life, and you are both my number one priority. Just because I have told you my past, doesn't mean it changes anything except that I'll be able to help with your God duties Liam and help with your curiosity for the subject, Harry."
Harry chuckled and the brothers hugged him tighter. Vincent released a content breath, and the internal panic subsided.
"We love you, just please, no more secrets. I can't keep up with them all." Harry propped himself up on his elbows, itching to ask more questions.
