“What?!” Esther was not the kind of person who raised her voice like that. At least, never in front of her father. Yet after hearing his story, she could not stop herself. The disbelief burst out before she could rein it in.

Zeref leaned back against the arm of the sofa, his eyes closed, fingers pressing into his temples. “Esther, mind your tone.”

The words snapped her back to reality, a sharp reminder of who stood before her. She clenched her fists on her lap. “How could that ...