He stood up abruptly, stepping into her space and getting in her face, his eyes igniting like a sign his power was fighting to get free. To roast her here on the spot for daring to speak against him. But she didn’t move, holding her ground.
“Are you threatening me, Nefertari?” he asked in a deadly voice. “Isn’t my word enough for you anymore? What will it take to get you off my fucking ass?”
“Your word was never enough,” she sneered. “You’ve been too soft with her since she was born. Treating her like some sort of precious miracle while she—”
“Isn’t she?” my father cut her off, leaving her with her mouth parted in disbelief. “After all, there’s only been twinsoneother time before,and it was two boys. She’s the first female born with Heir blood. Every clan came to witness her existence and said she was ablessing.”
My mother scoffed and I had to pull Dimitri closer, his eyes betraying his thoughts.
“So you’ve actually been considering it, then.”
“Of course I have!” my father yelled, the sound echoing around us and making the walls shake and the water ripple. “Aghen doesn’t want to be the Shard Carrier, and Anastasia doesn’t want to be the Dragon’s Maiden!”
“It’s not about what they want, but about what isright!” she screamed back. “Aghen is yourson. He’s your rightful Heir, he’s—”
“Half as powerful as Anastasia is!”
My mother gasped and the whole space seemed to have frozen in time. Waiting. Holding its breath.
“You should have seen her fly,” my father said, voice now just a whisper. “Her bird size, the last time I’ve seen her shift, was nearly as big as mine, and it was five years ago. When she flew into a storm, the lightning was called toher. When we passed over a volcano, it bubbled and sizzled like she was the flame it needed to breathe. You don’t understand how—”
“She also burned down entire forests because she couldn’t control that damn power!”
My father sneered, his teeth and fists clenching.
“You think I was born able to control mine? You thinkAghennever had any mishaps? If I’d been able to teach her, to help her, it would have never happened in the first place.”
My mother looked at him, fury burning in her sort of green eyes. “I should have killed her the second she was born.”
Dimitri anticipated my gasp and his hand landed on my mouth. His eyes were murderous. Darting from me, to both my parents far away on the shore.
My father reacted before Dimitri could do something stupid. He grabbed her throat and nearly lifted her from the ground, growling at her face. “I should have killedyou, the second you gave birth, but here we fucking are.”
She scratched at his hands, trying to get free, but his hold was too strong.
“I gave you myword. Followed your wishes since they were born. Named Aghen my Heir and forbade Anastasia to shift and use her rightful powers again to appeaseyou. Don’t question my morals, or I’ll send your head back to the Chimeras’ clan.”
“You’d start a war,” she choked out.
“At this point, I don’t even care anymore.”
“If you do make her your heir and break your word, I’ll go back there,” she threatened, feet kicking in the air. “And I’ll come back with the Chimeras’ army.”
“If you keep pestering me, Imight. And don’t stay on my account; I’ve been praying to the stars for you to leave since you set your foot here. Hoping that, as soon as the children were born, you’d fuck off back from where you came from.
“If you actuallydidwhen I offered,mychildren would have been free to live as they pleased. My son wouldn’t hate me for forcing him to do things he doesn’t want to. Mydaughterwouldn’t have enough repressed power to burn down a continent because she’d be able to control and use it as needed.
“I wouldn’t live with a fucking constant headache at the thought of you putting your nose everywhere it doesn’t belong.”
He dropped her back to the floor and shoved her toward the narrow passage leading out of the cave.
“The reality is youknowyour own clan doesn’t like you any more than we do here. And youknowthat going back there would only make them see you as even more of a failure as they did when you left.”
Her chest heaved as she threw daggers at him with her eyes.
“I’m only staying because I don’t trust you,” she clipped. “Because I know the second I turn my back, you’ll go back on your word and start a war. And all this for what? Because you lack a backbone. Because your dearchildrencan manipulate you like their fucking puppet. Because you’re so soft they know they can get their way if they try hard enough.”
“Get out,” my father answered. “I don’t want to see you again for the foreseeable future.”
