Talia
Day Three
I am standing outsideJulie’s room again; only Henry is the one who brought me here this time. Yesterday, I spent the remainder of the day staring at the ceiling before eventually falling asleep again. I don’t mind that so much because at least I am with Soren. I can sit in silence with him, because it means he is alive and not in pain.
“Come in,” Julie says sweetly. Henry simply pushes me in and shuts the door while I stare at her.
“Sit,” Julie says, pouring a cup of tea, even though I never touched the one from yesterday. “How did you sleep?”
“Fine,” I say.
“They tell me you are behaving,” she offers. “Not tempted to talk to Soren?”
“I was told not to,” I answer. “What are you trying to accomplish by boring us to death?”
“Think of it as a time for reflection,” she says. “How come neither of you talk?”
“Because he is starving,” I say. “And I was told not to talk. I don’t understand what your point is here.”
“I’m just trying to get to know my daughter,” she says with a smug smile, and I actually do snort out a laugh. “How is your father?”
“Like I care. He sold me to Henry,” I lie. I know exactly where he is.
“He always was too weak for confrontation.”
“Is that why he left you?” I ask, and she grits her teeth. Is she… jealous? She doesn’t know that I know he chose me over her, but she does and hates it. “You don’t seem very fond of him.”
Julie smooths invisible wrinkles from her skirt before lifting her teacup. “Your father lacked vision.”
“Or he just didn’t want you,” I spit out.
The cup stops halfway to her lips in the silence that stretches between us. There it is again. It’s not anger, not yet anyway. It’s something uglier. Something almost… wounded. For someone who claims she has already won, she seems awfully bothered by a man who has supposedly been out of the picture for twenty years.
“He chose you,” she says eventually. The words come out sharper than intended, and I sit back in my chair. So is that it? Not Soren. Not immortality. Not power. Me. My father chose me, and she fucking hates it. The realization settles heavily in my chest. Soren rejected her. My dad abandoned her. Now her own daughter possesses the one thing she spent centuries trying to force. She wants what everyone chose over her.
“You know,” I say carefully, “for someone who calls him weak, you sure spend a lot of time talking about him.”
Julie sets her cup down. The delicate clink sounds far louder than it should. “You think you understand what’s happening here?” she asks.
“No,” I say honestly. “I think you are making it really obvious.”
The room seems to grow colder. It’s not physical, but emotional. The mask is still there, but I can see the cracks now. Good. Cracks are where things break.
I never thought I would be so happy at the revelation that my own mother is jealous of me, but she is. My mother wants to be me so badly that she has destroyed her humanity to make it possible.
I am sitting onthe cot with my legs crossed and the blanket tight around me. I’m staring at a spot on the wall, replaying all of the happy memories I have with Soren and the guys: the laughter, the teasing, the way they all take care of me in their own way. Even as I sit here, disassociated, Soren keeps his eyes on me. He’s checking on me constantly, even though I can feel how weak he is. He doesn’t need to admit it, because it weighs heavily on my soul. His primary concern is me, not him.
That was the difference between him and Henry all along. Henry wanted to control me, but Soren has only ever wanted to be wanted. He never tried to force it on anyone. He rejected it, actually. I will be the first to admit that he has a massive ego, but not with his own emotions.
When the door opens, I drop my head to look at my hands. Henry and Micah waltz in without a care in the world. They don’t even glance at Soren before stopping in front of me. “Stand,” Micah says.
Micah has forced the connection that has me rising to my feet without even questioning it. It’s what I should be doing, but I fucking hate that it was so automatic. I need to be careful about being complacent when it comes to this manufactured bond. Hewants it to create a divide between Soren and me, but I can’t let it.
“Good girl,” Micah says with a smile. “Now, since you have been so good, I want to reward you.”
I stare at him because I don’t actually know how to respond.
“You get to take me and Henry this time,” he says. “Isn’t that exciting?”
