Chapter 1 #3
“WHAT?! Why wouldn’t they?”
A nauseous feeling twisted my insides even as I asked the question. My gut told me what the answer would be, but I refused to even entertain that possibility. And yet, his next words confirmed it.
“Because I forbade it,” he said, lifting his chin ever so slightly with a hint of defiance.
My mother swallowed hard, clasped her hands on her knees, and averted her eyes with a deep air of guilt. As much as my father’s current behavior made no sense to me, realizing that she was also in on whatever this was cut me to the core.
My father heaved a sigh and gave me an apologetic look as I continued to stare at him, robbed of words.
“I’m sorry, son, but after serious thought and discussions, your mother and I no longer agree with you going to the Western Quadrant.”
“WHAT?!” I shouted, taking a step back as if I had received a brutal body blow.
“That place is a mess, Gavin,” my father said forcefully in a clear effort to convince me.
“You remember what happened to Siona. Granted, she is the new wife of the Sarenian Emperor. But if they went after her, who isn’t even at the heart of the major conflict looming on the horizon, what do you think will happen to you once you marry the twin sister of the Great General? You going there is a death warrant.”
“Are you insane?” I whispered, flabbergasted.
“The assassination attempt against Siona happened three years ago. But even if it had occurred only days or weeks ago, that wouldn’t change anything as far as I’m concerned.
You cannot possibly expect me to live my life based on what tragedies nearly befell others? ”
“They tried to kill her because she married the new Sarenian Emperor, who will fight on the opposite side of the impending Great War. On top of being Vahleryon’s twin, by all accounts, Zhara is his right hand.
She will be by his side every step of the way once he leads the bloodiest war in generations.
If you go there, you will be hurt! As your parents, it would be completely irresponsible of us not to protect you. ”
“This has got to be some sort of sick joke,” I said, bewildered. “You do realize that once the Great War begins, every single planet of both quadrants will get drawn into this mess, right? And yet, you expect me to sit idle on the sidelines like a fucking coward?”
His obsidian eyes darkened at my use of profanity. He wasn’t a puritan or stuck-up, far from it. And it was disrespectful for me to use it while speaking to him in the current context. Obviously, I didn’t intend it that way, but this was just too insane.
“I’m not expecting you to sit idle,” he ground sternly between his teeth. “But when the war begins, you should be fighting here, with your people, with Braxia. Keran needs you. If not for you, he would be dead today, and the Ancestors only know what vermin might be ruling our homeworld instead.”
“I did my part for Braxia, but my path lies elsewhere. Keran is surrounded by great people to see him through whatever the future holds, including Grappa Krygor. Zhara and Vahleryon will need me, too. More even…”
“You don’t even know her!” my father snapped. “Exchanging vidcoms in a long-range relationship and whatever weird dreams you two have had over the years isn’t a real relationship. You, better than anyone, have seen how many of our customers get lured here by catfishers.”
I clenched my fists and took an angry step towards him. “Zhara is not catfishing me!”
He sighed and nodded in concession. “You’re correct, she’s not.
But having a chat, not even in real time, with someone who lives halfway across the galaxy is not a real relationship.
Even dating someone in the physical world doesn’t reveal their true personality until you actually move in with them.
You want to put your life on the line for this childish obsession at a time when your family and your people need you more than ever. ”
I stared at my parents in turn, in complete shock and disbelief.
“Where is this coming from? You’ve both known all along what my plans were.
Don’t pretend like this is a sudden realization that you chose to act upon this morning.
You never act impulsively. Everything is planned and calculated.
So what is this? Your misgivings about Zhara are unfounded.
Have you forgotten that I can sense things?
This is right. My departure today for the Western Quadrant is right. I feel it.”
“I don’t care,” my father replied with a mulish expression.
“The decision is made. You are not going. You’re our firstborn, our miracle, and for me the impossible dream I never thought would come true.
I know you resent this right now, but we love you too much to let you put yourself in harm’s way. We are not losing you. Not like this.”
I couldn’t speak as too many conflicting emotions raged inside of me.
Although anger dominated, other feelings I couldn’t quite label also bubbled deep within.
I didn’t doubt the truth of his words when he said they loved me.
Everyone knew the tale of how my mother survived a violent assault by Gerwin while she was in the early stages of her pregnancy with me.
The bigoted, pureblood Braxian had hated my father, not only for being a hybrid—or half-breed as he disparagingly liked to call my dad—but also for being so wealthy when his own clan was struggling.
After his attempt at murdering my father got him banned from his clan, Gerwin snuck back onto Venus Hive, kidnapped my mother, and attempted to rape her, dislocating her jaw in the process.
He’d also violently punched her in the stomach in the hopes of killing the fetus that I’d been at the time.
When my father finally came to her rescue, he found her in a pool of blood, thinking he’d arrived too late.
I didn’t know the details of how they finally came to be together, aside from many persistent rumors.
As I didn’t doubt the veracity of some of the gossip, I could see how the family he had built constituted an impossible dream he never thought he could achieve.
While I empathized with his feelings, it didn’t give him the right to put me in a gilded cage for his own peace of mind.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to use a reasonable tone and not let the fury inside me take over.
“I love you both as well. You have been great parents, and I have strived to be the type of son you would be proud of. However, I’m no longer a child, and I’m especially not property.
The same way you left your homeworld and your clan to pursue your life and dreams, it is now time for me to also leave the nest. My future lies elsewhere. Nothing and no one will hold me back.”
The intense stare I gave my father as I spoke that last sentence made my meaning clear.
He clenched his jaw while my mother continued to avert her eyes.
As much as she had a tendency to avoid conflicts, when it came to protecting her children, my mother usually turned into a rabid beast. Whenever she disagreed with a course of action my father wanted to take where we were concerned, she had no qualms standing up to him until he heard reason.
Her passivity right now implied she was on board with his stance. This behavior made no sense.
“I’ve waited my whole life to meet Zhara face-to-face,” I continued in a firm tone.
“I will not wait any longer. You don’t want me to use your frigate?
No problem. You want to abuse your authority to prevent me from renting one from someone else?
Knock yourself out. I have my own ship, bought and paid for with my own money.
If this is how you want us to part, it is your choice. But you will not hold me back.”
“If you leave this space station to go to the Western Quadrant, I will disown you!” my father hissed.
“Anton!” my mother exclaimed, her face reflecting the bewilderment I felt.
He gave her a stern look, his face unyielding. “We talked about this, Grace. We agreed on the discussion that would take place.”
She tortured her hands in her lap, her face loudly broadcasting her discomfort. However, and to my complete dismay, it wasn’t because she disagreed with his stance, only with how the whole situation was going down.
“Disown me if you wish,” I said harshly.
“I don’t need your wealth and never cared about it.
I have plenty of my own, as you made sure each of your children was financially savvy.
Are you going to threaten to freeze my assets as well?
Because if you do, don’t doubt that I can easily rebuild my wealth.
I just don’t know who the fuck you are anymore. ”
Once again, he lifted his chin defiantly.
“I hate doing this, but as you won’t listen to reason, we have no choice but to take extreme measures. Can’t you understand that we don’t want to lose you?”
I scoffed. “Well, your current actions are ensuring that you will lose me. I love you both, but I am going. In time, I hope it is you who will see reason. This wasn’t the send-off I had hoped for, but so be it.”
I hated the bitterness and hurt that seeped into my voice at the end.
I’d never felt so betrayed by two of the people I loved the most in the world.
My father had always been so supportive, encouraging me to follow any dream, no matter how wild others thought them to be, to be bold, to ignore naysayers, and above all, to believe in myself.
This was so contrary to everything he tried to instill in me.
Turning on my heel, I headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” my father demanded in a commanding tone behind me.
Not stopping my advance, I replied without looking back at him. “I’m going to arrange new transportation for the others and then move my personal stuff to my chaser.”
“You are not leaving,” he snarled.