Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Thea
“Daughter of mine.” The dark voice carries a promise of pain. He only calls me daughter when he’s furious.
I wince as the training room goes quiet. “Yes, Father?”
Barret’s handsome face has that stoic expression he wears; I know he hates to see me hurt, but he’s long accepted the way we trained here.
Connor stops and slings his training sword over his shoulder, giving me a cock-eyed smile; it should be handsome because he’s so good-looking, but the way he loves my pain makes it impossible to see him that way. Connor always seems to love pain.
Oliver was the only one who was weak and soft about it; he cried to me when we were kids, crying about how he wanted to go home to his parents. I didn’t feel a lot of sympathy.
I was with my parent, after all, for all the good it did me.
“I thought I saw you out in town,” he says softly. “Without permission.”
I shake my head, forcing myself to stay calm. I don’t dare look to Barret or Connor, but either of them can confirm I’ve been here the whole time. “No. I didn’t go anywhere. I have training to do.”
He stares at me for a long second, then softens as if he realizes I’m speaking the truth. “Indeed.”
Relief washes through me. We all try to be brave, but still, I dread and fear his punishments for our failures. I know Barret and Connor do too, even though neither of them will admit it.
“No, I thought for a moment that I saw you,” he goes on, “but then I realized it was your twin I saw. Izzy. You failed me and now that girl and her little god-friends are here, when none of you are ready.”
My heart hammers against my throat.
“We’ll kill them,” I say. “We’ll go now. Together, we’re stronger.”
He scoffs at that. “Are you? Are you strong enough to face Izzy and the others? I don’t think you are, Thea.
” He suddenly thunders, “I got the wrong daughter! She’s more powerful than my magic…
more powerful than any of you. She transforms so easily.
No, we’ll have to trick them to have any chance to kill them all. ”
I nod. “We will.”
My voice comes out so strong, but he levels a dark look my way. “My girl, I shouldn’t have been so lenient with your failure. Look at what it has cost us. She’s here at our door.”
“Like you said, she’s strong. It wasn’t as easy to kill them, even with the godslayers, as we all thought.” He’s furious and he wants someone to hurt; I know nothing I say will help. “You just said she was stronger than you! Why are you so mad at me?”
I know I’m saying the wrong thing, but sometimes I can’t hold myself back.
His jaw tightens, his eyes narrowing. Connor whistles in the distance, making things even worse--of course.
“I know just the ruse,” he says. “You’ll seek her out and appeal for help. Beaten, broken. She wants to save you. She’ll let you in.”
I stare at him. She sounds so weak.
So kind.
“But first, to set up the ruse,” he says, motioning with his fingers.
Barret and Connor suddenly seize my arms. I know it won’t help to fight them--in the end, they’ll all win out.
We all take part in these punishments and I’ve helped hurt them both many times all these years we were growing up together--but I can’t help pulling away in a moment of desperation and fear.
“It’s all right,” Barret says soothingly in my ear. “You’ll take the punishment you’ve always deserved. You talked your way out of it before, but you knew that wasn’t the right path, didn’t you? Now the debt will be paid and all will be well, Thea.”
His words are like a caress even as he pushes me against the wheel at the end of the training room. “You’re so strong,” he murmurs. “You don't have to be afraid of a little pain. That’s for the weak. Not us. We embrace it.”
Connor just shakes his head at Barret’s motivational speech, laughing to himself.
“Good luck,” he mutters. He reaches for the strap to fasten my hands. Viggo doesn’t stop him. Sometimes he’s forced us to hold each other still or beat each other.
But today, he wants to do it himself.
“She’s so much better than you are,” he says, his voice disgusted.
There’s a whispering sound as he drags the tip of the whip across the ground. I bite my lip hard and close my eyes.