Father’s eyes widen.
One of the Old? What is that? I have never heard, nor read about them.
“I was told that he would bring ruin upon us, not just the realm. He will grow up to kill his father, his mother, and his brother. And that is just the beginning…”
“One of the Old, Inaria? Is that what you are using to excuse your actions now? You have become delusional. I fear this is my fault for I have let it go on for far too long. I should have done something when I noticed the first signs of your decline.”
“I amnotcrazy,” she yells. “Regardless of whether you believe in the curse of the eclipse or not, or if you don’t trust my memory of that vision, the deaths that have followed him since birth should be proof enough. He iscursed, Hanth. And I will not die by his hand. I will not letmychild die by his hand.”
“He is your child too!” Father exclaims.
“He is an abomination, that is what he is!” With a sharp cry, she flings herself forward, throwing blast after blast towards me.My father intercepts most of them, but as he places himself in front of me, I can tell even he can’t go on for much longer.
Mother is an elite warrior, and though she is not a match for my father’s strength, he does notwantto use his power to hurt her. Despite everything, she’s still his wife.
“I’m sorry, Nykander,” he whispers to me as he creates a shield around us. “I should have protected you better. I should have seen the signs earlier, and I should have done something. This is all my fault.”
My cheeks are tearstained, my voice ragged from all the crying. But I find some hidden strength within myself to speak.
“It is not your fault,pateri. Please do not think that,” I beg him. “It is not your fault.”
He gives me a sad smile.
The energy around him crackles and the shield becomes strained under mother’s continuous attacks. Though I am not well versed in spiritual energy, even I can tell that father will not be able to keep going like this for much longer. And when he cannot defend me anymore…
“Let her do it,” I whisper. “Do not hurt yourself on my account. Let her kill me and be done with it. I was meant to die here today anyway. And…” I press my lips together. “Thank you. What you did today… Thank you.”
“No,” he shakes his head. “I will not allow this,” he states through gritted teeth.
Half-turning towards my mother, he stares at her with an expression I have not seen before on his face.
“You have gone too far, Inaria. I no longer recognize you,” he says in a low, sad voice. “Six thousands years we have been together, and I cannot find in you the female I fell in love with.”
“You are wrong, Hanth,” she spits out. “I have not gone far enough. But I will. If it means protecting my life and that of my son—myonlyson—then I will do anything.”
It does not escape me that she excluded father from this equation, and neither does it escape my father.
He takes a deep, disappointed breath. It is almost as if those words are breaking him from inside out, for he knows the meaning behind them.
To save herself and Baine, she would kill even her own husband. Yet I wonder how much Baine figures in this equation. He has always been mother’s favorite, but I do not think she loves anyone more than herself.
My father’s features harden. Straightening his back, he strengthens his shield as he conjures a sword in his hand.
Mother blinks in surprise. I do not think she expected him to strike back. And as he prepares to do so, I can see the shift in her countenance—the fear that seeps into her energy.
She was betting on the fact that he loved her too much to hurt her. But it is a bet she just lost.
Father swivels.
He takes a step towards her.
A loud crash erupts in the sky. The clouds are gathering at a fast pace overhead. Lighting breaks through the darkness of the sky, illuminating it. An eerie sensation enters my limbs as I watch my parents about to fight to the death, and I cannot help but feel a deep sense of bereavement. It is odd. I have neverhadwhat other children had, so it should not technicallybebereavement. Yet nonetheless, an emptiness followed by an unbearable ache settles within me.
“Please don’t,” I whisper, hoping my father would hear me.
He does not.
My mother is his sole focus.
