Page 10 of Cheating Fate

“It’s not going to be that bad, Zha,” Tharek argued in that same reasonable voice. “We only want to assess him first.”

“By what fucking right?!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air with exasperation. “Why do you feel entitled to decide before me whether he’s worthy of me? And what happens if Gavin doesn’t meet the expectations of your little tests? Are you all going to try to forbid us from being together?”

He didn’t seem to have an answer. A part of me felt horrible for lashing out at him when this was ultimately Dad’s decision. Despite looking like he was in his early twenties, Tharek had just turned fifteen. All of us Titans easily passed for people at least six to eight years older than we actually were. That didn’t stop him from being far more mature than most other species at the same age.

A vigorous knock on the door spared him from having to respond. The muffled sound of our dad’s voice resonated outside.

“Everything okay?”

“Yes, Dad,” Tharek responded when I clenched my teeth and yanked my suitcase down from my bed, which it had been lying on.

Taking Tharek’s answer as a permission to come in, our father opened the door, his dark purple eyes zeroing in on me. The mix of amusement and guilt on his face upon seeing my expression made me even angrier. Without a word, I stormed past him, partially knocking into him on my way out.

“Where are you going?” he called out after me.

Without looking over my shoulder at him, I continued to march with determined steps towards the staircase to the ground floor of our three-story mansion. After moving from Xelix Prime to the new planet Veredia, my parents had recreated a very similar version of my father’s original house on his homeworld.

“I’m going where I’ve been ordered to go by our dear General, who saw fit to abuse his authority to harass me,” I snarled.

“Careful, young lady,” he growled menacingly.

I stopped at the top of the stairs and jerked my head towards him.

“Or what?” I hissed. “You’re going to ground me? Spank me? Lock me up somewhere? Because apparently I’m just some dumb child you need to control.”

“Watch your tone, Zharina. That is no way to speak to your father,” he said sternly.

“You’re not my father!” I spat.

Despite my anger, I flinched inwardly even as the words came out of my mouth. Seeing him recoil, and the deep hurt both in his eyes and plastered all over his face struck me hard. Tharek gasped and stared at me with shock and disbelief. But it was my Papa’s voice that reclaimed my attention. In my need to get away from Dad, I had not noticed Papa and Mom standing in the small seating area across from the staircase, which created a little hub between the multiple bedrooms of the upper floor.

“ZHARINA!” Papa exclaimed.

Shame burned my gut as he leveled his electric blue eyes on me. The horrified and disappointed way he looked at me stuck the knife in deeper. The even more horrified look on my mother’s face felt like a shower of acid. Obviously, I didn’t mean it. I just felt utterly betrayed and hurt, and in that instant I had wanted him to hurt just like I was. Still, I never should have said it. Dad was not my sire, but he definitely was my father, too. And I loved him. But all of this was more than I could handle.

Without a word, I turned back and all but ran down the stairs. Thankfully, the light weight of my suitcase didn’t impede my escape.

“Let me handle it,” my mother’s voice said behind me.

I all but stormed out of the house, and half-walked, half-ran towards the landing pad where my personal shuttle awaited.

“Zhara! Wait!” my mother called out behind me.

I didn’t want to stop. Anger and shame raged within me in equal measure. I didn’t want to lash out anymore, but I also feared that I would break down and start crying any minute, which felt even worse.

With much reluctance, I slowed down, allowing my mother to catch up to me. To my surprise, she didn’t make me stop to face her before starting to berate me. Instead, she slipped her hand into mine, gave it a gentle squeeze, and quietly led me at a leisurely stroll to the shuttle.

My throat constricted. Amalia Praghan wasn’t just my mother, in many ways, she was my best friend. With that incredible maternal instinct of hers, she understood that I needed a moment to cool down and gather myself before having that much-needed discussion. But the way she took my hand—and especially that gentle squeeze—made me feel supported more than any word could have ever achieved.

She opened the door to the four-people shuttle, let me set my suitcase in the small area at the back for cargo, then made me sit in one of the two passenger seats. She settled next to me then took my hand, gently caressing its back with her thumb.

We remained silent for a few moments. It wasn’t uncomfortable, just one more little reprieve that I welcomed.

“You have every right to be angry,” Mother finally said. “That last-minute change of plan is cruel to you, although that’s not his intention. But what you said, sweetie, that was too much. You broke his heart. You know how much Khel adores you.”

I snorted with disgust, my anger coming back with a vengeance, but this time with a hint of betrayal.

“Of course, you would say that. Funny how you worry about me breaking his heart, but not about him breaking mine,” I said bitterly.