AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 24
Knock, knock!
I pull the covers over my head, not wanting to deal with anything in the real world. Sleeping is much better. Except for the dreams that force me to relive the worst moment of my life over and over.
“Marra,” my dad says.
My eyes fly open. Have I traveled back in time? Did he come back to life?
The bed dips down as he sits next to me. My heart thunders. He’s going to be pissed about me killing him.
He pulls the blankets off my face and moves some hair out of the way. I stare at my dad’s face. His eyes are kind.
Then it hits me. It’s Tiberias.
“You should get up. The academy called and said you’ve missed your classes.”
“My dad is dead. Don’t I get some grace for that? It’s not like it’s a secret. All of Valora watched.”
He frowns, his eyes full of compassion. “Sweet Marra, my heart aches for you. You’ve always had such a kind soul.”
“Kind people don’t kill their parents.”
“You were defending your loved ones. That’s something to be admired.”
“Doesn’t make me feel any better.”
He nods. “I understand. My heart aches over the loss of my twin brother despite the fact that he tried to kill me. He was my brother, and nothing can change that. I never wanted to banish him, much less see him killed.”
I sit up. “But you called for the battle to the death! I tried to talk you out of it, but you insisted.”
Tiberias pats my hand. “He was supposed to call my bluff. Demand to work it out another way.”
The words feel like a slap to the face. “Did he know that?”
My uncle looks lost in thought for a moment. “When we were growing up, we called duels all the time. Drove our poor mother crazy. We never agreed on anything, and calling a duel meant one of us had reached our boiling point. We rarely ever actually fought—nine times out of ten, the one who didn’t call it would request a compromise. And we almost always reached one. If not, then we fought.” He clears his throat. “After I called for the battle, my brother had every opportunity to request a compromise. He never did.”
“Maybe he didn’t know this was a duel. That isn’t what you called it.”
“Before I made the public announcement, I sent him a private message inviting him to a duel. He knew exactly what that meant.”
“And he didn’t respond?”
“He did. His message back to me was to bring it on.”
“Why?” I close my eyes. “What got into him? Why was he so bent on destruction?”
“That’s a good question.” Tiberias frowns. “He always had that streak through him. Mother always told the story of our birth, and how he screamed with four times the tenacity than I did. How he was difficult from the start, and that she often had to keep us separated even as infants because he would injure me.”
I stare at him. “I never knew any of that.”
“I’m not surprised. He never enjoyed hearing those stories. I’ve always thought he was angry with me for being born first since the very beginning.”
“You aren’t going to hold any of that against me, are you?”
He tilts his head. “Why would I do that?”
“I’m his daughter.”
