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I am not sure what has inflamed Ocuri so because he is waiting for me when I return home.
I am slightly more sober than I was at the pub, but I am still visibly drunk.
“So!” he calls, and I wince from the volume of his voice. “The drunk returns home.” It seems that our parents are away because the house is quiet.
Ocuri does not waste time laying into me. He walks up to me and grabs me by my shirt. He knocks the gift for Prince Carisu out of my hands, and I wince again as the items inside the package shatter upon contact with the floor.
Ocuri grabs me by the shirt and hisses into my ear. “I know you think you’re going to go to this ball and prove to Mother that you’re worthy of being her son. I know what your plans are. Anyone can see. But you’re not worthy of being her son, and you’re certainly not worthy of going to this ball.”
I am powerless to Ocuri’s machinations as he walks me over to a mirror.
“Look at yourself!” he roars. “You’ve become a drunk, and you have accomplished nothing in your life! You are a piss head, and you deserve nothing from us! You don’t even deserve my pity, brother!”
I am so tired. When is it going to stop? When do I get peace?
Ocuri lets go of me. I walk away from him, slightly more sober, but I do not miss the fact that my brother is following me.
I am so, so tired,I think woodenly to myself. I just want to get away from my family. I just want it all to be over now.
Ocuri grabs me as I head to my quarters and laughs mockingly in my face.
“You’re such an embarrassment to this family. Look at you. Look at who you’ve become! Or were you always going to turn out this way? Tell me, brother, do you think you were born a failure?”
I know that nothing good is going to come from this confrontation. I still do not know what’s provoked Ocuri.
He started leaving me alone when we entered adulthood, and there was a period of time when he did not live with us.
When he was home, he would ignore me. He would only join in when our parents were berating me for something or another.
But he hasn’t been this vicious, this violent, in a very long time.
For the first time in a while, I am truly afraid.
“I hope you know that I am friends with Prince Carisu, and he already knows what a failure you are.” He whispers this in my ear, and I close my eyes. I am not sure if this is the truth or if he is just trying to hurt me further.
“I hope you know that you will never live up to Mother or Father’s hopes for you. Especially Mother. She lost faith in you a long time ago.”
Something inside me snaps then. I do not know what it is.
All I know is that I am turning and twisting away from my brother’s grasp and throwing a punch. I hit him squarely in the face, and he staggers backwards. I continue punching him. For the first time in a long time, I feel powerful.
I land on top of him and continue hitting him.
For a moment, I see Ocuri’s face. His jaw has dropped, and his eyes are wide. He is breathing heavily.
I see fear on his face.
I stop. And that is my mistake.
He flips me over and hits me once before he jumps up, jerking me upwards.
“You need to remember your place, brother,” he hisses in my ear. “Do that again and you’ll wish you were never born.”
7
SALINA
The boat rides smoothly along the water, rocking side to side ever so gently, the seas of Protheka cradling the vessel like a newborn baby. I stand at the starboard, surveying the city of Vhoig as the ship draws nearer to its docks.
