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In the past three days, Salina has taken care of me more intently and more kindly than my mother ever has. She has done more for me than my father ever has. And she has apologized for hurting me more than my brother ever has.
I need to get this revenge for her, because I cannot stand the thought that she might be in pain.
I cannot stand the thought that she might never get the closure that Ocuri’s death would have brought her.
I also cannot risk losing her to the darkness of her grief and rage – the way I almost did when she lost control of her rot magic.
Salina takes a deep breath, and my shoulders stiffen as I wait for her to respond.
“I am less shocked than I imagined I would be,” she confesses. “And I think I am over that shock now.”
Then she turns to me and places a soft hand on my shoulder. I relax underneath her touch as a smile stretches across her face, and she arches her eyebrow.
“Now.” Her voice has changed, and I shiver just listening to her speak. Her voice has become low, quiet, soft. “Do you really intend to help me kill your brother in cold blood?”
“Yes.” I do not need to think about it. “Of course I will. I have wanted to kill Ocuri for years now.”
There are other things I could say, to plead my case such as it were. There are things I could say to convince her that I hate my brother.
Things like how Ocuri is a stain, an ugly bruise, who doesn’t deserve to live. Ocuri is a burden that I, and Protheka, have had to carry for years now.
I could also say something like how I care about her more than anything in this world. I could say, I care about you and I would do anything for you.
“We should do this,” I tell her and brush stray strands of hair out of her face. “Because it will bring you the closure you need. And it will free me from my brother’s abuses forever.”
Salina swallows, and her golden eyes glint angrily.
“Abuses?” Her voice is still low but it is no longer soft.
Now I do hesitate. I have explained to her that my family doesn't care about me. I have explained to her that I hate my brother.
I haven’t, however, told her why I hate my brother. Why I fear him.
I haven’t told her that her pain over Ocuri’s violence against her and her family is something similar to what I have endured over the years.
She is looking at me urgently, and I shake my head.
“You are not the only person affected by Ocuri’s brutality,” I tell her. My throat is suddenly dry. “He had victims before you. And if we do not do this, there will be more victims. Ocuri is insane, and eventually he will destroy everything around him. And I don’t know how I’ll go on with my life, knowing I could have done something to stop him.”
Salina gets up then and walks over to the small section of the loft that serves as a kitchen.
She walks through the low, red light of the nearly vanished sun, and for a second she is on fire.
Her silver hair lifts as a slight wind blows through the loft and takes on the color of the slowly setting sun. Her hair glows, like every strand of her hair has been painted red.
The color of the sky bleeds into her creamy skin, and the gold undertones of her skin absorb the blood red of the sky like her hair did.
When she turns to look at me, the sun has set completely. The lights of Vhoig have flickered on.
There is not much lighting in the loft, but then Salina clicks her fingers and lights flicker on in the loft.
When I look up, golden orbs of light have bloomed across the ceiling of the loft, and now her skin has changed.
She looks, again, ethereal.
She was created to be worshiped,I think again.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asks me. There is finality in her tone of voice. She is, subliminally, telling me that once we make this decision, there will be no going back.
