Page 19
He nods like it’s no big deal.
I clench my fists and hope to see some green.
Nothing.
I tighten them until my knuckles turn white. Still no magic, nothing out of the ordinary. I relax my hands. “I can’t do this.”
“Yes, you can.”
“Did you just see me try?”
He holds my gaze. “You have the power. That means you can use it for your will.”
“Maybe you have me confused with someone else.”
“You and I are the only ones who have the power right now. Show me what you can do.”
Irritation runs through me. “I’m telling you, I can’t!”
He glances down. “You just did.”
Sure enough, my hands are glowing green. “I’m annoyed.”
“You need to learn to use it regardless of your mood.”
“Good luck with that.” I sit on the desk across from him in resignation.
He looks deep in thought for a moment. “Did you only ever see my brother use it when he was upset?”
“Was he ever not upset?”
The corners of his mouth twitch. “Hardly seemed like it. I have an idea. Why don’t you relax and think about the power? Try to draw it out in a non-emotional setting?”
“Non-emotional?” I don’t bother hiding my surprise. “How is this not emotional? I’m sitting here with my uncle, who’s really my father, just a week after I killed the man who raised me!”
Tiberias takes a deep breath. “Maybe we need to work through this before jumping into the power.”
“You think? All of this was thrown at me during my dad’s funeral—and I’m not going to apologize for calling him that, regardless of how horrible he was. He was the one who was there for me all those years, even if he was distant and harsh.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to apologize for that. He was your father in almost every sense of the word.”
“Except for genetics.” My hands glow green. “And nobody ever bothered to tell me.”
“Or him,” Tiberias points out. “He died not knowing the truth.”
We sit in silence for a few minutes. I mull over everything, coming up with more questions with each passing moment. I look at him—my father and the merman my mom has always truly loved. His dark eyes are identical to my dad’s, but they’re full of kindness even though I’m not giving him his way. I know he wants me to embrace him as my dad, but I just can’t. Not yet. Maybe not ever, even though he’s clearly the better choice for a father figure.
“Is there something you want to say, Marra?”
“So much. Why couldn’t you marry Mom if you loved her so much? Couldn’t you have stopped the wedding, especially since she was carrying your child? Why let us go to the land? Why not fight for us? And what about—?”
“I think your mother and I should answer these questions together.”
“You can’t give me anything?”
His eyes fill with sadness. “Just know I’ve always loved you with my whole heart. Every time I saw you, I wanted to tell you the truth.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19 (Reading here)
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101