Page 20 of Bite The Terror That Feeds

“Because he’s a wise man.”

“If you don’t like it, why do you do it?”

“Because I don’t trust anyone to do it better.” I felt the change in our relationship. Despite the mutual understanding that this had an expiration date, it seemed to have brought us closer, dropped the hostile barriers we’d both erected previously. “It’s easy to fall prey to temptation. Become corrupt. Submissive to power. I don’t have those weaknesses.”

“I don’t understand your meaning.”

“My father is cruel because he’s powerful enough to be as cruel as he wishes. No one will stop him. He subjugates humans in conditions worse than barn animals. He has no empathy for others. It’s easy to become that way. If I were to let someone else take my place, I fear they would adopt the same policies, and Raventower would be a corral of human food.”

Her eyes dropped for a moment, her fear written across her face.

“I told you I’m not that bad.”

“Why are you different from the others?” She looked at me again.

“Because I still remember what it was like to be human.” Unremarkable. Weak. Simple-minded.

“What were you like?”

It was a long time ago, but I still remembered my ordinary life. “My brothers and I worked on the farm. We expanded it over the years, growing tomatoes, cucumbers, and basil as well as various fruits. We had a lot of chickens, selling the eggs at the market. When my brothers came of age, we built our own homes on the property. We intended to run it together when our parents were gone, to raise our families there, like our own little village.”

“Did any of your brothers marry?”

“Aurelias was on the verge of matrimony, but it didn’t work out.”

“Why is he an Original while the rest of you aren’t?” She fired off question after question, probably because she hadn’t had the opportunity before.

“Because he’s the favorite son.”

She watched me, her eyes searching for the sign of pain in my face. “That doesn’t bother the rest of you?”

“I never said it didn’t. But my father doesn’t care.”

“That’s pretty fucked up.”

I gave a subtle shrug. “No family is perfect, right?”

“But you shouldn’t have a favorite kid.”

“We all know every parent has a favorite. You’re just not supposed to show it.”

Empathy shone in her eyes, a trait I didn’t see in most people. “I’m sorry.”

“My father wasn’t always such an asshole. After he lost my mom, he was just never the same. He used to be kind. Used to give away our crops to those who wouldn’t have survived the winter without our generosity. Gave work to people who needed it, even if money was tight. No matter how hard he worked throughout the day, he always had the energy to spend time with us in the evenings. He was a good man. A good father. But he hasn’t been that man in a very long time.”

Her eyes dropped to the ground between us, the fire on our right, heating our flesh through our armor. “My mom was never the same after my father left. She loved me less because she’d see his face every time she looked at me. I knew she resented me. Knew she wished she’d chosen someone else to spend her life with, not someone who would abandon his family at the first temptation.”

My vision suddenly became clear, understanding exactly why a spineless man like Elias could hurt her so much. Her father’s head turned easily, and then she’d given her heart to a man who did the same thing. The idiot probably didn’t even realize the damage he’d done.

“Why are you angry?”

My eyes focused on her face once again. It was the first time she’d addressed my emotions so bluntly, and I felt like my privacy had been invaded, like she’d opened my journal and read all the words I’d written. “Elias left you for someone else, just the way your father did. Now that’s fucked up.”

Her gaze remained strong and steady, doing her best to pretend my words didn’t slice right through her entrails. But she asked—and I answered. Maybe next time, she would keep her curiosity to herself. “The biggest mistake of my life.”

“I’m not?” I blurted, unable to help myself. She resented me for what I was, held my people responsible for a decision her father made entirely on his own, wanted me only for a couple nights because I wasn’t good enough for forever.

Her eyes slowly changed from their hardened state, becoming soft like fresh snow on the first day of winter, warmth coming from her stare just the way it came from the fire. “If you are…you’re the best mistake of my life.”