Page 13 of The Scars Within (Twisted Thorn #1)

I shook my head and replied, “Hey, Davis. How are you?”

He took a long gulp of his drink and let out a loud burp, pounding his chest. “Better now that I have an ale in my hand. Sorry ‘bout that.”

“Very appropriate, Davis,” said a girl who was already half-naked and soaking in the hot spring .

Shayde chuckled and turned to me, his eyes warm and inviting.

“You’ll get used to him. Come on, let’s find a spot.

” His presence and his confidence made the unfamiliar scene feel a bit more approachable.

I followed him deeper into the cavern’s corner, where two large boulders sat.

He set my plate down on one and himself on the other.

“Have you ever tried those with caramel?” Shayde asked.

I looked down at my plate, wondering what item he saw that would pair well with caramel sauce. “Tried what?”

“The sweet potato sticks,” he said.

I squished my eyebrows in response. That sounded gross.

“Don’t knock it until you try it,” he winked.

Shayde kept the conversation going, ignoring his friends. I envied how effortlessly he maintained eye contact. It definitely isn’t my best trait. He asked about my first few days at Mageia and how I was settling in, never once twisting the conversation to be about him.

“Are you excited for Intro to Fire Wielding?” Shayde asked.

‘Excited’ couldn’t describe the feeling I had about that class. Being close enough to the dragons. I would be happy with any elemental magic, but fire was definitely the one I wanted most.

“Beyond excited,” I answered with a grin.

Shayde leaned back, still holding my gaze.

“What?”

“There’s something about you, Scar.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. With Rhodes, I felt an undeniable tension festering. But with Shayde, the feeling was more like a spark—a spark of hope, excitement, and the opportunity to get out of my own shell.

A few cadets grabbed instruments and made their way to the center of the space. The music reverberated through the cavern as they began to play an upbeat tune. I could feel the rhythm’s pulse through the boulder I was perched on .

Some dripping-wet girls pulled boys out of the hot springs and twirled them around, splashing water everywhere. The group erupted in laughter, dancing freely and chaotically. No one was entirely in sync, but no one seemed to care. Davis danced solo, waving his ale in the air.

The need to break out of my shell grew stronger, so I turned back to Shayde and asked, “Want to dance?”

“Oh no, no, no,” he laughed incredulously. “That’s where I draw the line.”

I cleared my throat as I tried to hide my disappointment. I gave Shayde a slight grin before turning back to the dancing cadets.

Since Sanctuary parties are held during the guards’ dinner break, I was headed to turn in for the night surprisingly early. The sun was just about to begin its descent. I had said goodbye to Shayde and his crew and returned my plate to the cafeteria.

With the night still young, I decided to dive back into my book. I was almost halfway to our hall when I remembered how peaceful the rooftop was.

With a spring in my step, I climbed the stairs to the roof. I was ready to plow through the iron door when I noticed it was propped open, and faint voices were coming from the other side.

Slowing my steps, I silently approached the door, staying hidden within the shadows in case the people on the other side were close.

“You can’t be serious.”

I recognized that deep voice immediately.

Rhodes.

“I’m sorry, Wylder. We don’t have a choice in the matter,” said another voice I couldn’t pinpoint.

“Noemi is not going to approve of this,” Rhodes snapped, growing more enraged by the second .

“Your dragon will have to get on board. This mission is not something to take lightly.”

A long pause followed.

“Fine,” Rhodes finally murmured.

“You are the only cadet we trust for this job, Wylder. Do not disappoint us.”

I heard boots shuffling on the concrete. Shit. I have two options: stay hidden or run down the stairs. The footsteps were close enough that neither option allowed me enough time to escape unnoticed.

The door swung open, and I stopped breathing. The man who stepped through had a grimace so evil it made me want to cower against the dark corner I was pressed into.

“Thorne!” Rhodes called from the rooftop.

I almost replied, but the man in front of me spoke first.

“That’s Captain Thorne to you, Wylder,” he snapped over his shoulder.

It couldn’t be. But it was.

Thorne.

A rare surname, one that lingered like a shadow in the back of my mind for years. I didn’t know much about my father, but I knew this: Thorne had no living relatives, not after his family was wiped out in the war effort. Which could only mean one thing.

I was face to face with my father.

The man who had walked out of my life without a second glance.

I had imagined this moment countless times, every possible scenario playing out in vivid daydreams. Some days, I planned to unleash the fury I had bottled up for years, to throw every ounce of anger in his face, to remind him just how thoroughly he’d failed as a human being.

On others, I thought I’d let the deep ache show, let him see the pain etched into my soul that he had carved there.

And then there were the days I wanted to rob him of satisfaction altogether, to make him think his absence hadn’t affected me in the slightest .

But all my plans went out the window the second I realized who stood before me.

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. All I could do was take in every detail of his appearance.

He was tall and broad-shouldered, wearing his military uniform, which did little to hide his apparent muscles.

His eyes were a deep ocean blue, and his dark hair was trimmed close to his scalp.

He was nothing like I had pictured in my mind.

“How much did you hear, cadet?” the captain asked. My father asked.

“N-nothing,” I stuttered.

“Keep it that way,” he growled, walking right past me as if he didn’t recognize me.

He didn’t recognize me. He didn’t recognize me because he had left when I was just a babe. How would he know what I had grown to look like?

I closed my eyes and took three deep breaths. The significant encounter I had planned as a child was nothing more than one stranger coming across another.

It was nothing.

I was nothing.

Nothing to him.

“Next time, how about you try not to interrupt a conversation that doesn’t involve you?” Rhodes snapped.

I opened my eyes to see him standing just outside the cracked-open door, arms crossed, burning a hole through me.

His stone-cold expression didn’t soften as he let out an exhale.

He lifted his chin, looked towards the descending stairwell, and then back at me.

I noticed his right pointer finger tapping on his upper arm.

I started to step backward down the stairs.

“Thorn in my side,” Rhodes tsked, shaking his head.

Not in the mood to deal with his shit, I turned and ran back to my dorm, not bothering to stop and acknowledge any cadets along the way.

I burst through the door and landed my back against it.

Thankfully, my roommates were still out.

I reached down and locked the doorknob, then slid against the door to the floor.

The moment I ever start to feel anything other than anger and hopelessness, the world snatches it back from me, submerging me back into its darkness.

Reminding me that the only place that I belong in this world is Rock Bottom.