An Oath In Blood (Book #3)

Chapter 46: A Selfish Coward

CORVINA HAWKE

My legs shook and so did the arm that was holding onto the crutch. My mother unfolded herself from the couch with such elegance, I grew envious. I had not been allowed to learn the poise and grace she held herself with. I was raised like an animal, so I became one.

God, I hated her.

"It has been so long since I have seen you, I forgot how disrespectful you truly are." Lilith clicked her tongue. I stiffened. "Your father and I had hoped the academy would instill some manners into you, but you are still the same." She shook her head.

Warren took a step towards her, surprising me. My good hand went to his arm, stopping him from charging any further. Lilith noticed the small gesture and one perfectly drawn brow rose with intrigue. Bitch.

"Is that passion I see in your eyes, Warren Hale?" she asked him, tilting her head to the side. Every movement was calculated. Every word aimed to hurt. "For my daughter? The woman who was supposed to kill you, but couldn't even do that right?" she added.

The urge to hurl my crutch at her overtook me so completely, my body physically shook from the rage. The wound in my leg twitched and screamed as I shifted on both my feet completely, the pain acting as a distraction from the violent fantasies playing out in my head.

"Why are you here, mother?" I gritted out the last word more forcefully than the others.

"Why do you think?" She fixed disinterested eyes on me. "You messed up. Again. The Big Guy contacted your father and I, telling us that our daughter had demanded to see him, that she had injured several assassins, and then she had left the country without a word. He is furious. Do you have any idea the pit you have dug for us?"

"I plan on dealing with it," I responded because for some reason, my tongue still betrayed me when I was in front of my mother, looking at the anger in her eyes.

"How?!" she demanded and her perfect exterior broke a little. A tinge of fear flared in her eyes but she covered it up quickly. "How do you manage to screw up everything your father and I worked so hard to give you?"

I frowned. What?! She didn't really just ask me that. I was hearing her wrong. I had to have heard her wrong.

"Everything you worked so hard to give me?" My voice came out low even though I had intended to scream the words at her. This woman never failed to baffle me. "What exactly have you given me?" I questioned, hobbling a step forward. Warren's arm instantly reached to support me and even though I tried not to, I found myself leaning into the touch.

"This life, Corvina. We gave you this life." My mother pointed at me.

"What life?!" My eyes widened as I waved around my free arm around. "You made me a grave, mother! That is what you have given me—a grave to bury myself in twelve years ago!"

"Lower your voice." She warned me. I was past caring. I was going to die. I was going to redeem myself. She did not scare me anymore. The worst thing that could have happened to me had already happened.

"No," I stated, tilting my chin up. The shock that flared in her gaze was like a drug to me because I found myself wanting to see it again, needing to watch disbelief overtake her completely. I wanted her to realize that I was no longer the weak child she had cast aside.

"Excuse me?" Her voice held a warning but her eyes betrayed her again. I suppressed the urge to smirk.

"You won't control my life anymore." I pulled up to my full height, towering over my mother. She was only a couple of inches shorter than me but when her gaze rose to meet mine, her cheeks colored with humiliation. "I have let you take the reins for far too long. I won't allow it anymore. This is my life. And I choose what I want to do with it. Not you. Not Dad. Not the Big Guy."