The Rise of The Powers vol. 1

Chapter 28: Like Father Like Son

Chapter 28:Like Father Like Son

We walked in the gloom. It would have made sense for tears to fall down from my eyes. It would have been understandable. But the tears din't fall.

My eyes were as dry as The Desert in the summer.

I crawled up the steps to the House of Edinite. My back was beaten bloody from all the times Soren had whipped me.

Was this really how I would end? Was this really going to be the end of my life story? After all I had been through, this was going to finish me off?

Seriously?

How pathetic was this?

Very.

Immensely. Extremely. Majorly. Seriously.

We had made it inside The House. Inside it looked kind of like a place you would see in a Disney Princess movie: gold chandeliers, white-lace curtains dangling from windows, spiral staircases leading high up into the sky.

Except, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember Cinderella having a bloody hanging chamber right next to her bed.

I gulped.

Why?

Did I really deserve to die?

Did the things I had done, really make me deserve this?

To die like a coward.

Hung in secret.

Not even in public.

No one would remember me.

And those who did were going to die too.

"Tie their nooses, Soren." Essence braked. Her gaze turned to Lilith. "And you, my dear, dear daughter. I am so proud of you. I didn't think you'd be able to do it, of course, but you did. You led this foolish boy to believe that you loved him. That you two had a future together. That you despised being a Power. I mean even the most foolish of the foolish wouldn't have even believed that!" Essence laughed. A cold, raw laugh aimed directly at me.

I could feel everyone's eyes on me. I could feel my father's poker gaze, and Saphara's betrayed one. I could feel Adonis's almost understanding gaze, and Sinoda's confused gaze. I could feel the Power's laughter.

Tears blurred my vision and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep for collapsing into a river of tears. I was an absolute, and total moron for trusting Lilith. For putting all my faith and her words, for this.

And as a result, my actions got dozens of others killed too.

I decided, that by if some miracle, I ever got out of this, I would never trust anyone again. I had made the mistake of trust once, and that was enough.

Everyone, in this world, has evil in them. Everyone, has thoughts of what would happen if they just broke all those ties of trust, if it meant that they would get something better.

And everyone, does just that.

Soren then, gripped my shoulders and pulled me up onto a stool, the other Power's were doing the same to the others. He tied the rope around my neck and whispered in my ear, "You and your father took something from me that I will never, ever be able to gain back. You burned away my dignity. And for that, you deserve to die in the least humane way imaginable. But I, am not an reprehensible dick, like you are. I am a forgivable human. And for that you will just be hung. Like a coward. A coward to fie a coward's death."

I laughed. It wasn't much of a laugh, with the noose tied to tightly around my neck, but more of a wheeze. "You think you're human, Soren? Why, you're more detestable than I thought."

He didn't even have the courtesy to reply. He just huffed and stalked out of the room with the rest of the Powers.

"Where are they going?" Saphara asked.

Ahilian—my father, Saphara's father—looked at her. "I really don't know, honey—"

Honey.

"—but they'll be back. They wouldn't leave us here. That's not they're ways."

I don't know what came over me, but I got this cold feeling creeping up inside me, when he said that. It wasn't fair, even if Saphara hadn't had a perfect childhood, she'd still had a blasted childhood, with a father and a mother.

A mother.

"Father," I said. That got his attention. Venom dripped from my voice. My eyes bore into his soul. His soul. He had one, and he left me, soulless, in a place, where he knew that I wouldn't survive a day. But I did. I was his living curse. A reminder, of what he had done. But he didn't even care. Instead, he replaced me with her. Saphara. Like he could erase away his mistakes, with another child.

Alembria, I hated him.

No. What I felt for my father, went much deeper than just plain hatred. No, this was something else entirely. A feeling I hadn't felt for anyone. Not even for Lilith. I loved Lilith and she ripped my heart out, and tour it to pieces. But that was the thing, I still loved her, I could never hate her.

I wanted to ask my father so many questions. What was my middle name, if I had one? Who was my mother? But I couldn't make words, I could just stare at him with such contempt, that he had to look away.

"Duke," He whispered, not looking me in the eye. "I can read minds, I know what you're thinking, and Alembria do I deserve it. You're right. When you wandered into Paevanshire that one morning, and you came asking for Ahilian, saying you heard he was your father, I couldn't admit that that was me. I didn't know what you knew, but I saw how innocent you were, and I couldn't ruin that. I figured it was better if you thought your father was dead, not me."

He was crying again. Like he had with Lilith, suddenly, no matter my feelings, I wanted to hear everything. The other half of the story that I had been missing this whole time.