ALMIRA THORN- Knowledge of Another Kind. [Editing]

Chapter 26- The hug of a blade

All I could do was stare.

To look into the eyes that I had gazed into with love.

With comfort.

Looking at him now, I felt the pain of betrayal hilt-deep in my chest, the ache spreading over my limbs and causing my strength to quiver. Why? My heart and mind implored. I so desperately wanted to let my voice ask, but my throat quivered and clenched.

He looked to me with sympathy, with the gentleness I only received from him. His eyes were shadowed with dark circles and he looked worn, exhausted. But still, he kept his stature strong and breathed soldier. Even to his own daughter his guard was up.

Rage.

 It was spreading through my veins like fire…. molding into my bones as something clicked, an instinct hidden deep inside unfolding. I've always been here though,  I heard in my mind, whispered as if waiting for the time to rip from its chains and be free. I shook with it as I gazed at my father, the one who still looked at me with a tenderness that made my eyes sting with tears.

“You….you left me.” I whisper, my voice turning hollow.

He swallowed, “I had no choice Almira, you have to under-“

“Understand what? Understand you left me when I needed you the most? How you chained my friends, you chained Tom like he was an animal and not a friend to even you?” I felt the words tumble out of my mouth, my voice separate to my functioning brain.

By the time I finished…I felt out of breath. My tongue felt like acid from spitting the words. He stared back with determination, his mouth trying to conjure the words but I’d heard enough. I knew enough. That rage that was a separate being to me acted before my mind could even comprehend the movement. I felt the intake of breath and the tense of my arm as I clutched the cold metal and finally struck.

His eyes widened for a moment. He simply stared into my eyes in a mix of shock and pain. Finally, he diverted his gaze down, staring at the knife imbedded into his shoulder as if it was a foreign thing, before he released his grip from me and stumbled back.

I didn’t wait.

I ran to the chains and unfastened the locks, letting them slam to the ground as I hauled Tom and Lucian out of the metal and towards the exit. They followed quickly, Tom slung Lucian’s arm over his neck and continued out, his own protective instinct kicking in.

I turn to face Rohan…but he was gone from his place. He had simply vanished like fog and that’s what worried me most of all. Like a spider that sneaks away as you seek to trap it. I turned to Papa and saw him rip the dagger out of his shoulder like it was a mere thorn. The blood had already stopped to a trickle as he held out his hand in a pleading gesture, his blood dripping from his own hands.

“Please Allie….” He whispered, his voice cracking with the first hint of true emotion.

I turned, unable to stand that look in his eye as I followed Tom and Lucian out of the cold room. 

And as I ran up those steps, it wasn't fear that gripped me.

It was the sense that there was an end to what I thought an eternal chapter.

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It's certainly been a long wait for an update! 

I've been tied down with a lot of studies but now the summer is finally here, I hope to bring you more chapters. 

This is a short one but it is an important moment for the future of the story. 

Thanks for reading!