Sapphire Bones

Bloodline

Updated: March 30, 2019

Corvo

The pressure of Claire's name slammed into me and I slumped against the wall, my knees trembling to keep me up. One of the people in front of me needed to say something before I forced them to. Months passed since I spared a thought about that disgusting woman. She haunted a couple corners of my mind but I strayed from them most days. I had bigger worries to juggle.

"Claire is pregnant," Allison said, voice drained and cold. Alli gulped and allowed Damien to pull her back into him. She inched away while I stood frozen, back flush on the wall. Laughter bubbled up in my stomach, not out of humor but out of the fact that Claire always promised that she'd never leave.

"No," I began but the words escaped me before I could think. I was left speechless in front of my siblings. My brain twisted and cranked for anything I could mutter but nothing came to the tongue. Instead, I was left with rapidly fluttering eyelids and a tongue dried from parted lips. In less than a minute Claire went from being the least of my worries to the most.

"You're fucking lying," I said after my brain caught up with the news. "You have to be lying. Is this some sort of game to get back at me for all the fucked-up shit I did to you?" I addressed all of them at once but none seemed the least bit entertained at my accusation.

"Corvo we wish we weren't," Ethel sighed. "She called an hour ago and told me," she said and pulled out her phone to bring a photo up on the screen. A document, papers from a gynecologist confirming the pregnancy.

I snatched the phone from her hand and strained my eyes to read the small, fine print but the words blurred, morphing together into strings of symbols I hardly recognized. Useless, I shoved the phone back at my sister and ran a hand through my hair, itching at my scalp despite the lack of anything itchy. A few more swipes and I was sure to draw blood so I pulled my hand back before I dug too far under the skin.

"How far along is she? Are we even sure it's dads?" I asked. Nobody answered. Ethel and Allison exchanged a glance, almost as if they weren't planning on telling me or weren't expecting me to ask anything further. Allison dipped her chin once and my sister returned her gaze to me. She had the same eyes as our mother but her hair hung in soft milky brown waves, several shades between both our parents. I watched as five different emotions flashed before her eyes before she turned her head up.

"Six months,"

Zane reached out, gripping onto my conscious before I could take back control. His hand around my throat, squeezing until I gave him control of our body. Without a second to spare I was thrown into the back of my head while Zane stepped into reality. My eyes flashed black, the sclera and irises darkening in both eyes until they were the human equivalent to black holes. My fists beat against the wall he shoved between us but my hits didn't budge the mental bricks dividing me from the outside. Zane put so much space between us I hardly saw through his eyes, and heard what they were saying. What was normal speech to those on the outside was nothing more than whispers to me – so far from reality I couldn't call for anyone. As if someone had a hand to offer anyway.

"That woman will nottake my position," Zane snarled, his fist connecting with the wall behind him. Allison flinched back, faster than Damien could react. He snaked his arms around her shoulders and pulled the red-head flush against his chest. Zane pulled his hand from the broken drywall, bits and chunks of plaster falling to the ground with a couple thumps on the tile. Broken skin sent tings of pain through me, and blood droplets started to emerge from the small wounds on my hands.

"I-I don't think Claire's planning on challenging you," Ethel squeaked, huddling behind Damien. "Please give us Corvo back."

Zane wrenched his head toward Ethel, teeth bared. Zane's anger clouded all rational judgment he afforded. To him everyone that stood in his way was a threat.