Page 87 of Silverproof Damsel

“Want in one hand, get shit in the other,” I muttered as I flexed my hand. Closing my eyes, I sent my senses stretching throughout the area for any silver nearby. Nadda. I guess they’densured there was no silver to wield in this place. “You do realize that you’re all going to die screaming. Right?”

A nervous bubble of laughter left her lips. “Your power’s nullified here. Search for silver. You’ll find none. Fire needs a flicker, but you’ll notice there’s no tinder here, either. No way to ignite a flame.”

“Is that how you murdered my father?”

“Geoffrey? I didn’t know he was your father. He perished a few months ago, unfortunately. He was a magnificent specimen.”

Tears pricked my eyes as flames erupted within me. Her shocked gasp echoed within the chamber.

“You shouldn’t be able to cast magic,” she whispered. “We’ve tested it on both Silversmith and Phoenix. Neither could wield their magic within the compound! This isn’t possible.”

A dark, humorless laugh escaped my lips. “Your first mistake was assuming I was one or the other. I’m both,” the straps holding me down burned away, allowing me to sit upright.

The woman, a thirty-something blonde, darted toward a red button on the wall. I whispered a single word, and a shriek ripped from the woman as she dropped to her knees in agony, holding her skull.

I studied the way her flesh bubbled as she burned from within. Strolling toward her, I used my foot to kick her backward, watching as she slumped back, howling as her blood boiled.

“Now who’s the fucking specimen?” I asked before scanning the room.

Charts lined the top of the counter, grabbing my attention. Moving toward it, I paused as I found one on my father. Opening it, I plucked a picture, which had been clipped to the inside of the folder.

He looked pissed in the image, sapphire eyes sparkled with ire. I’d inherited my eye color from my father. He looked ageless, as if he hadn’t aged a single day since he’d walked away from uson that mountain. Curly red hair looked misshapen, as if they’d shaved parts of his head for their research.

Geoffrey had endured months of agonizing research done on him. He’d had his legs and arms removed, then been forced to regenerate them. They’d starved him, beaten him, used him to rape other women, seeking to impregnate them with more of his offspring. All because of me.

They’d killed my father to learn more about me but failed. I wasn’t of either breed but the perfect combination of both mixed into a deadly amalgamation.

The sound of footsteps approaching the room forced me to unclip the only picture I had of my father and pocket it. Pushing his folder aside, I found similar ones for Weston and Smith. The brothers we’d been waiting for had been here in this hellish place. Leaning back against the wall, I smirked at the sight of the bitch who’d tortured my father. I’d been wrong. She hadn’t died screaming. Instead, she’d drowned in her own boiling blood.

Men entered the room, coming to a standstill at the grisly sight of the remains. Before they could move, I slammed my magic into their system, ripping through their tissue to set fire to the organs.

Their screams flooded the chamber, but I had no intention of remaining to watch them burn. At the entrance, I glanced back at the men, holding my hand to the wall. I felt it burning through the drywall they’d padded the concrete walls with.

These padded walls held the screams of those they had tortured. Now, it will hold their screams. All of them were in the worst pain imaginable. I’d ensured they felt everything they’d done to my family and more.

Walking down the narrow concrete corridor, I began humming Sleep Token ‘The Night Does Not Belong to God.’Men walked around the corner, falling to their knees as my magicleaked from my pores, seeking victims as grief and anger for what was done here clashed with what was right.

Issuing the flames to leap from my fingertips, I grazed the walls with them. Flames shot forward, entering room after room, erupting even bigger when combining with the stored chemicals. Each chamber burned as men and women sought to escape the space. Invisible barriers held them inside their fiery tombs, sealing their fate.

This was the path forward I had chosen in the dining room. One that didn’t result in anyone I loved perishing. If I wanted the job done, then I’d have to do it myself. I’d learned enough about the Trojan horse. Becoming one had been a simple thing.

No one ever expected the weapon to come through the front door. Especially when they’d been the ones to bring me inside.

Every warrior that sought to confront me dropped to the ground the moment they made a move to do so. At least until I entered the main chamber, where Illeron and a man with silver hair and ice-cold blue eyes sat together.

“Bloody hell, Donte. You promised she’d be fully nullified!” Illeron rose to his feet, his complexion turning white as he faced me.

“Remington Silversmith, I presume?” Donte asked, as he glared, sliding his eyes down over my frame. “I’m your grandfather.”

“I have no grandfather.”

Flames danced around my feet, awaiting my order to burn them. My heartbeat thundered against my chest, shock registering in my mind as I stared into the icy-blue, emotionless depths of Donte Silversmith. My mother’s father who’d vanished without a trace after the fire had been set to our house.

Armed men stormed through the many doorways around the room. Lifting my fingers, I snapped them together. Howls erupted throughout the tunnel as a cruel smile lifted the cornersof my lips. A sliver of confidence built inside of me. My strength was reinforced as I felt my power growing, flooding my veins.

“You’re mistaken, darling. I am your mother’s father.”

A cold, emotionless chuckle left my lips. “Walk, Donte. You too, Illeron. There are people outside who are dying to speak to you both.”

---