Page 66 of The Scars Within
His dead eyes snapped to mine then. The grin that formed on his face was nothing but nefarious. I have finally met the monster that haunts my nightmares.
“You’re a pathetic excuse for life,” he scoffed. “I washed my hands of you the day I walked out that door, and I haven’t thought about you since. You are nothing to me. Just take a look in the damn mirror. You are notmine.”
The stabbing pain in my chest made my eyelids flutter, and I felt a burning behind my eyes. I swallowed a fiery knot in my throat. My body began to numb, starting on the left side of my chest and spreading all over. I stretched my neck to one side, trying to relieve the strain. My heart seemed to skip every other beat, and I couldn’t catch my breath.
I felt defeated. My jaw trembled, and I let my eyes fall to the ground.
“You’re wrong!” I shouted, my voice cracking with raw emotion. My eyes remained fixed on the ground as I spoke. “I am your biggest mistake,” I said softly, finally raising my gaze to meet his.
He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “My only mistake with you was staying as long as I did. Believing that whore’s lies.” I shook my head in confusion, but he continued. “You don’t deserve my last name. And I’m taking it back. You’re officially just a simple waste of space. You could hop right off that parapet and I wouldn’t give adamn.”
“You are my father!” I cried out, a warm tear running down my cheek, which I quickly wiped away with the back of my sleeve. “You were supposed to take care of me, of us! And you left! How fucking dare you!”
His eyebrows raised as he crossed his arms and got into my face. “How fucking dare I? How fucking dare your mother open her legs to another man while I was deployed! You are nothing but a fraud!” he growled vehemently.
His words stunned me, forcing me to take a few steps back. More tears streamed down my face. “That’s not true. My mother loved you,” I rasped.
He stepped toward me with dark, malevolent eyes. “You’re worthless. Go back to where you belong.”
I stepped back again, and he advanced on me. He crept like a sinister evil in human form with his hands held behind his back.
“Look at you, falling apart in front of the big bad wolf.”
I stepped back; he stepped forward. I frantically looked down behind me, realizing he was backing me onto the edge.
He stopped. “You will leave Mageia, and never come back. Change your name. And never come within my vicinity again. Is that clear?”
I couldn’t find any words. I was literally trapped between the edge and the person who wanted to push me over it.
He clicked his tongue. “Pathetic.”
Captain Thorne turned on his heel and swung the iron door open to leave.
“I’m not fucking done with you!” I screamed at his retreating back, flailing my arms in frustration. The door slammed shut before him, almost catching him in the process. I gasped, the finality of the moment hitting me hard.
I did that. I slammed the door shut with…
He punched the iron door, leaving a dent where his fist had struck. As he turned and stalked toward me again, I backed up until my heels were over the parapet’s edge. The threat of his next move was abruptly interrupted when the iron door was flung open with such force that one of its hinges broke apart. Rhodes burst onto the rooftop just as his black dragon swept low overhead, letting out a loud, piercing trill.
My father’s nostrils flared, brushing past Rhodes, shoving him aside, but Rhodes’s gaze was fixed on me. I could feel the tears streaking down my face, and the embarrassment of what had just happened felt like it was drowning me. I covered my face with my hands and stalked past Rhodes, not in the mood for any more confrontation.
“Scarlet!” Rhodes called after me, but I was already racing down the stairs.
In my heart, it felt like I was racing back down to where I belonged.
Rock Bottom.
Chapter 26
I sprinted through the hallways with my head down. Questions churned inside me, and my stomach was in knots. I raced to Aunt Cora’s quarters. She gave me precise directions to the faculty wing when she met my friends that night. Though I hadn’t yet made the journey, the path was etched in my memory.
Down the Great Hall, through the northern corridor, up two flights of stairs, forty feet down the hallway on your left, then descend the right turret until you reach the bottom floor.
The faculty wing is strictly off-limits to cadets unless you are immediate family. It is guarded by several magical wards, the purpose of which is still a mystery to me. The entrance is entirely hidden, visible only after the correct rite of passage is performed.
I know the risks. If I am caught with that knowledge, the consequences would be severe. Cadets with family ties to Mageia were bound by a magical contract to keep such secrets.
I made it to the bottom floor and ducked behind a corner, scanning the area to ensure no one was around. My hand pressed against my chest, trying to steady my racing heart. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, hoping to exhale the sadness that gripped me. But instead of relief, more tears spilled down my face. “Why?” I whispered to myself as I wiped atthe tears, though it was pointless—my tunic sleeves were already soaked with my heartache.
