Page 116 of Heimlock

I yank my arm out of his hand, never taking my eyes off him. Smoke wafts from my skin as hate cremates every soft thought and emotion I’ve curated over the last few weeks. All of my concerns about Kyrielle disappear.

There’s nothing to think about — I lunge.

My hands are around my father’s throat, slamming him into the floor. His skull makes a sickening smacking sound. Good. He chokes, fighting against my hold as my fingers squeeze. His mouth opens and closes, like he's trying to speak, but each attempt increases my determination to murder him right here, in Fynn’s office.

“Trinte!” Fynn’s yanking at my shoulders, but I’m single-minded. Racidious Gleanscale isn’t allowed to say another fucking word. He said enough at the Weyr reunion.

He said enough.

Fynn’s yanking, but my hands tighten, dragging our father with each tug. Orliana’s screaming. For her, only for her, I don’t destroy this building so I can shift and eat him. I will fucking eat him alive if given half the chance.

Choking him to death will have to do.

My father’s red face turns purple as his pink tongue sticks out in an attempt to breathe. He’s trying to buck me off, but I’m not eighteen anymore — I am a trained fighter with an extra hundred and fifty pounds of muscle on my frame. He will never overpower me ever again.

Just die.

Just die.

Just die.

Then Fynn does something utterly unforgivable: he electrocutes me.

My brother's incredibly modest about his powers, but it’s indisputable that he’s more magyckly powerful than me. More than our father, even.

A roar rips from my throat as my back arches. Of their own accord, my hands release their death grip. Each pulse of electricity shoves my soul a little deeper into the endless depths of devastation.

When it’s gone, I’m left as a husk of myself on the floor next to our father. Memories pummel me into submission; only for a few seconds, but it feels like an eternity. So much, too much, happened after my father would electrocute me.

And for those short seconds, I remember all of it. Every painful, invasive, degrading, and crushing experience.

When reality comes back into focus, nothing exists but my hate, but now it has a new target. Dragging my attention from the piece of shit on the floor, I eye my brother with unadulterated hatred.

His eyes are wide, as if he’s shocked himself. Which is incredibly ironic.

Orliana stops screaming, but her mouth hangs open as she watches me methodically stand. I fully turn to face my brother and punch him in the face so hard he slams into the wall. A crack of bone matches Orliana’s shriek of shock.

“Trinte!” She rushes over to my brother. I look at him fall to the ground impassively, then turn back to our father.

Pointing a finger at him, I snarl, “You are formally challenged to a Cairanin.”

Energy charges the air, sealing our fates. The burgundy Dragon watches me with fear in his eyes, a hand to his partially crushed throat. Everything inside me turns to an icy numbness as Fynn groans on the floor behind me. Turning away from my father, I stare down at my brother, feeling nothing as he looks up, holding his broken eye socket. He’ll heal, unlike me.

“You’re fucking lucky I don’t do the same fucking thing to you.” I snarl, claws digging into the pads of my hands as I resist the urge to beat both men to death. "That kill was mine."

Leaning down, I say softly, “You know what he—” I jab a finger at our father. “—used to do? He used to electrocute me to make me fucking obey. So he could rape me, Fynn. And guess what you are? No fucking better than him.” I straighten. “I hope it was worth it. Because I never want to fucking see you again.”

Devastation is plain on my brother’s face as it sinks in. It’s true; he had no idea. I’ve never told anyone. But he should have never done it, regardless.

Orliana watches me, sobbing as she holds Fynn. The betrayal on her face is too difficult to bear.

Swallowing hard, I mutter, “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

I leave the wreckage of my life behind.

***

Night of the Weyr Reunion