532- Blood of Betrayal, Steel of Vengeance
POV Thalyndra Moonclaw:
But... he would keep that secret from me too, why?
"He never told me anything," I commented, thoughtful.
"He wouldn't, not until he was certain," she replied, looking at me with pity.
I raised my eyes to her, my heart beating fast.
"Where... where is he?"
If she was alive, he should be too. He was deceived, he discovered it, and they captured him. Silas, Omar, all of them were lying. They said nothing about my mother still being alive, about who I truly was.
She shook her head.
"I'm sorry, his life wasn't interesting to the clan, but Omar and Silas were quick, as I asked, preventing him from suffering."
I gasped, trying to fill my lungs with air, but nothing reached them. My chest began to hurt so much that I curled up. For a second, the hope that he might be alive was so intense and welcoming that I let myself be taken by it, I allowed myself to dream.
"You killed your husband!" Edric accused, approaching her involuntarily, overcome with rage.
"Unfortunately, he gave me no choice. He arrived home earlier than expected and heard my call. He was ready to flee with Thalyndra. My father, my brother, and Omar were nearby, ready to intercept us to get Thalira's painting, so they managed to arrive in time. I had to bleed with him that day, so Thalyndra would think I was dead too and prevent her from coming to me before the time was right."
I looked at her, the woman who brought me into the world, whom I loved, respected, and always trusted. My mother, who always treated me with affection, indulged my wishes, and gave me advice.
It wasn't real, none of it was real.
To her, I was just a miscalculation, something she had to learn to deal with and live with. She didn't just deceive my father, but me as well.
And... to my complete horror, she was involved in his death. She was responsible for his death.
"I hate you..." I whispered, sobbing, more tears reaching me.
"Don't say that, my love. I know I was wrong not to tell you the truth, but you need to understand my side. They are my family, my clan."
"You betrayed me, you betrayed my father..."
"I tried to protect you, my sweet child. Why do you think you didn't come with us that day? I called them before you arrived. I warned that your father had contacted an Eldoria and that we needed to leave in time, before they could reach us. I didn't know what their intentions were with you, so I needed to find out before taking you with me."
I laughed, but there was no humor in my tone.
"You don't trust your own father?"
She shrugged and pursed her lips in a grimace.
"It's not that I don't trust him, I just had to be certain before anything else. You're not just my daughter, but also William's, the male they hated, so I felt the need to protect you."
"How absurd, Sorina, you know I wouldn't do anything against my granddaughter," Severian retorted.
"When I discovered they had good plans for you, that they considered you one of us," she continued, ignoring her father, "I asked them to bring you to me. I took a shirt of yours and gave it to the sentinels so they could track your scent, but no one managed to accomplish the task, not even my brother Silas, who was older and more experienced, or Omar, who was even older and also much more experienced."
"Omar tried to kill me! I'm only alive thanks to Anton," I snarled.
"His luck that he's dead, or I would have finished him myself." Severian laughed.
"You wouldn't do that, you wouldn't dirty your beautiful hands, you'd order someone else to do it."
She made a sound of disdain with her mouth.
"Either way, he would be dead." She snorted. "Besides, I didn't like at all that you set fire to our house, I had some clothes and shoes I wanted back. Your father's books were also important to us. We ran out and only managed to grab the essentials before the Eldoria he summoned could reach us. You did quite a bit of damage with your thoughtless attitude."
It was strange to look at her, she was different. I didn't feel the same as before, that love, admiration, and care. I felt absolutely nothing, as if something inside me had broken.
"What were their plans for me?" I asked, ignoring her comment about the fire, feeling prouder than ever for having done it.
"They weren't as bad as you think. You would marry a human from a renowned and important family, who has a significant amount of money. You would have to bond with him to increase your life expectancy." She ran her hand through her hair. "Believe me, Thalyndra, it would be a life I would want for myself. Wealth, luxury, and a pleasant marriage. The human is quite handsome, he reminds me of your ex-boyfriend."
Anton bared his teeth in a growl.
"Say his name and I'll send that pleasant human's spine as a gift to you."
Severian laughed heartily.
"Oh, I love this savage Eldoria way. Their reputation precedes them." He clapped his hands. "Anyway, now that you know the whole truth, Thalyndra, that you understand we are your family, we can do business."
Then I realized what their ace in the hole was, why they proposed the meeting. They believed nothing would happen to them because of our family bond.
I was a damned Mercante, their blood ran through my veins, I was part of the clan I swore to hate my entire life.
My mother was a lying, cunning bitch. She was the main person responsible for my father's death, for deceiving me and persuading me. The life I led had been a lie. Absolutely everything.
I let out a sob, followed by another and another, as tears streamed down my face, wetting the collar of my blouse.
My father... he loved me, even when he suspected the truth, even when he confirmed who my mother was and what blood I carried. He never treated me in any way less than affectionately.