Red Princess

66. The Lie He Believes

"You son of a bitch! You leave without a goodbye and some lousy letter, and the next you appear before my eyes is in a half-dead state! Are you fucking out of your mind? Who asked you to jump in and try to become a hero! Who even-"

Her voice broke, and her eyes welled up in tears, which started frantically flowing down her cheeks. Kaidon had his hands full with holding her back and shutting her up. He turned her around to face him as he whispered something to her to calm her. He hugged her when she broke down, and she held on to his chest for support. The sight made me flinch. I wanted to be the one touching her, comforting her; I didn't even mind the slap if it meant her attention would be on me instead of him. But that slap hurt like a bitch.

"She really knows her moves, doesn't she?" Alex chuckled, and Rihanna elbowed him in the gut to shut him up.

"I am a proud teacher here," I sighed as I recalled the days I used to train her, and I rubbed the swollen cheek that probably already had an imprint of her palm. "But no complaints. I think I earned that."

Rihanna took the seat on my bed that Ariel had just emptied and held on to my palm. "I really wish I could help. I am so useless. But I am really glad you are okay."

I could understand her pain at feeling helpless, not being able to use her powers for the people she cared about. Our powers were suited for combat, we could use them on enemies, but her unique powers were only helpful to strangers. The people who really mattered could rarely ever benefit from them. It killed her inside, which was what motivated her to pick up the medical field.

"Why were you guys there?" I asked, confused that they brought along Rihanna on a mission.

Alex was the first to react to that as his hand went behind his neck, looking guilty. "It was supposed to be my mission alone. These guys tagged along for the trip."

"Guys..." we heard Kaidon's struggled voice and glanced behind to see him barely hold back Ariel from unleashing her wrath on me. "I am going to take her out to get a bite. She hasn't eaten anything, which is probably the reason for her mood."

Her eyes were now wet with all the tears she had cried. A tinge of anger remained behind, but most of it rose out of concern for me. Kaidon's fingers were wrapped around her wrist where she held her shoe in that hand, while his other hand was tightly wound around her waist. Her feet were barely touching the ground as Kaidon tried to lift her up and drag her out of the room.

"You are wrong! My appetite won't return until I shove this shoe up his ass!"

A nervous smile crept up on my lips. Now I dreaded returning home much more than I ever feared going on a mission. Ariel was, without doubt, an absolutely loving woman but igniting her wrath was like digging your own grave. I would be surprised if she even let me sleep on the couch when we were home. I would have to play my sick card right.

Alex had his back to me, and I followed his gaze. He was staring intently at his father's face as Leander watched Kaidon drag Ariel out of the room. Without reading his mind, I knew exactly what was revolving around that man's head. I pitied him. He treasured his daughter above everything, perhaps even a little more than he loved his son. That was every parent's biasness towards their eldest child. They taught them for the first time what it felt like to be a parent. The feeling could never be forgotten. The nervousness, the happiness, the doubt, all those foreign emotions were attached to their first child. It must hurt him so much.

"Do you have more secrets you are keeping from me?" Alex broke the silence in the room, giving his father an accusatory glare, his tone mirroring his look. With his hands crossed over his chest, he turned entirely to look him in the eye.