Hawk Heart

3. Scarlet History

I woke up after what felt like hours. My head weighing like a rock. I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. A tiny high window at the top of the wall was open, sunlight streaming in onto the grey wall. It was still day time. I vaguely entertained the idea that whether several sunlit days had passed. I tried to move, expecting my muscles to be sore from passing out on the hard floor. However, I was surprised to find out a soft mattress under me. When had I moved here?

I sat up straight and rubbed my face, massaging my temple gently, trying to get the throbbing ache to subside. I glanced at my watch. It was four in the afternoon. I had been passed out for almost three hours.

I groaned softly. What the hell had I been thinking? Why had I drank almost an entire bottle of whisky?

"Earth to Goldie," a familiar voice drawled and I glanced up to see Zeph, leaning against the doorway. My heart skipped a beat, in an unexplainable way. He walked closer to me and I saw that he had a bottle of some kind in his hand which he threw at me. I caught it by instinct, looking at the strange, thick liquid inside. "Banana. It'll get rid of your headache" he explained.

I placed the bottle on the mattress and rubbed my eyes again. For a split second, I had hoped that the sudden rush of feelings had been just that- me getting overwhelmed. However, seeing him again made it clear that those feelings had been no illusion.

"I should leave," I said, rising to my feet.

"I made that fucking banana shake for you, dickhead," he said suddenly. "Drink it up, along with your big ass ego."

I scoffed at the irony. "You're the one to say that?"

He shut the door behind him and walked over to me, sitting cross-legged beside me as he pointed at the bottle. "Promise, drink it. It helps."

I sighed and took a sip of the strange concoction, pleasantly surprised by the sweet taste of honey and banana. "Thanks," I muttered reluctantly.

An awkward silence fell between us, broken by loud thumps coming from somewhere on the road above us. A transporting vehicle I assumed.

"Zeph, maybe you should know something," I began. "I...I don't know how to say this without sounding melodramatic but...he's not my dad."

"What do you mean?" Zeph asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

I sighed. Was it a bad idea to tell him? Maybe. But maybe if he knew the truth, it would make him hate me less.

"My mom died right after I was born," I said, even though he already knew that. "And well...my dad kind of resented my existence because of that. My mom was the only one who ever...his only friend and confidante. I don't know how he used to be before her death, but this spiritless stoic man is all I've seen. Arthur, Amelia and Asher have seen him when he used to be more human of course."

I sighed, biting my lip. This was the part I had never confessed to anyone. "Me being Sparkless...different...than everyone else..." I didn't go on. I couldn't. The weight in my chest was too much. It was humiliating to admit it to anyone.

"We heard the rumours," Zeph said suddenly. "About your father embarking on some madman's venture to try to save your mother. About you being born less than a year a later. About you not being his blood." He grabbed the bottle from me and took a sip, leaning his head against the wall. "It was a media circus for a week. I presume your dad shut them down later. But man...they really had the time of their lives. One of the Lords of the House in such a scandal? Reporters were perma-ejaculating everywhere."

I shrugged. "Me being Sparkless just cemented the thought into his head. That I was not completely Lightwielder blood, hence the flaw."

"Flaw?" he scoffed. "Not sure why you'd call it that."