Marked By Pain (The Marked #2)(43)
"How was he supposedly killed? You never told me and I didn’t want to hurt you by asking," I ask gently, "But things are different now, and part of me wants to know when it all went wrong.”
"Because he’s your biological father?" she asks sadly, admitting what I don’t want to hear, but I need to.
"It's clear he is, we look too much alike," I comment and she nods, holding my hand tighter, before letting go and looking down at the table.
"It was an accident; a student went out of control and I was told Alaric tried to stop him. Did I tell you that Alaric was a teacher here at the academy?" she says.
"No, I didn’t know that," I say.
"He travelled back to see us every weekend because I was pregnant with you, and didn’t want to give birth at the academy. I wasn't here when a very powerful teenager with eleven marks lost control near the cliffs and caused a hurricane. It killed the boy and Alaric," she sighs. "At least that’s what I thought happened,".
"It's more likely he took the powerful teenager to the rebels," I say, knowing that’s exactly something he would do. If he was a teacher here, then he knows all the secret artefacts, and what he needs to steal to act out his plan to use my twelfth mark.
"He wasn’t always so—I don’t know—crazy," she admits, looking up at me, “But he always had a dark side, a manipulative side. Don’t ever trust him, he gave up his entire family, and the woman he loved for the rebels. That man will do anything for them,” she warns me as the door opens and East walks in, sliding the phone with the cracked screen over to me as he sits down.
"It’s got to be months since you charged that poor thing," he says, shaking his head as I turn it on. There's lots of messages and missed calls, the screen saver picture of me and Kelly, makes me want to walk out of here and demand for someone to tell me where they think she is. We are both smiling in my bedroom before we left for the academy. The start of our new lives, and yet this new life couldn’t be more fucked up.
"Any news from the guys?" I ask East hopefully, who shakes his head.
"Nope, I’ve messaged Locke, and Enzo, but nothing. Don’t worry, they will call us soon and everything will be okay," he says, placing a hand on my knee under the table. A new message pops up on my phone from an unknown number. I unlock it, freezing at the words on the screen.
"Run, they’re coming for you!”
That’s all it says, no name or any idea who it’s from. But one thing I’ve learnt is to never ignore someone when they tell you to run, you just run.
"We need to leave," I say, standing up quickly and turning as I hear the door open once more. I don’t move as my father walks into the room, a long cloak sliding across the floor behind him, with silver marks engraved all over it. He stops, smiling widely, and looking at me like he has just won something. The smile soon disappears as my mother walks around the table, standing next to me as East gets out his chair, moving to my side.
"Alaric,” is all she says in an angry tone as they stare at each other, and he shakes his head as five rebel marked walk into the room, one carrying a destroyed looking Kelly. Her hair is matted, covered in blood, and she has cuts all over her face. Her clothes are torn, and there’s blood all over her. Is she even alive?
"You bastard," I shout, trying to step forward but East stops me. Kelly lifts her head, mouthing my name before her head drops again. Her hair covering her face once more, and I have to hold in the tears that want to fall. I won’t cry in front of my father, that’s not happening.
"She isn’t dead, you can thank me for that later, daughter," my father says, giving me a look that suggests I should say thank you.
"Thank you? I can show you where you can shove that thank you," I spit out and he shakes his head, looking back at my mum.
"Did you not teach our children any manners? Ryan is just as disappointing," he says, and the way he speaks makes me think Ryan is okay, but maybe he wouldn’t work for Alaric anymore.
"I think I taught them just the right words, and to know pure bullshit when they hear it," she says, and his face goes red, “Now where the hell is my son, you piece of shit?” she asks, fury dripping from her every word as she stands strong.
"Mary Crowe, what happened to the sweet woman I loved?" he asks, clearly shocked.
"She died after her husband pretended to be dead, then he kidnapped her children, and tried to brainwash them into crazy beliefs. Now I’m not asking again, where is my son!" she shouts the end part, and he flinches a little.
"They’re not crazy! You just never listened to me! We need to go back to Ariziadia, we are getting weaker all the time, and the planet will make us stronger. It will give us a chance to take back our place on earth, rather than hide on it like we aren’t the most powerful ones here!" he spits out and my mum laughs.
"It's all crazy, completely crazy. The marked on Ariziadia must have the twelfth mark as they are all powerful like you say… then why haven’t they opened the portal? They clearly don’t want to help you, and you will lose," she says. Alaric wipes his face with his hands before pulling out a dagger from inside his cloak. He walks over to Kelly, pulls her head up by her hair, and holds the knife to her throat.