Tavvy's jaw tightened.
"Um..."
"Hid away in the water, probably," Tavvy sneered. My other two brothers, twins, snickered despite the fact there was nothing remotely funny about that statement.
"Are you excited for the ball?" continued Father, stabbing his fork into a fillet of fish.
"Um..."
I was at a loss for words on how to respond. I couldn't remember the last time I had my father's attention besides when he was harming me. I wasn't dumb enough to believe he held actual interest in my welfare or feelings. If anything, this was a trap.
He was just waiting to ensnare me.
I remembered when he used to set up traps in the fields surrounding our castle. For rabbits, he had said.
Of course, no rabbits were ever captured. Instead, my father carried in armed resistance leaders and assassins.
Fear tightened my throat muscles, clogging my airway. All I could do was stare at my father with barely concealed resentment and confusion, waiting not so patiently for the other shoe to fall.
"As this party is to celebrate Z's accomplishments, I have decided it would only be fitting for one of my sons to escort her." His lips curled, resembling a sneer more than an actual smile. "What would the kids say? A date? Yes, a date. One of my sons shall be her date to the ball."
Once again, he threw me a pointed stare.
Understanding didn't just dawn on me, but pelted me in the face with the strength of a mountain. Smothering me until I could barely breathe let alone speak. My heart clenched painfully in tandem to my fingers clenching around my fork. My knuckles were white, the veins beneath my skin visible.
Somehow, someway, my father knew. How he discovered it remained a mystery, but there was no denying the telltale glimmer in his eyes, privy to a joke the rest of the world hadn't heard.
Father pulled his focus away from mine, and it felt like I could breathe again. My breathing stuttered, nerves thrumming, I focused back on my meal. Father's next words effectively suffocated me once more.
"Tavvy, it would make me a proud father to have you escort Z to the ball."
The world spun rapidly, dizzily. The floor dropped out from underneath me, and I was spun head over heels. Pounding reverberated in my brain, and even my deep breaths did nothing to dispel the growing panic.
Dozens of emotions slammed into me, physical blows. Anger at my father. Distress. Jealousy so potent that it contaminated the air like an acidic fog. The earth continued to disappear from under me, a gaping chasm that consisted of nothing but emptiness and darkness. A sickly tar that clung to my skin and hair, as black as night.
Trying to stop these emotions was like trying to stop the waves from touching the shoreline with my bare hands. They overwhelmed me in its intensity, pulling me deeper and deeper into the swirling whirlpool with no hope of escape.
Tavvy sat up straighter, an imperious set to his chin that hadn't been there previously. His smile was malicious and cruel, eyes glimmering like beaded jewels.
"I would be honored, Father," he said diplomatically. Despite his tone, there was no denying the glee in his voice and the twinkle in his eyes.
I knew this couldn't be allowed. Not only would Z's other mates, my brothers, not stand for it, but Z herself would fight tooth and nail if she was forced into the presence of this scumbag. She may not have realized the extent of the damage he had caused not only me but others as well, but she knew enough to stay clear of him.
"Father...rethink this. Please," I said stiffly. My tone brokered no room for argument.
When Father blinked at me rapidly, I realized it was the first time I had ever stood up to him before. Ever spoke back. Now that he knew, or at least suspected, the truth of my relationship with Z, I had no qualms about standing up to him to protect her. Standing, being the ironic term.
Forever confined to my chair minus the few brief minutes of relief before once again my legs were stripped from me. Phantom pain resonated through every pore of my body at the memory, but I pushed it down.
"Yes, my son?" He wiped his mouth on a napkin.
"Z is..." I trailed off, unsure how to articulate my excuse.
"A psychotic sexy bitch?" Tavvy taunted, and my fingers curled into a fist. Hearing him call her both a bitch and sexy made me want to kill him. Painfully. With a variety of very sharp weapons.
Maybe Z was rubbing off on me already.
"Shut your mouth!" I screamed before I could stop myself. Anger thrummed through my veins, alighting me. The white hot explosion churned like molten lava just beneath the surface, a hair’s breadth away from exploding.
Father slammed his fist onto the table, cutting off whatever retort Tavvy had. Tavvy turned his glare on our father before bowing his hand submissively.
"Dair, come. Now." His tone was the no-nonsense one he reserved for only me. The tone that meant it was either my life...or my mother's.
Or Z's.
Trembling with incandescent fury, I wheeled myself towards where my father was now standing, near the door to the dining hall. This building was specifically built for Mermaid royalty. I knew, from experience, that the door opposite would lead to the bedrooms and the lake. The door behind Father led to the sitting room and the King's office.
As I passed Marcella, she dropped her hand onto my crotch, palming me. I hissed, throwing her disgusting hand off me.
"Don't ever touch me again, or else I’ll kill you," I said darkly. Her face paled at my tone, and she sank further back in her seat. My threat on her, at least, had worked.
Father let out a boisterous laugh.
"Don't be threatening my wife, son," he said jovially. Marcella's face paled even more, and I almost felt bad for her. Almost. We all knew what type
