Chapter Text
“She has done nothing wrong and yet you’re treating her like some sort of criminal!”
Darra glared at his father, his jaw set with steely determination as he tried to stare the man down.
This was not the first time he had fought with his father but the usually easy-going young man was currently full of more rage than he had thought possible. Sure, his dad was always stubborn and frustrating to deal with but he was used to their regular bickering about academics and his future prospects.
But this was different.
His father, along with Orla and Sean, had confronted Krya after the prize giving ceremony and had accused her of being a dangerous traitor to the magical world. Darra had no idea how he had jumped to such terrible conclusions after talking to the girl for a mere thirty-seconds—his dad didn’t know anything about her and it was clear that his judgement was based solely on prejudice and fear.
“I’m not saying she’s a criminal, son.” The older man began, folding his arms across his chest. “I was simply pointing out the facts. She’s not one of us and she should not be entrusted with this level of magic. Something needs to be done to fix this.”
Darra let out a frustrated huff and continued to glare at his opponent. “She is one of us now!” He proclaimed, the agitation in his voice apparent. For some reason, he hated it when people dismissed Kyra as different, even though she technically was. “She has worked incredibly hard to hone her magic and I don’t see why you all feel the need to plot against her. She isn’t a threat!”
Much to his annoyance, his father let out a dismissive scoff. “You’re even more deluded then I feared.” He muttered at the ground before looking back up at his son. “Whatever silly crush you have on this human is clearly clouding your judgement, Darra. This magic does not belong to her and she will always put her own people first. The way she protected her friend during the test makes that painfully clear.”
Darra opened his mouth to retort, but his father continued before he could.
“I’ll give the girl credit for one thing.” The man stated. “At least she is loyal to her own kind. Which seems to be more than I can say for you at the moment.”
Although his father had not moved, Darra felt as if he had been punched in the gut. He did his best to draw two long breaths as he attempted to steady himself. The implications of his father’s remark had stung. Trusting a good person who had done no wrong did not make him a traitor to the magical world—if his father thought otherwise, he was clearly even more close minded then he had thought.
“You’re not exactly inspiring loyalty at the moment, dad.” He shot back, finally gathering himself. “I’m not sure if I want to be loyal to people who plot against the innocent.”
Jared let out another scoff, much to his son’s growing annoyance. There was no doubt that the man thought he was right to take his current stance and there was probably nothing that could sway him.
“Honestly, son.” His father began again with a roll of his eyes. “You’re being quite dramatic.” There was a brief pause as he examined his son. “I suppose it’s partly my fault for being so lenient with you. I put up with all of your silly teenage dalliances with nymphs and fairies—I convinced myself that it was just a phase. But things have clearly gone too far now. You are an elf, Darra. A Blackwell. It is time for you to start acting like it.”
It was Darra’s turn to scoff as he briefly looked up at the ceiling. They were veering into familiar territory now and he was not in the mood to hear his father rant about his familial duties. As the Blackwell “son and heir,” he had been hearing the same sort of thing for his entire life. He was destined to take his father’s place as the head of the magical treasury, as all in their family line had done for centuries. It was a lucrative and prestigious role, but he had never been overly keen on it. Especially when it seemed to come with so many other obligations.
“What is that supposed to mean, exactly?” He retorted, glaring at the man once more. “Because if being a Blackwell means getting married off to some cold elven heiress then I don’t think I’m interested. You and mum are living proof of how successful that is.” He finished sarcastically.
He watched a flash of anger cross his father’s face and he was satisfied that he had finally struck a nerve. His parents kept up a certain façade while in public and had probably managed to fool many into thinking that they had a successful union—but Darra knew the truth. The two could barely stand each other and had married for status and money rather than something more. That was why his mother was hardly ever home. She had never wanted children and had little affection for her husband—her only happiness came from her extravagant world travels. The woman was barely present in their lives.
She hadn’t even bothered showing up today.
Darra had always done his best to love her, in spite of it all, but he never wanted to be in his father’s situation.
“You are the Blackwell heir and you will marry an elf, Darra. That is not up for discussion.”
Despite his father’s forceful tone, the boy refused to back down.
“I’ll do and be with whoever I want.” He replied firmly, sparking another flash of rage from the older man. “You may want to hold onto the past, but I don’t. We’re not royalty anymore, dad, and I am not obligated to do anything.”
He was well aware of his family’s past and he knew that his father was still fiercely proud of it. Before the elven monarchy had been voluntarily abolished over three-hundred years ago, the Blackwell’s had been in charge. Their ancestor had stepped down to make way for a new world, and only power over the treasury had been maintained. Darra had always been fascinated by the old stories of kings and queens but the older her got, the more grateful he was that things had changed. Their family was still widely revered but most of their antiquated duties were now dissolved.
Or at least, they were supposed to be…
“I knew letting you go to Maxwell’s school was a mistake.” His father said, snapping the boy back to attention. “I worried the halfling might fill your head with radical ideas, but I figured it was better to be taught by him then by some fairy. Perhaps I was wrong. I should have sent you to that elven school in New Zealand.” The man paused for a moment. “Maybe it’s not too late.
Darra’s rolled his eyes. The man was being absolutely ridiculous and he hated the thought of being ushered off to some old-fashioned insular school. Cross-community schooling had only been around for a few decades but almost everyone acknowledged the benefits of having all members of the magical community work together.
He sincerely hoped that his father was just being dramatic in the heat of the moment—but perhaps he was even more prejudiced than he had thought.
He firmly held his ground. “I’m not going anywhere.” He declared. “I can’t believe how close-minded and old-fashioned you’re being right now. I thought you were better than that, but I guess I was wrong.”
The older man looked taken aback by the remark but Darra continued. “Elves, fairies, nymphs, mermaids…humans. All creatures deserve to be treated with respect and decency. If that belief means that I’m not enough of a “Blackwell” in your eyes, then fine. I’d rather not be one anyway. Make Imogen your heir and let me live my life the way I want.”
He could see the growing rage on his father’s face, but the man tried to maintain his composure. “And does living your life the way you want mean taking up with that human tri-ling girl?” He scoffed, clearly mortified by the thought of his boy disgracing the family name in such a way. “Her powers are temporary, Darra. She isn’t part of our world. Part of your world.”
“I don’t care.” The young man replied, his heart pounding as his mind drifted to thoughts of the girl he had grown to care for deeply.
Her powers and status were irrelevant to him. Kyra had been right when she had confronted his father and his associates earlier—he accepted her for what she was, and he always would.
“I won’t let you control my life, dad.” Darra said, taking a few steps back. “And I won’t stand here and listen to your crap for a moment longer. Kyra is a good person. She isn’t a threat. I don’t know what the future holds, but I know that I love her. And I’m leaving.”
He watched with satisfaction as his father’s eyes widened in shock. In truth, he hadn’t meant to make that proclamation—he hadn’t even fully acknowledged it himself. But he knew that it was true. He was in love with Kyra Glenn and he didn’t care what anyone else thought.
His father opened his mouth, clearly ready to reply, but Darra turned his back towards his before he could.
He had meant everything else he had said too. He was tired of listening to the man’s narrow-minded drivel and he needed to get away.
With a determined wave of his hand, he finally disappeared.