Page 7 of A Harmony of Procellarum

These women are to them what Torrent has always been to me, and I can’t let them knowing our pasts affect me. What’s done is done and we have a bigger fight on our hands.

“Yes, at the tender age of ten, Torrent slammed a hatchet into our abuser’s skull, freeing us from his torture,” I say out loud.

“Ten years old,” Tempest breathes. “No wonder.”

“I’m going to call the institute and see if I can speak with him anyway,” Raiden surmises as he pulls his phone out of his pocket and heads to the bedroom.

“Yes, he’s troubled and instead of feeling glorified for killing a monster, he’s always been convinced the monster escaped Father Robert and entered his body. I’ve always wondered if it was his way of dealing with the gruesome murder, or if there is some truth to it.” I don’t know why I’m spilling my thoughts like this. Maybe it’s to keep me from going insane with worry, or maybe it’s because I feel like my family—the one I chose—doesn’t really know the deep valleys of my mind and how much it fucks me up daily.

“He always thought Father Robert was a demon,” Hail says. “We used to talk about it during our meals. He was convinced Satan sent his worst soldier to parade as a priest.”

“He wasn’t fucking wrong!” Tempest exclaims, her voice low and filled with anger. “He was a fucking demon!”

“Torrent believed the night he killed Father Robert, he became the new host for the demon, and even though I’ve spent most of our lives convincing him otherwise, he’s never strayed from that.” I fall back into my chair and stare at the ceiling of the plane. “We were all running from that place, trying desperately to find a way to escape, and Torrent has been doing that with his own mind for years. He’s living in his own Loving Beginnings nightmare day in and day out where he is the villain.”

The silence of the plane gives me the much-needed reprieve to sort through everything I saw a few hours ago. The blacked-out sedan, the sound of Tiny’s voice, and that motherfucker’s middle finger in the air.

The middle finger.

My mind hyper focuses on that middle finger, the way it curves a little toward the first. The nail slightly pointed at the tip, nestled into dark sepia skin.

I pop up in my seat the exact same moment Raiden comes barreling out of the room and we both exclaim at the same time, “Torrent!”

“He’s not there, is he?” I ask as I slowly stand, not needing to hear his confirmation because I already have the proof.

“He was released into the care of his aunt yesterday afternoon,” Raiden growls, his fists clenched at his side.

“Aunt?” Tempest stands as Hail curses under his breath. “Which aunt?”

“We don’t have any family,” Raiden tells her, as Sky gasps.

“My aunt Sherri, isn’t it?”

“That’s my first guess,” Raiden nods as he continues to curse.

“It was him,” I mumble, my voice straining to rise above the emotion clogging my throat. “He took Tiny.”

“You saw him?” Raiden’s eyes narrow on me. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t see anything but his fucking middle finger,” I groan. “And I just pieced it together.”

“Fuck!” Raiden screams, and a part of me crumbles with him. He’s had to chase his little brother and keep him in line for years. It’s always been on his shoulders.

“Could he be working for them again?” Sky asks as Hail runs his fingers through his hair.

“Of course he could be,” he says to her. “He was always trying to get back in with their good graces.”

“We don’t know that.” I shake my head and head for the door. “I’m going to find him and Tiny both.”

“Wait! Squall!” Hail calls out, but I’m already halfway down the stairs and on my way to find the two people who mean the most to me.

TORRENT

I fall onto the bed with a loud exhale as Tiny scrambles away from me, my closeness probably making her skin crawl. She leaves behind a cloud of musk and fruit, making my mouth water unexpectedly.

“Let me out, Torrent. You can’t think you will get away with this,” she growls as she strides for the door.

“It’s locked,” I call out, my words ending in a yawn.

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