"Hey, motherfucker!" Bianca's voice rang out like a gunshot, slicing through the Lounge. The entire crowd went silent, their heads snapping toward her in shock. Valen turned, his eyes narrowing as he saw her storming toward the deck with her clique of snickering Barclay youths trailing behind.
"Well, look at that! Little Valen's crying to his whore of a mother! How cute!" One of the youths mocked, smirking like he just won the lottery of assholes.
"What? Don't tell me you all really thought we're family with this halfling bastard." Bianca sneered as she looked around the room, her words sharp, and venomous.
The guests were stunned, a mixture of shock and disbelief flashing across their faces. Nobody could have anticipated that a child would curse out another of the same family, let alone do it in front of the entire VIP panel! The crowd, normally buzzing with excitement, was now frozen in disbelief.
Nobody, absolutely nobody, had expected a full-blown public family spat, especially one this ugly.
Valen's blood turned cold. He turned slowly to face Bianca, his voice low and frigid. "What did you just say?"
Bianca's grin widened as she saw the fury in his eyes, "What? Didn't hear me? Are you deaf, Valen? I guess that's what you get for being born out of a whore's desperation. Ahaha... Huh? You think just because you sang a sad little song, you would become someone important to the family? Hahaha, how pathetic!" She laughed clutching her stomach, mocking.
The youths behind her cackled, but a few of the outcasts on the sidelines began shifting uncomfortably, sensing the storm building. No one wanted to get involved in a petty squabble.
The elders of other Siren clans stayed out of it, watching with the kind of cold detachment only centuries of experience could bring. And the Barclay elders, too, did nothing but stand there, watching the whole family drama unfold.
Valen's eyes began to darken, but before he could act, his mother's hands were on his shoulders, pulling him back gently. "Valen, no…"
Her voice was strained with worry, trying to restrain him, knowing how dangerous this could escalate. She didn't want a few immature insults to ruin their evening.
But Valen was beyond hearing her. His body shook with the effort to hold back, to not let the rage consume him. His teeth clenched so tightly that it sounded like grinding stone, his knuckles turning white as he struggled against the storm inside him. The rage-his fury-was turning him into a beast.
The Addams family, however, was not staying silent either. Morticia's eyes flicked to Lurch, who simply nodded. Enough was enough. These kids really need to know their places.
"You're nothing but a bastard," Bianca's older cousin not missing a beat, leaned in for the kill, his voice dripping with disdain. "A half-blood disgrace to our family. The son of a filthy whore who betrayed her entire family for a quick thrill with some shapeshifter's coc-"
Before he could finish the sentence, the world seemed to freeze for a split second. Then, a punch landed with sickening force, and the impact was so brutal it sounded like bone cracking, literally.
The youth's teeth shattered on contact, his jaw snapping as his body was flung backward like a ragdoll. He flew straight off the balcony, blood spraying as he tumbled through the air, vanishing from sight.
"VALEN!" Sarenya screamed, her voice breaking with terror as she rushed toward her son.
But Valen didn't hear her. He couldn't. His mind had fractured into a crimson haze, every inch of his body consumed by rage. His vision, soaked in a red mist, blocked out everything but the desire to destroy.
His fists clenched, and his fingers stretched, then they erupted in a violent explosion of jagged claws, sharp and vicious like bony knives, covering his entire arms. His knuckles twisted with unnatural strength, the claws cutting into his skin as if they were born from him. His body rippled with animalistic power, each breath shallow and heavy as his pulse hammered in his ears.
"KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!" The word screamed through his mind in a maddening chorus, drowning out any hint of reason. The single thought consumed him like wildfire, relentless and drowning.
He turned on Bianca.
She had fallen onto her ass when the cousin was thrown off the balcony, wide-eyed, shaking. She hadn't expected this, not from Valen.
But he wasn't the same Valen anymore.
The air seemed to crackle with tension as he stalked toward her, the blood-red haze took over, drowning everything else in his mind. Bianca's eyes widened in fear as she saw the feral rage in his eyes.
She tried to backpedal, but it was too late.
Before Lurch could react, before anyone could stop him, Valen lunged, his eyes wild, his sharp canines glinting in the light, as he flew toward Bianca with primal speed.
But then, a force slammed him backward,
*CRASH!!*
Sending him crashing across the deck.
Valen hit a nearby table, the splinters of wood and shattered glass spraying across the floor. He groaned, struggling to push himself up through the haze of rage and pain.
"VALEN!!" Sarenya screamed, rushing to her son's side, her voice cracking with worry.
"Hehhh... seems the bastard's gone feral…" William's voice cut through the chaos, his trident glinting in the dim light. He flicked it casually, eyes glinting with amusement as he sized up his target.
"Attacking an potential heir of the same clan, with the intent to kill… attempting Kinslaying, little Valen, don't you know that's punishable by death?" William taunted, stepping closer.
Valen was writhing on the floor, his body still twitching from the force and pain of the hit, trying to rise, but his vision swam with bloodlust and confusion.
Before William could strike again, Lurch stepped in, his massive form blocking the blow with a punch. He met William's trident with his own strength, a massive thud echoing as they clashed. The fight was on.
Then the floor trembled as a deep, thunderous voice boomed across the lounge.
"What the hell is going on here?!" The massive door flew open, and several of the most influential elders of the Siren species entered, the owner of the voice unmistakable, a towering figure with the signature mustache of the one-armed dictator, his expression severe.
Behind him followed the Barclay patriarch and several other council members, including some of the most important individuals in the outcast society.
*
They had been lounging on a lower deck, enjoying wine and snacks… and *cough* Cough* likely the company of a few young ladies.
But then, what they saw left them spluttering out their drinks in shock, their eyes wide with disbelief. A young siren was falling from the sky.
"HUH? Is it raining sirens now?" one elder stuttered, spitting out his drink. "Hmm… maybe a little future population boost for our species. Hmmmm that's good... that's good... wait, what? Raining? Sirens? Is it possible...? HOLY FUCKING GOD OF MERMAIDS!! That guy fell from the upper deck! And there's blood! Someone get up there! Now!"
The elder looked back but a chorus of confusion had already erupted, most elders already rushing to the upper deck, no doubt eager to figure out what had just happened.
"Wait for me, you fucking bastards!!", the elder called out as he ran after the others, tripping on his own foot.
--
A/N – Valen has finally awakened his powers!!! Woooohoooo!!!
I had a blast writing the last part with the raining sirens. With this chapter, we've crossed 21,000 words! That's wild.
I'd be super grateful if you could drop some reviews on the novel page, it really keeps me motivated to keep pushing forward. Who knows, if the energy's high enough, maybe I'll throw in some bonus chapters!
Thanks for reading- love y'all!!!