VANDER
The second the doors slammed open, I knew. I knew from the way the air shifted that it was him. I could feel it from the way his eyes locked straight onto me without hesitation that he wasn’t wondering who to blame.
He already knew.
My father had already decided. I barely had time to brace myself before his boots thundered across the tile, and then his arm swung at me so hard that I almost lost my footing.
The slap was brutal. A full swing, palm wide, strength precise. My head jerked sideways, my vision flashing white for half a second. The sting spread across my jaw like wildfire, and I tasted blood.
A gasp ripped from Dala’s throat. I straightened slowly, locking my jaw, not because I wasn’t hurt but because I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing it.
“What the he
