THE PRIESTESS'S WORTHLESS HUSBAND IS A DRAGON

CHAPTER 1: BASEMENT PART 2

Richard's voice hit the walls and bounced back like a slap. His nostrils flared, and his upper lip curled with so much contempt it barely looked human.

"Your brother is upstairs right now with tears in his eyes because he failed his awakening. His whole future just crumbled in front of him. And you, you worthless little maggot, you crawl back into this house grinning like a dog that found a bone in the garbage."

Ethan's throat tightened. His fingers curled slowly against his thighs, nails pressing into his own skin. He thought about how he spent three months tutoring Derek for the awakening exam. Three months of giving up his own training hours so Derek could practice. Nobody saw that. Nobody ever saw that.

"I wasn't grinning because of Derek, Father. I didn't even know he failed. Nobody told me anything. I came straight home from the Awakening Hall."

"Shut your filthy mouth." Richard took one step down from the platform, and the sound of his heel striking the marble made Ethan flinch. "You think I'm stupid? You think I can't see what you are? You're a leech, Ethan. A bottom feeding leech that sucks from this family and gives nothing back. You've been jealous of your brother since the day you were born, and now that he's suffering, you're practically dancing on his grave."

Jealous. The word burned through Ethan's chest like acid. He had given Derek his spot in the advanced combat class two years ago because Derek wanted it. He had stepped aside from the family tournament so Derek could take the trophy. He had smiled and clapped and stood in the background like furniture every single time, and somehow he was the jealous one.

"That's not true. I would never..."

"I said shut up!" Richard's hand swung through the air and cracked across Ethan's face so hard his head snapped to the side. The taste of copper flooded his mouth. He stayed still, breathing through his nose, staring at the floor where a single drop of blood fell from his split lip.

Patricia Morrison sat in her chair with her ankles crossed and a lace handkerchief pressed against her reddened eyes. Her gaze moved over Ethan the way someone looks at a rat that crawled out from behind the stove.

"Your father is being too kind to you, honestly." Her voice trembled, but not with sympathy. With disgust. "Do you know what Derek said to me when he came out of the Awakening Hall? He said, 'I'm sorry, Mother. I let the family down.' That boy, with his whole world falling apart, and his first thought was about us. About this family." She pointed one long finger at Ethan. "And what did you do? You walked past his door without even knocking. You slithered past like a snake that just swallowed something and didn't want anyone to see."

Ethan wanted to scream. He wanted to ask his mother if she remembered last winter when Derek caught a fever before his exams. Ethan had stayed up four nights straight copying notes for him, making medicine, carrying food to his room. Patricia had walked in on the fourth morning, looked right through Ethan like he was made of glass, sat down beside Derek, and said, "My poor baby, you have no one to take care of you in this house."

No one. Like Ethan was not even there. Like he had never been there.

"Mother, I swear I didn't know. I was going to check on him. I just got home."