Taken by my stepfathers
The power dynamic wasn't just father and son; it was the Architect and the Variable.
"Daniel, don't!" I screamed, finding my voice. "He was just... he was worried! Please!"
Daniel turned his head toward me, and for a second, I saw it, the absolute, terrifying lack of humanity in his gaze. He wasn't the man who had washed me. He was the beast that protected the territory.
"He looked at you, Eden," Daniel said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "He looked at the marks I gave you. He trespassed on the only thing in this world I have claimed as sacred. For that, there is no mercy."