Dominion by Melody Manful Read Free Book Online

reached our quiver and bow at the same time. We both threw the bow and quiver to the ground below and started climbing back down.
    He was fast going down. He had his bow and arrows and was rushing toward the black line before I reached to grab mine.
    “ Shoot all three arrows into the red button on time and you win,” my father said, and then he lifted his bow up with an arrow loaded.
    I finally saw the timer, which flashed twenty seconds until the game was over.
    My father’s first arrow went straight into the red button. I quickly shot my own and felt delighted when it also hit the red button. My second arrow shot into the center of the red button moments after my father’s landed perfectly beside his first one.
    “ Five. Four…” my father’s last arrow landed in the red button, and he rejoiced. “Three. Two…” I shot my last arrow, but the timer buzzed right before my arrow landed in the red button.
    “ I am awfully disappointed in you for breaking your mother’s beautiful lamp,” my father said. He proceeded to place his bow and arrow on the floor and do a victory dance that I hoped for both our sakes he didn’t do with people around.
    “ You know, children pick up on what their parents do, so if you’re asking me to lie, I might just lie at some point…”
    He cut me off with a “don’t even go there.” Then he walked over to me with a smile on his face and took the bow from me.
    “ I’m so proud of you,” he said as he put my bow on the ground. “I’m really, truly proud of you,” he said again as he threw his arms around me. It was now that I realized my body hurt from the combat training.
    “ My little girl.” He pulled away. “Look at you, all grown up.” I believed from the tone of his voice that he was proud of me.
    “ Logan is a good teacher,” I told him. “And I’d take care of Mom, so don’t worry when you leave. Nothing will happen to us.”
    “ I’m worried about you, too, honey,” he said. “And I never wanted you in my crazy world. When you were born, I dreamed of riding ponies and having princess tea parties with you. And now, you’re not my little girl anymore.” My father sounded sad, and I knew he regretted the life that we were forced to live.
    “ Dad.” I forced a smile. “I’m all right. Besides, ponies and princesses are overrated.”
    He smiled. “I’d still have loved to attend a tea party with you,” he said, pulling me into another hug. I winced against his chest.
    “ Maybe next time,” I said, hoping those three days he’d spent with my mother and me weren’t the only time we had with him.
    “ It’s a date,” he whispered, still holding on to me. I wanted to pull away from him because my body ached, but I didn’t, because hugging him was something I wished could happen daily. “I’m on a break for two months, so I’ll be popping in often.”
    I felt my spirit light up with happiness. “Can’t you just stay with us?”
    “ You know I can’t.”
    I knew that would be the answer the moment I opened my mouth to ask the question, but I couldn’t stop myself from asking it anyway. I couldn’t let go of the hope that he would one day say yes.
    “ Come on, let’s clean up and get you home to confess,” and with that we went to work cleaning up after ourselves.
    The ride back home was much more fun and relaxed. We talked about different ways I could tell my mother that I broke her lamp. He talked about some of the places he’d been, and I told him about my friends and things my mother and I did while he was away.
    When we got home, my mother took one look at me and started telling my father never to take me anywhere near the CIA training center again, but of course, she always said this. I took the opportunity to tell her that I broke her lamp, but she didn’t even care, she just continued to grill my father.
    I hung out for a while with my parents and then said goodbye so they could have time alone together. My mother was always