Kaerith
I remember the day like it was yesterday, We demons live for hundreds of years and are cursed to carry the memories down with us , be it good or be it bad .
He's back , void eyes staring back at me , I'm expected to behave like we are one happy family , but even the dollhouse has its flaws .
Family dinner , Fake it till you make it that's what this is , my mother sitted at the head of the table , with me on her left and him on the right! Last time I sat down like this was when I was half the bare age , in human tongue when I was 6 but instantly I learnt that this is not a family .
" All my babies , sitted at one table again - finally !" There's nothing good about this , nothing good ever comes out from this ! Because neither one of us ever backs down
" I'm happy to be home mother !" A genuinely fake smile covers his features , you would think by now he would be a better actor
" Oh -" she places a hand over her heart , Misplaced happiness from a fake child .
" Kaerith ! You are here yet your mind isn't , let's just all have dinner like the family we are"
" Like the family that we were mother , it's past tense" maids file in to serve dinner , I'm not a picky eater, these days only blood has been my filling , everything tastes sour in my mouth , just blood but yet the blood I crave I dare not touch , I won't stop at just one sip or one bite , day by day the control that I have spent a century building up she crumbles it , with nothing but her childish tantrums , and her subconscious need for care .
" We are still a family Kaerith " is that how my eyes look ? Void ? It's good to know the good stuff stayed after all he is my brother .
" I believe Kaerith knows this mother , he's just stubborn as usual " he releases a sigh , like I'm the frustrating one
"I- j-ust want us to be the strong family we once were "
" Well if it's strong you seek mother this room vibrates with power , but family ? I'm afraid that's not possible " the chair screeches from my weight as I stand up
" Kaerith let's just finish a meal as a family ! Set your differences aside please " she looks at me with pleading eyes , if only I could cave into her demands
" You are a century too late for this mother , should have tried earlier " giving her a curt nod I excuse myself out of the chamber .
The sky the colour Of the blood spilled by my kind illuminates the castle , It's a myth I always believed in , every blood spills the skies soak it up causing it to grow darker , if that were so then I mostly painted the sky .
" Thud! You couldn't just manage through dinner for our dear old mother ? " Standing in my front in all his annoying and spiteful glory I give him a blank stare , I have nothing to tell you
" Not talking to me? No ? "
" ... "
" Okay then ! How is Diana anyways ? Adjusting to the world must be quite new for her " drowning ! It feels like I'm drowning , Laboured breath comes out of my mouth as I stare into his eyes , If feels wet all of a sudden ... Cold, he shouldn't know about her,
" How?"
" Oh now he talks to me ?"
" How do you know this Vaerith !?"
" So you remember my name ,one would think you have forgotten over the centuries , seeing as you have been quiet , who is she to you Kaerith ?
" How do you know of her existence, Vaerith?"
He says it like a curse. Like it's a name he's allowed to claim — to twist — to spit in my face.
My name.
I watch him smile. That smug, brittle thing he calls a grin. My fists tighten at my sides.
A grunt escapes my lips as I shove him back, his body skidding across the obsidian roof tiles. He catches himself, barely, dust swirling around him like smoke hungry for heat.
"You dare use that name?" I say through clenched teeth.
He rises slowly, brushing the soot off his sleeves like we're about to dance, not destroy.
"You think I didn't feel it, Kaerith?" he snarls. "The pulse. The bond. She's tethered to you."
I laugh short and sharp. "You say that like you matter , you say it like I should have come for your blessings !"
" I am your brother !!!" He roars and then I move. Not with fire or flame, just speed , the kind born of instinct and a long line of hate , Our bodies crash again, fists finding ribs, arms locking, boots scraping the edge of the roof's spine , the building feeling the impact of power
His hand grabs my shoulder.
My elbow answers.
He staggers.
"Stay away from her," I warn, shoving him harder, this time pushing him toward the ledge. "You don't get to speak her name."
"You think you're her protector? Where where you huh ? When I had her alone in the lecture hall huh? Asking about her well-being and oh how cute her expressions were " he spits. "You're the same cursed thing I am, Kaerith no matter how many shadows kiss your feet."
"Then let me show you how we kiss."
I slam him down, roof cracking beneath us as tile fractures spiderweb around his spine. A groan escapes him, wind knocked from his lungs.
He coughs. Laughs. "Still… full of dramatics."
I lean over him. "Still… full of shit."
And then
"Kaerith!"
Her voice. My mother's.
I freeze, only for a moment. She stands at the balcony, veil pulled back, eyes wide not with concern, not even with fury.
But fear.
She doesn't move. Doesn't step forward.
She won't , she can't for she knows , if she touches me she Brings out my fury , if she touches him she bring forth my sword , we have done this dance oh too well .
She never has.
And that's when Mhorvael arrives.
Her footsteps are silent, but the wind stills around her like the realm itself holds its breath. She says nothing at first. Just looks at me. At him. At the ruin we've left on the rooftop.
Then she raises a single hand.
A surge of power cuts between us, invisible but undeniable. Like the world blinked and now we're no longer touching, no longer locked in combat, just separated by her presence alone.
"That's enough," she says.
It's not a request.
Not a plea.
Just truth.
Vaerith my brother wipes blood from his lip, eyes burning with what might've been rage… or sorrow.
"You always pick him," he mutters, not to her, but the wind.
Mhorvael raises a brow. "I pick peace. You two spit on it."
I don't reply. I don't have to.
Because for the first time in centuries, the blood between us runs hot again.
And it won't cool easily.