**********************
The rain had passed, leaving the air heavy with petrichor and the scent of blooming duskroses outside the city mansion. Kai stood barefoot on the balcony, arms wrapped around himself, soaking in the fresh wind. The last few days had been quieter—still touched by strange visions and deeper magical stirrings—but peaceful in their own way. A gentle lull before the next storm.
Down below, the estate gates creaked open. A sleek, forest-green car glided into the driveway. Kai narrowed his eyes just as the front door chimed magically, alerting them of a new arrival. Behind him, Lucien stepped out onto the balcony with a towel draped around his neck, shirt half-buttoned and hair still damp from his shower.
"You're tense," Lucien murmured, slipping his arms around Kai's waist from behind. Kai leaned into him. "Someone's here." Lucien tilted his head, catching the distant flash of headlights below. His expression changed. A strange softness bloomed over his sharp features.
"No way..." he whispered. Kai turned to look at him, surprised. "Do you know who it is?" Lucien was already walking toward the stairs, towel forgotten.
The front door swung open with a quiet hiss of magic.
Kai hovered just behind Lucien, and Rhydian stood across the hall, one brow raised in caution. The man standing in the entrance wasn't what Kai expected.
Tall, lean, and dressed in a dark slate coat with golden threading along the collar, he exuded both calmness and quiet confidence. His wavy black hair was tousled from the wind, his eyes a warm amber-gold that reminded Kai of sunsets and honey.
"Lucien!" the newcomer grinned, dropping his bag and striding forward without hesitation. Lucien opened his arms just in time to catch the younger man in a crushing hug. "Caelan?! What the hell—how are you even here?!" Kai blinked. Caelan.
Lucien's cousin.
Caelan pulled back, smiling wide. "I got your last letter three weeks ago. Figured you could use a little more family around here." Rhydian folded his arms from the staircase. "Wonderful," he muttered. Kai stepped forward uncertainly. Caelan noticed him immediately—and his expression changed. Warmer. Gentler. Something curious flickered in his eyes, like recognition without understanding.
"You must be Kai." Kai's lips parted. "You… know me?" "Lucien never shuts up about you," Caelan said with a playful wink. "And I've seen your name mentioned in our family archives. You're kind of a legend." Kai flushed. Lucien groaned behind them.
"I'm gonna regret this already."
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The guest room was quickly enchanted to expand itself with Caelan's magical signature. His luggage hovered obediently in mid-air, unpacking itself as he wandered barefoot into the main living room, where Kai was curled on the couch with a book.
Caelan plopped beside him without ceremony.
"So. Magic, huh?" Kai looked up. "What about it?" "I heard you've got this whole 'burning prophecy soul key' thing going on." Kai gave him a dry look. "That's… one way to put it." Caelan laughed. "No offense. You seem like the type who accidentally absorbs forbidden artifacts and doesn't even realize until someone faints."
Kai tried not to smile. "That's... alarmingly accurate." Caelan reached into his coat and pulled out a small charm—a glowing orb no larger than a plum, pulsing with soft light. "Here. Ice-sigil orb. You can use it to cool hot tea or summon temporary breeze wards. A little cousin's gift."
Kai blinked. "You're giving me a magical gift after five minutes?"
"Not a gift. A trade," Caelan said. "You give me some of those enchanted pastries you baked this morning." Kai laughed for real this time, relaxing. "Deal."
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Later that evening, the kitchen turned into chaos.
Caelan had decided he was going to help Kai bake dessert. Rhydian had reluctantly joined in after catching a flour bag exploding in mid-air. Lucien stood leaning against the counter, watching all of it with arms crossed and an expression somewhere between amusement and rising concern.
"Kai," Rhydian warned, "if he enchants another rolling pin, I'm banishing him to the shed." "It wasn't me!" Caelan protested, flicking a tiny spark of magic from his fingers and sending a floating cherry into Kai's mouth. "He started it!" Kai coughed and blushed, caught off-guard.
Lucien's jaw clenched visibly.
Caelan noticed—but said nothing.
After dinner, the four of them settled on the rooftop terrace, where magic lights floated like soft stars overhead. Kai sat between Caelan and Lucien, Rhydian standing behind them with a silent gaze fixed on the horizon. "Feels like home again," Caelan murmured, head tilted toward the stars. Kai glanced at him. "You really think so?"
"I've been in three different kingdoms. None of them felt like this."
Kai smiled faintly, heart fluttering.
***************
Over the next few days, things changed in small but steady ways.
Caelan followed Kai through the halls like a cheerful shadow, offering help, suggestions, and occasionally food. He carried books for him, offered to enchant the wardrobe with charm-sorting, and once created a tiny glowing phoenix to dance over Kai's tea for no reason at all. They trained together—Caelan's style was fluid, playful, full of illusions and tricks that made Kai laugh. He never pushed, never demanded—just offered space, presence, and fun.
Lucien, meanwhile, watched with quiet unease. He tried not to show it, but Rhydian caught it in the tightness of his shoulders, the way his fingers drummed too hard on the armrest during quiet hours.
"He's harmless," Rhydian muttered one evening, not looking up from his book. Lucien said nothing. "But you feel it too," Rhydian added. Lucien sighed. "He's too comfortable around Kai."
"And Kai's too comfortable around him."
They didn't need to say more.
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That night, Kai came downstairs after midnight to get water. Caelan was already in the kitchen, sipping milk from a glowing cup. He waved and gestured for Kai to sit.
"Couldn't sleep?" Kai shook his head. "You look like you've been carrying too much. You always do." Kai exhaled slowly, the words strangely comforting. "It's been… a lot."
"I know." Kai looked up. "My family's full of secrets," Caelan said quietly. "But you already knew that, didn't you?" Kai nodded. "And you? Are you like them?" Caelan grinned. "I'm like me." Kai blinked, then laughed softly. "That sounds fake, but okay." They sat on the staircase, shoulders brushing, warm silence between them.
Somewhere above, Lucien stood in the shadows of the landing.
He watched Kai lean into Caelan's side—just for a second, just enough to make Lucien's chest ache.
**********
The morning after the late-night kitchen conversation, the mansion stirred slowly. The air carried the scent of cinnamon tea and old spell parchment, and in the main atrium, sunlight filtered through the enchanted skylight in soft golden hues.
Kai sat cross-legged on the lounge rug, surrounded by magical books and glowing sigils. A light blue shimmer danced across the floor, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat. In front of him, Caelan knelt, his fingers hovering in the air as he helped stabilize the spell.
"Slow your breath," Caelan said gently, smiling. "Magic like this listens more to emotion than logic." Kai nodded, focusing. A glowing ribbon of light swirled between them—shifting colors from pale blue to violet. Their fingertips almost touched in the air. "That's it," Caelan murmured. "You're shaping it beautifully."
Just then, Lucien stepped into the room.
The air shifted.
His gaze landed first on Kai—concentrated and calm—and then on Caelan, who was still smiling as if this moment belonged to just the two of them. His chest tightened. "Morning," Lucien said evenly. Kai startled slightly, blinking up. "Hey. We're trying a spirit stabilizing ward."
"I can see that," Lucien said, his voice light but his jaw tense. Caelan stood, brushing off his pants. "He's got a good hand for it. Natural harmony." Lucien's eyes didn't leave his cousin. "He's more than that."
The air held a subtle thrum. Kai sensed it, even if he didn't quite understand it. He smiled nervously and gestured to the books.
"Lucien, you want to join us later? We're trying illusion rings next." Lucien smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Maybe." Caelan gave a short, knowing laugh. "You'd be too serious for it. Illusions are more fun with chaos." Lucien's eyes narrowed faintly, but he said nothing.
Later that afternoon, Caelan suggested something unexpected: a magical scavenger hunt across the mansion.
Kai lit up immediately. Rhydian groaned from the corner. "Please tell me this doesn't involve me crawling through portals again." Caelan grinned. "Only if you lose." Lucien hesitated, but when he saw Kai's expression—so bright, so carefree—he sighed and joined in without complaint.
Each clue was enchanted with a whisper of riddle-magic. Caelan had clearly planned it well, despite only arriving a day ago. There were illusions of floating doors, hidden messages behind paintings, and a charmed feather that giggled whenever touched. Kai and Caelan ended up paired together. They worked in easy rhythm—laughing, teasing, brushing shoulders as they followed glowing threads of sigils.
Rhydian was quick and competitive. Lucien was sharp and focused—but his mood darkened with each burst of laughter from Kai and Caelan echoing down the halls. At one point, they found Kai backed into a magical wardrobe, giggling as Caelan tried to untangle him from a charm vine that had coiled around his waist.
Lucien saw it—saw how gently Caelan touched Kai's arm, how Kai leaned into his warmth—and something flared in his chest.
That evening, Rhydian and Lucien found themselves alone on the side terrace. Rhydian leaned against the railing, silent for a while, watching the twilight fall.nLucien stood near the wall, hands clenched behind his back. "You don't trust him either," Lucien said softly.
"I don't need to. I know that smile." Rhydian's eyes were sharp, unreadable. "The easy charm, the helpful hands. He's already too close." Lucien sighed. "He's my cousin." Rhydian glanced at him. "That's not the point. It's Kai."
Lucien didn't answer. "You feel it," Rhydian said. "The shift." Lucien looked down. "Kai's happy around him. Lighter." Rhydian's voice was quieter. "He laughs differently when he's with Caelan." That silence stretched.
Lucien closed his eyes. "He's not trying to take him," he whispered.
"No. But that doesn't mean he won't."
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That night, Caelan insisted on cooking dinner—with Kai.
The dining table was set with glowing crystal plates, floating candles, and a warm, citrusy aroma filling the space. Kai wore a light lavender robe, smudged with flour, and Caelan had flour on his cheek and a glowing wooden spoon floating at his shoulder. The dinner was filled with laughter and teasing. Caelan enchanted the wine to taste like different fruits depending on who drank it. A dancing illusion of a tiny dragon pranced around the bread basket, earning giggles from Kai and an amused eye-roll from Rhydian.
Lucien, seated beside Kai, remained quiet for most of it. At one point, Kai fed Caelan a bite of dessert with a smile. It was innocent. Light-hearted. Lucien's fork snapped in his hand. Caelan looked at him, surprised. Lucien stood abruptly, murmured an apology, and walked out.
Kai looked after him, confused.
-*-*-*-*-
Hours later, the night had settled deep into velvet blue. The stars above the city shimmered, and the air was cool and still. Kai sat on the upstairs balcony, a shawl wrapped around his shoulders. Caelan appeared a moment later with two mugs of spiced milk and joined him without a word. They sat quietly for a while.
"It's peaceful here," Caelan said. Kai nodded. "I never thought I'd have something like this." Caelan looked at him, truly looked. "You deserve it. All of it." Kai smiled faintly. "Lucien and Rhydian… they've given me so much."
"And you've given them more than you know." Kai turned to him. "Why did you really come?" Caelan hesitated. "My father's side of the family wanted me to stay away. But something in me told me I needed to be here. With you. With him. With all of this."
Kai's breath caught.
Caelan smiled softly. "I didn't expect you to be so…"
"So what?"
"So… you."
They sat in silence again.
Kai leaned his head gently against Caelan's shoulder. "Just for a moment," he whispered. Caelan didn't move. And across the hallway, hidden behind the balcony curtain, Lucien stood frozen. His heart ached.