Orion fell into silence, his eyes fixed on Eden, who stood there clutching the strange bottle with trembling hands. The guilt etched into Eden's posture and expression did nothing but support the claim Xander had just made. It was there—in the way his brother couldn't meet his eyes, in the faint twitch of his lips, in the stubborn silence that seemed to echo louder than any confession could.
Yet Orion still couldn't accept it. The words hung in the air like poison, but his mind rejected them, scrambling desperately for logic, for some kind of reason why what Xander said couldn't be true.
"That's impossible," Orion finally declared, his voice sharp and steady.
Xander's eyebrows furrowed slightly. Though the boy hadn't directly called him a liar, his tone carried the weight of dismissal. For someone like Xander, whose pride tolerated nothing less than absolute authority, Orion's refusal was a challenge in itself. A curious look flitted across Xander's face as he leaned slightly forward, eager to hear why this boy refused to believe.
Was it because he, Xander—the figure who had been nothing but an antagonist since their very first meeting—was the one delivering the truth? Perhaps Orion thought Xander too cruel, too manipulative, to ever speak a fact that wasn't twisted into venom. Or was there something more?
Eden, meanwhile, twitched like a rabbit looking for a hole to scurry into. For a fleeting instant, a glimmer of relief flickered across his face at Orion's disbelief, as if he had been given a lifeline. His widened eyes suggested a kind of desperate hope. But that relief crumbled almost instantly. He lowered his gaze again, his guilt swallowing him whole. His shoulders slumped, his grip on the bottle tightened, and the weight of the accusation visibly dragged him down into silence.
"This should be interesting." Xander smirked, the corner of his lips curling as he tilted his head and crossed his arms. "Why don't you believe?" He asked.
Orion inhaled sharply, his chest rising with restrained fury. "Because Eden was here," he argued. His words came quickly, precise and cutting, like blades sharpened for that moment.
"He was here, taking care of Kay, when I took your carrier. We had that chase—you know the one. And the very moment I came home, I didn't leave again and neither did he. There's no possible way Eden could have had enough time to learn what happened, track you down wherever you were, and rat me out. Logically, it's impossible."
He shifted his stance, his hardened eyes boring into Xander. "And besides, I've known Eden almost my entire life. He's not materialistic, not someone who can be bought with money or bribes. So, there's nothing—literally nothing—he could have gained from helping you track me down just because I stole your carrier."
The words echoed through the room. For a moment, silence blanketed everyone present. Even Xander seemed momentarily still, his sharp gaze narrowing as he processed the rebuttal. Then, slowly, a grin broke across his face. He turned toward Marcel with a glint of amusement in his eyes as if he was keying his friend in on an inside joke.
Marcel, on the other hand, wore a blank look, his features unreadable, but hints of pity managed to push through.
Xander returned his attention to Orion and, with a voice dripping with mockery, said, "If I'm getting this right… you think we're dragging you away because your dear brother ratted you out for stealing my carrier?"
Orion's lips tightened. "What else could there be?" His tone was curious, but a crease deepened between his brows.
Suddenly, Xander chuckled—a low, unsettling sound that rippled through the room like smoke seeping into cracks. He glanced sideways at Marcel, almost playful. "Should I tell him?"
Marcel's lips twitched into a half-smile, but he simply shrugged. His gesture, casual and indifferent, told Xander the decision was his alone.
Xander pivoted, his gaze landing squarely on Eden. "How about it, kid?" His voice softened into something mocking, almost condescending. "Want me to tell your brother what I'm really talking about? The real reason you gave him up?"
Eden froze. His knuckles whitened as he squeezed the bottle tighter, holding it close to his chest like a shield. Shame and embarrassment painted his face, and without answering, he turned his head away, unable to bear Orion's piercing stare.
Xander's lips curled further. With his head still angled toward Eden, he shifted his eyes toward Orion, who stood about sixty degrees to his right. His gaze lingered there, heavy and taunting, before his head slowly followed.
"You know what…" he drawled.
"What?" Orion snapped, his eyebrows knitting tighter.
"It'll be more fun if you find out yourself," Xander sneered, his tone dripping with cruel amusement.
With that, he flicked his wrist and tossed Orion's mud-patched cloth mask toward Samuel. The cloth spun in the air before Samuel swiped it effortlessly.
Samuel glanced down at the mask, curiosity flickering across his face. Kay, he hadn't been present earlier when the mask's secret—or lack thereof—was revealed by Xander. To him, it was still a mystery.
Instead of sniffing it as Xander had done, Samuel rubbed a thumb along the brownish smear. He lifted his hand, frowned at the dried particles, and groaned. "Feels and sounds like dried mud."
Orion blinked, baffled. "Sounds like dry mud? How does someone even know what that sounds like?" His confusion broke through his otherwise grim state, but the thought evaporated almost as soon as it came. He had bigger problems than Samuel's strange choice of words.
His mind raced. What's really going on here? Did Eden really betray me? And if he did… then why?
"Here," Samuel interrupted Orion's thoughts, extending the mask toward him.
Orion froze in surprise. He hadn't expected them to give it back.
"What?" Samuel frowned impatiently. "You said you needed this to breathe, right? Well, here you go. Last thing I want is for you to keel over while I'm holding you. That'd be inconvenient." He shoved the cloth toward Orion again, jerking his arm in a gesture that demanded Orion take it.
"Um… thanks," Orion muttered, reaching out cautiously.
"Good." Samuel smirked briefly before his face hardened again. "Now move."
With that, Samuel shoved Orion forward, steering him toward the door.
Xander stepped ahead, swinging the door open for them. As they began filing out, leaving Eden behind with his mysterious bottle, Xander shot a final look at the boy. His grin widened into something foreboding, almost sinister.
"See you on the other side, kid," he said.
And then, under his breath, low enough that only he could hear, he whispered, "Hopefully you succeed… and I won't have to kill you."
The door shut behind them, cutting Eden off entirely and leaving him alone with the heavy silence of the choice he had made when striking the deal with Xander not too long ago.