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 hav 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 twin .
" 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 pleasing eyes , if only I could cave into her demands
" You are a century to 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.