Chapter 47

CALEB

That was like being near a fireplace in the winter, something cozy that warmed both your soul and your heart.

Seeing how those two embraced each other, seeing how Lianna cried just from seeing that her sister was okay, was something I had never felt or witnessed in my own home - everyone was too distant for that.

It was so new.

It was good.

It felt... really what 'family' meant in the fiction books that I happened to glance at a few times. That thing that was truly filled with not only trust and loyalty, but also a certain affection and tenderness, full of tears for the pain of thinking that something happened, that empathy that made it seem like it had happened to you.

It was something that seemed unreal.

It was unreal, until I saw these two.

Because even though I knew about Lianna's concern and sacrifice for her people - but mainly for her sister - I never knew how true it was, or how much care they had - so much so that I thought the only one who cared until then was Lianna. But no, it was both of them, they both cared, and they both... kept thinking about each other.

They were each other's moon, guiding in the dark night, and in a way, this thought made me give a genuine smile.

"Lianna..." I unfortunately had to interrupt that moment after a while, "we need to go back, okay?"

I saw those eyes become watery again, like those of a dog that had been left behind by its owners. And as much as I wanted to let her stay with her sister for as long as she wanted, I couldn't.

I couldn't because there were already people looking, people who would ask me, and who would question everything.

That couldn't happen.

"Do we really have to go back?" She asked me with a whiny voice, clear anguish present in every syllable, "I... wanted to stay longer with Emily, and... I wanted to make sure she would be okay, that... nothing would happen to her..."

My chest felt heavy.

I felt like a monster for having to separate them at that moment, especially after the two of them had hugged each other painfully, as if it were the last time they would see each other.

By the fifth circle of hell...

Lianna really... made me question everything I knew about myself, and about the world.

"I... would make sure she's alright, okay? And everything around her too." I spoke as I approached, my tone low for only those two to hear me, "now, we have to go back."

"Okay..." she squeezed her own sister in her arms one last time, a kiss going to the pale forehead that was usually covered by blonde bangs, "try to be okay, alright? I know you're strong enough for that."

"I say the same, Lin." She also hugged Lianna's slim waist tighter, her face sinking into her sister's chest, "we will survive."

"We will survive." That blonde thing said, with a conviction that I didn't even know where she got it from, and on top of everything? She had the sharp eyes of a soldier, one who had sworn to himself that he would return home alive.

That girl seemed even more impressive than I had imagined.

"Well, shall we?" I offered my arm to Lianna, my expression trying to return to something colder.

"Yes, of course." Lianna smiled at me - something I hadn't seen in a long time - intertwining her arm with mine, accompanying me to the carriage.

"You can visit her whenever you want." I ended up speaking in her ear, "but if you bring something for her, bring it hidden."

She nodded, probably already imagining what would happen to her sister if it were done any other way.

"Thank you..." Lianna began to stroke one of my hands, along with those soft and delicate fingers, "you... did a lot for me today."

"You're exaggerating." I spoke with conviction, "you wanted to find your sister, and I knew that... you couldn't do it alone without falling to the ground."

"Indeed," she laughed as she admitted it, "but still, I needed someone and... you were there at the right time."

My heart skipped a beat.

"I understand." That's all I could say as I helped her into the carriage.

But after we got in and remained silent, just looking out the window with a certain contemplative air, I truly questioned myself.

How was I going to solve things as I promised? Without those things that I call subordinates, suspecting?

I was screwed.

DEVON

I decided it would be a good idea to leave my ship to contemplate what was left of that place that once seemed so paradisiacal, maybe to clear my head, but as soon as my feet stepped out of that ship, I come across Lianna hugging a blonde girl - a little shorter than her - with practically the same features, but with a more... angelic air.

'So... she's the so-called Emily?' I found myself thinking, especially with the tender way Lianna seemed to look at that little, dirty, and... extremely thin thing.

But... Caleb was there too.

I didn't know why he was there, and honestly? The feeling was not pleasant at all, it felt like something was burning inside my chest, corroding me from within like freshly erupted lava from a volcano.

But I didn't want to focus on that feeling, and just kept watching that scene, a part of me thinking that it wouldn't be good if Lianna softened again with Caleb, or even started to think that he was something decent.

Well, that would be easy to solve, especially if... I messed with things, with people.

Because if Lianna already had a certain suspicion thinking that Caleb was a monster - which I didn't think was just a suspicion - it was just a matter of saying one thing or another to her, and then proving my point with some action that I would make Caleb take.

After all, it wouldn't be difficult, because if there was one thing that no member of the Black clan had, it was kindness, and for sure... that black-haired thing wouldn't be any different.