Chapter 45: My Brother ?

"My brother?"

The words barely left Lena's mouth.

The ruins had become deathly silent.

No one moved.

No one spoke.

No one even looked surprised anymore.

Just caught.

Like a secret had finally escaped.

Lena's gaze swept across the clearing.

Seraphine.

Caelum.

Orion.

Lyra.

Caleb.

Every single one of them looked uncomfortable.

Which was answer enough.

Her stomach dropped.

Slowly.

Painfully.

"There is no way."

Nobody corrected her.

A horrible feeling settled in her chest.

"No."

She took a step forward.

Then another.

"Absolutely not."

Her voice rose.

"If I had a brother, somebody would've mentioned him by now."

Still silence.

The creature wearing the student's body laughed.

A soft laugh.

Amused.

Patient.

"Oh, this is even better than I imagined."

Lena spun toward Seraphine.

"Tell me he's lying."

The queen said nothing.

Lena's heart sank.

Then she looked at Caelum.

The king looked away.

Away.

That was worse.

Much worse.

Lena felt anger beginning to rise.

Not fear.

Not confusion.

Anger.

Because she was tired.

Tired of everyone deciding what she deserved to know.

Tired of secrets.

Tired of half answers.

"TELL ME."

The shout echoed through the ruins.

For a moment nobody responded.

Then Caleb spoke.

Quietly.

"There was a brother."

The words hit harder than anything else that night.

Harder than the king.

Harder than Seraphine.

Harder than the memories.

Because Caleb never lied.

He omitted.

Deflected.

Avoided.

But he didn't lie.

Lena stared at him.

Unable to speak.

Unable to think.

Then something snapped.

The mark on her wrist exploded with light.

Silver energy raced up her arm.

The ruins shook violently.

Every broken pillar trembled.

Cracks spread through the marble floor.

And suddenly—

A memory.

Not fragments.

Not flashes.

A real memory.

A little boy laughing.

Running through palace gardens.

Silver eyes.

Dark hair.

Bare feet.

A wooden sword too large for him.

He couldn't have been older than six.

The little boy pointed at her.

Grinning.

"You're cheating."

A little girl's laughter answered him.

"I'm winning."

"Because you're cheating."

"I'm smarter."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

The memory shattered.

Lena staggered.

A gasp escaped her lips.

The world returned.

The ruins.

The moonlight.

The people.

But the feeling remained.

The warmth.

The familiarity.

The certainty.

She knew him.

She knew that laugh.

The realization hit like a truck.

Her knees nearly buckled.

Caleb caught her immediately.

Again.

But this time she pulled away.

Not because she was angry at him.

Because she needed space.

Needed air.

Needed answers.

"Where is he?"

Nobody spoke.

The creature smiled.

"Oh."

Its black eyes gleamed.

"This is where it gets interesting."

Caelum's expression hardened.

"Enough."

The creature ignored him.

Again.

"He wasn't supposed to survive."

The ruins froze.

Lena's pulse hammered.

"What?"

The smile widened.

"Neither were you."

Nobody looked happy.

The creature's attention drifted lazily around the clearing.

Like it was enjoying itself.

Like this was entertainment.

"In fact..."

It tilted its head.

"The two of you were supposed to die together."

The wind howled.

The moon vanished behind clouds.

The atmosphere darkened.

Lena's stomach twisted.

Because something about those words felt wrong.

Not false.

Wrong.

Like touching a wound.

Like hearing part of a memory she wasn't ready for.

Then Jacob suddenly spoke.

"What if he's alive?"

Everyone looked at him.

Jacob immediately regretted it.

"You know what?"

He raised his hands.

"I'm gonna stop talking."

"No."

Lena turned toward him.

"What did you say?"

Jacob swallowed.

"If nobody found a body..."

His voice weakened.

"Maybe he's alive?"

Silence.

Then Lyra laughed.

Not mockingly.

Just once.

Sharp.

Humorless.

"That's the problem."

Everybody looked at her.

The Ash Court leader folded her arms.

"No body was ever found."

The words hit like thunder.

Lena froze.

No body.

No grave.

No proof.

Nothing.

A terrible hope began forming inside her chest.

Small.

Dangerous.

Impossible.

The creature saw it immediately.

Of course it did.

Its smile became vicious.

"Oh, he's alive."

The ruins erupted.

Everyone started talking at once.

"What?"

"Impossible."

"That's not true."

"You don't know that."

The noise exploded across the clearing.

Only Lena remained silent.

Because she was staring at the creature.

And the creature was staring right back.

The smile never leaving its face.

Then it spoke.

Five words.

Five simple words.

Words that instantly silenced everyone.

"He's looking for her too."

The ruins went quiet.

Again.

Caelum's face darkened.

Seraphine's expression became unreadable.

Orion cursed under his breath.

And Caleb...

Caleb looked worried.

Genuinely worried.

Lena noticed.

The creature noticed too.

"Ah."

The smile widened.

"There it is."

Caleb took a step forward.

Dangerous.

Controlled.

The creature laughed.

"You already know, don't you?"

No response.

Bad sign.

Very bad sign.

The creature's black eyes gleamed.

"You know exactly who found him."

The temperature dropped.

Instantly.

Lena looked between them.

Something was happening.

Something important.

Then the creature delivered the final blow.

The sentence that changed everything.

The sentence that made even Seraphine lose her composure.

"Your brother serves the Ash Court."

For a full five seconds, nobody moved.

Then Lyra whispered:

"...well."

Everyone looked at her.

The Ash Court leader rubbed her face.

Then sighed heavily.

"That's going to be a problem."