The new arrival.
1232 Words
Anara.
The chairs at the long table scraped softly against the floor as we all took our seats.
I sat stiffly, my hands clasped tightly in my lap, and my gaze flicking between Lucien — who lounged at the head of the table like a king who owned the room — and Silas, who sat opposite me, calm and unsettling all at once.
For a long moment, no one spoke. The air seemed to hum with quiet hostility.
Silas was the first to break the silence, his tone deceptively light.
“You’ve caused quite a stir, little witch.”I rolled my eyes inwardly, he's literally stating the obvious.
I forced myself not to flinch, lifting my chin.
“So I’ve been told. You dragged me here just to repeat what everyone keeps saying?”
Lucien’s jaw tightened faintly at my sharp tone, I noticed. But he said nothing, his fingers drumming idly against the arm of his chair.
Silas gave me a smile — though it carried no warmth.
“No. I called you here because you need to understand what you’ve done. And what’s coming.”
He leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs casually as though they were discussing something trivial.
“Unsealing him was… reckless,” he continued, gesturing lazily to Lucien. “Foolish, even. Do you have any idea what you’ve unleashed?”
My jaw tightened.
“You're literally saying it like I chose to unseal your friend here. It was fate wasn't it?”
“I’m sitting right here,” Lucien muttered darkly.
Silas’s lips twitched into a smirk, but he didn’t look at him — his gaze stayed on me.
“Sure it was fate but you think binding yourself to him keeps you safe? No, little witch. It paints a target on your back. There are already whispers. Forces that won’t hesitate to tear you apart to put him back where he belongs.”
I frowned, my fingers curling against the table.
“And what does that have to do with you?”
Silas leaned forward now, his smile fading into something colder, more dangerous.
“Because when they come — and they will — you need to be ready and you're in no way prepared.”
His eyes glinted like ice as he added, almost a whisper:
The words hung heavy in the air.
Lucien’s shadows stirred faintly, curling at his feet. His dark gaze shifted from Silas to me,something sharp and dangerous flashing behind his eyes.
“You’ve said enough,” Lucien growled, rising to his feet.
But Silas only smiled faintly, as though satisfied.
“She needed to hear it.”
“which brings a question to mind. How did you manage to seal the bond for a while”
“What do you mean?”I asked confused
“when you ran away—”
“I didn't run awa—”I said cutting him short but he also didn't let me finish.
“how did you do the spell?”
“I don't know.. I mean I just followed the instruction. How did lucien find me by the way since the bond was temporarily locked”
“the seal you placed wasn't meant to contain a full release of your power. When you unleashed your full power and killed those women, you like tore a c***k through the spell”
“your rage and the emotional spike was too strong for the seal to hold”
Silence.
Silas leaned back casually in his chair, fingers drumming against the wood as his cold gaze swept over me.
He looked like he was trying to study me like a puzzle he’d already solved but didn’t particularly care to explain.
“You’ve got raw power,” he finally said, breaking the silence. “But you have no control. No discipline. And no idea what you’re really capable of.”
I stiffened, lifting my chin.
“I don’t need you to tell me what I—”
“You do,” Silas cut in sharply, his words as cold and final as a blade.
“If you think you can waltz through this place with shadows and fury and hope you won’t get torn to shreds, you’re even more foolish than you look.”
I blinked, my lips parting slightly — but no retort came this time.
Silas stood, smoothing his coat, his pale eyes glinting with something almost like amusement.
“Fortunately,” he continued, “I don’t have the time or patience to train you myself. But…”
He turned, stepping toward the door as though this was already settled.
“…my cousin does.”
At that, the door opened — and in stepped a tall man, dressed in dark slacks and a crisp shirt, the sleeves rolled to his forearms.
His hair was raven-black, shorter than Lucien’s but still artfully tousled, and his sharp jaw and storm-gray eyes made something in my stomach twist before i could stop myself.
He carried himself with the same quiet confidence that Silas did, but there was a playful danger in his gaze, something almost wolfish in the way his lips curved into a grin when he saw me.
“This,” Silas said simply, gesturing lazily to the newcomer, “is Darius. My cousin. He’ll be handling your… education.” he says it like it's a school or something.
Darius gave a slight bow, his grin widening just enough to show the edge of his teeth.
“Looking forward to it,” he drawled, his eyes locked on mine.
Lucien’s chair creaked as he leaned back slightly, his shadow curling faintly at his feet like smoke rising off embers. His eyes cut to Silas — sharp, cold, unreadable — though i could feel the weight of his temper simmering beneath the surface.
“Funny,” Lucien said dryly, his voice deceptively calm. “You neglected to mention you’d be letting someone into my house.”
Silas, still standing by the table, arched a brow as though genuinely surprised.
“What? You mean you don’t remember your dear cousin?”
Darius grinned faintly at that, folding his arms casually and leaning against the doorframe. His storm-gray gaze danced between them, amused at the sparks already beginning to fly.
Lucien’s jaw flexed, his gaze narrowing as it swept over Darius before landing back on Silas.
“Oh, I remember,” he said coolly. “That’s the problem.”
Silas smirked faintly, clearly enjoying himself.
“Don’t pretend you don’t trust your own blood,” he replied, his tone mocking. “We’re family. Aren’t we?”
Lucien didn’t answer right away. Instead, he rose from his chair slowly, the room seeming to darken just slightly as he moved to stand a pace closer to Darius.
“You’ll train her,” Lucien said, his voice low but deliberate.
“You’ll keep your hands where I can see them. And you won’t—”
his gaze cut to Darius, dark and full of quiet warning— “mistake her for one of your games. Understand?”
Darius’s grin only widened at the veiled threat, but he inclined his head lazily.
“Crystal clear, cousin,” he said smoothly.
Lucien held his stare for another beat, then stepped back, his shadows slipping quietly back into place — though the tension in his shoulders never quite eased.
- Writer
