Alliance of Shadows, Book 4: DRESON

Secrets Revealed: A Brother's Love

I knew when I got home that something was wrong. The air felt off – stiff and stuffy. Usually he would meet me at the door, eager to know about my weekend with Colt and Neil, Kaden wasn't there.

I searched the downstairs, grabbing an apple from the fruit basket on the table in the dining room before heading to my bedroom on the next floor.

"Kaden," I called out. "Mom? Dad? Is anyone home?"

Nothing.

Not even a floorboard squeaked to let me know that there was anyone except me in the manor. There hadn’t been a note left, but the car was gone, which meant that Mom and Dad had probably gone shopping.

Either that or they were out running errands. It still begged the question of where my little brother had run off to.

I turned the corner to enter my room and found him trying not to panic as he attempted to hide the book in his hands. Too late, he turned and came face to face with me, his cheeks flushing bright red as he realized he’d been caught doing something he knew he shouldn’t.

The apple and my overnight bag fell to the floor with a muted thud.

"D-Dreson! Y-you’re h-home early," he stammered.

My eyes narrowed at the small black and silver book in his trembling hands. My stomach twisted as realization sank in—he had found my diary.

His shoulders sagged, his grip loosening before he finally handed it over without a fight.

"I-I'm sorry, Dre. I..." He sucked in a breath, trying to steady himself, fighting off the nervous stutter. "I-I don't know why I just... I thought that..."

"You thought what, Kaden?" My voice was sharp, though I forced it to stay even. "That it would be okay to snoop through my things while I was gone? Are you that jealous of me having sleepovers without you?"

I was trying my hardest to keep my temper in check.

"N-no! That's not it," he sobbed, words tumbling out in frantic desperation. "Y-you’re always so secretive that I-I thought that you were hiding something. I'm sorry. I promise it won’t happen again, I swear."

Snatching the book from his hands, I gripped it so tight that the cover creaked a little. Walking over to my desk, I pulled out the drawer I usually kept locked only to see that he'd found a way to open it. With my back to him, I didn't even realize he'd moved until his arms locked around my waist.

"I'm sorry, Dre," he whispered.

I bit back the names I wanted to call him. Names that would leave me with a mouth full of soap if our parents ever heard me saying them.

Then he said something that made my blood run ice cold.

"I could never hate you, Dreson," he murmured against my back.

What?

"Shove off, Kaden. Go to your own room," I snapped. The lock on the diary was intact, and there were no signs that he'd tried to open it. I wore the key around my neck, and I'd spelled the lock closed, but there was no pink dye on his hands telling me that he'd gotten through it.

He let me go but didn’t leave, keeping himself between me and the door.

"I don’t care that you’re into boys, Dre," Kaden said as he flopped down on my bed. "You’re still my big brother. You protect me from getting beat up by the people who pick at us all the time, and I’m still going to annoy the Hades out of you."

The room felt different now. It was heavier in a way I hadn’t noticed before. When I first stepped inside, it was charged with tension, thick with frustration over his intrusion. Now, that weight shifted, turning into something else. Something uncertain, like the space between us had just changed permanently, and neither of us knew quite what to do with it.

I couldn’t believe he’d just said that to me.

How did an eleven-year-old even know that? I hadn’t told him, but he somehow knew.

I moved to his side and pulled him close.

"Thanks, little brother. It means a lot to me that you’re in my corner. How did you know?"

"Hey, come on," he scoffed. "Do I look stupid? You’re always there for me, so why can’t I be there for you? We Cage brothers gotta stick together, right? Besides, I see the way you look at boys the same way that the guys and I look at girls, I just didn’t say anything."

I nodded.

He’d figured it out on his own.

"Have you told anyone?" I was worried that he’d be unable to keep my secret to himself.

"No, I wouldn’t do that to you," he murmured. "By the way, I overheard Dad talking in his office. You’re the only one that got chosen by the Sages. I’m not strong enough magically to go through the testing, but I’m still allowed to learn so I can control it on my own."

I smirked at him. My baby brother made coming out seem easy.

Kaden was easy. As he said, I had always been there for him.

Dad and Celestia were going to be another story altogether. I was terrified to tell them.

"I'm going to forget that you went through my stuff, and I'll be taking my diary when I leave—"

He paled, as if remembering something he’d almost forgotten. The color drained from his face, and his fingers twitched slightly, like he wanted to grab my wrist and stop me from moving past the conversation.

"You can't," he said, voice quieter now, almost hesitant. "Mom asked Dad about giving you an album of pictures, but he said you can't take anything with you."

His words hung in the air between us, heavier than anything else he’d said. The room, once just tense, now felt smaller, like the walls were closing in. My chest tightened.

That was not something I was expecting to hear. When was our father going to tell me that?

Now that I knew, it hurt a little to understand that my stay would be absolutely impersonal. No reminders, no memories to cling to—just me, alone in an unfamiliar place.

I swallowed hard.

"Was there anything else that was said while I was gone?" I pressed, my voice steadier than I felt. I knew Kaden would tell me everything. I was getting more and more nervous about leaving.

"No," he admitted, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Just that you're not leaving in two weeks anymore." He hesitated, his grip on my waist tightening before he could finish.

"They're so pleased with your abilities that they're taking you tomorrow, Dre." His voice cracked. "I don’t want you to go."

His fingers dug into my sides as he finally let his tears fall, shaking against me like he was trying to hold me in place, trying to keep me from slipping away before I even left. I kept my arms firmly around his shoulders, doing my best to soothe him as I contended with the crushing weight of reality.

"I know, little brother, but I have to go. Being summoned by the Sages is an honor."

He pulled back, staring at me with wide eyes, the dim light reflecting in his irises like glimpses of something unspoken—fear, uncertainty, maybe even a quiet understanding that this was out of our hands. His fingers curled into the fabric of my shirt for a second before slowly loosening.

"Just promise me that you won’t forget me, okay?"

"How can I possibly forget the little thorn in my side," I asked playfully.

The weight in my chest shifted—lightened—not entirely, but just enough to remind me that one person, at least, accepted me without hesitation. A burden I hadn’t realized I’d carried for six years began to loosen its grip.

He dropped to his back, making the bed bounce beneath him. "Do you remember that time you dislocated your arm after pranking Colt?"

"What about it?" I asked.

"You were jealous of him, weren’t you?" His gaze was casual, but his voice held a knowing edge. "I could tell 'cause you were always glaring at him if he got too close to Neil."

A slow, embarrassing warmth crawled up my neck, and I knew I was blushing.

"Don’t tell anyone, okay? I don’t want Mom and Dad to disown me or anything. I mean, it’s been known to happen."

"Dude, they wouldn’t hurt you like that." He opened his eyes, and a sly smile lifted the corner of his mouth. "Besides, Colton’s more annoying than I am on any given day."

There was no way I could argue that. He was dead on.

"Kaden, are you yanking my chain, or are you being serious about accepting the fact that I’m..." My throat tightened around the word, reluctant to say it out loud.

"Gay?" He supplied effortlessly. His tone was so matter of fact and utterly unconcerned, that it startled me. "Dre, if it bothered me, I wouldn’t be here talking to you. I’d be on the phone ratting you out to Mom and Dad, then I’d call Neil and tell him you like his furry ass."

I groaned, rubbing the back of my neck as if that could somehow cool the heat creeping up my face. "Furry or not, he has a nice-looking ass."

Kaden gagged. "Too much info, bro. I’m not into that, but whatever floats your boat, I guess. So, are you a bottom or top?"

"Kaden! Dude, I’m saving myself for my Mate." I shot him a half-hearted glare, but he looked entirely unfazed.

Getting up, I emptied my gym bag into the laundry basket and set it by the door.

He tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowing slightly. "Do gay people have Mates?"

"I hope so," I muttered. The words felt heavier than I wanted them to. "Gods, it'd be nice to know I'm not the only supernatural like this, you know."