"B-Brother Helios..." Kaelis breathes out, the words caught somewhere between shock and fear as he instinctively steps back.

Helios stood right in front of him.

It felt too sudden.

His older brother’s gaze was already fixed on him, narrowed, sharp, the kind of look that made Kaelis feel like he had already been figured out before he even said anything.

"What are you doing here?" Kaelis asks, his voice steadier than he felt, forcing himself to straighten just a little, to not look as cornered as he actually was.

"Well, Kaelis," Helios begins, his tone almost casual, but there was something underneath it, something that didn’t sit right. "As you know, I just got back from Celestial Rays, and my mother told me something very interesting."

He didn’t wait.

Didn’t give Kaelis the chance to respond.

Helios steps forward and grabs Kaelis by the wrist, firm enough to stop him from pulling away, pulling him closer without effort.

"And I heard you’ve been sneaking out," Helios continues, his voice lowering slightly, "and skipping your lessons. So, I decided to wait for the same time you were always missing... and follow you."

Kaelis’ eyes widened.

’That damn witch...’ Kaelis thought, his jaw tightening as a flicker of anger passed through him. ’She was paying attention this whole time?’

"I wasn’t skipping all my lessons, brother," Kaelis says quickly, trying to recover, trying to sound reasonable. "And they aren’t teaching me anything that I already—"

"I don’t care."

The words cut through him cleanly.

Helios’ grip didn’t loosen.

"You should be grateful," Helios continues, his tone firm, almost cold now, "that my mother is taking you under her care after your mother died. The least you could’ve done is not give her any problems."

"That... you know I—"

Kaelis stops.

The words die in his throat.

Because Helios moves.

Reaches into his pocket.

And pulls something out.

Kaelis freezes.

His breath catches the moment he sees it.

"W-Why do you have that?" Kaelis asks, stepping closer without thinking, his eyes locked onto the object in Helios’ hand.

The pendant.

A blue diamond set carefully into delicate metalwork.

It shimmered faintly even in the dim light of the alley.

His mother’s pendant.

Lyra’s last gift to him.

The last thing she had given him before she died.

In her letter, she had written about it.

About how she hoped he would keep it.

Pass it down someday.

An heirloom.

Something meant to stay with him.

Something that meant more than anything else he owned.

"This is a keepsake from your mother, right?" Helios asks, a small smile forming on his lips as he turns it slightly between his fingers.

"Yes, brother," Kaelis answers quickly, his voice tightening despite himself. "So please, don’t—"

"Don’t what?"

Kaelis’s lips press together.

The words were right there.

Don’t take it.

He wanted to say it.

He should say it.

But—

He didn’t.

Because Helios had always been like this.

Since they were children.

If Helios wanted something, he would take it.

And Kaelis—

Kaelis never had a say in it.

Never had the power to stop him.

So instead—

"Nothing," Kaelis mutters, his shoulders lowering slightly as he looks away. "Let’s just go back to the palace. I’m sorry, okay?"

The apology comes out quietly.

And too easily.

Like something he had learned to say without thinking.

’Maybe...’ Kaelis thought, a faint hope forming despite everything. ’Maybe he’ll give it back once we return.’

"Thought so," Helios says, almost dismissively, before his attention shifts.

He glances past Kaelis.

Toward the alley.

Toward the place Kaelis had been guarding.

"Why do you go here anyway?" Helios asks, his tone casual again, like it didn’t matter. "It’s nothing but a dump. You’re hiding yourself like you’re waiting for..."

"I’m not!"

The words come out before Kaelis can stop himself.

Louder than he intended.

Sharper.

His own voice surprises him.

Helios’s brows lift slightly.

"Convincing," he says, the sarcasm clear, his lips curving faintly. "But I don’t care. If you were waiting for something or someone, it’s not worth my time to know."

His gaze sweeps the alley again.

"Look at this dump."

Kaelis exhales slowly.

Relief settles in his chest, subtle,e but it was there.

’Good...’ Kaelis thought, his fingers curling slightly at his sides. ’He didn’t notice.’

He didn’t want to share this.

Didn’t want Helios anywhere near this part of his life.

The boy.

The bread.

This small, quiet thing that belonged only to him.

Even if it was nothing.

Even if it never became anything.

He wanted it to stay his.

’At least this...’ Kaelis thought, his gaze dropping for a second before he forced himself to move. ’Let me have this.’

That’s what he thought.

That if he just kept quiet.

If he just listened.

If he just stayed out of the way for a few days—

Then Helios would forget.

And Kaelis could go back.

Back to the alley.

Back to the bread.

Back to that one small thing that felt like his.

But Helios didn’t forget.

Not even once.

Days passed, and instead of losing interest, Helios stayed close.

So close that it felt suffocating.

Watching him. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Keeping him within reach.

Kaelis wasn’t allowed to wander anymore.

Wasn’t allowed to leave unnoticed.

Every attempt—blocked.

Every excuse—dismissed.

And slowly—

The possibility of ever seeing him again faded.

The boy.

’...I won’t see him again,’ Kaelis thought once, his chest tightening at the idea, though he tried not to dwell on it.

But he did keep thinking about the boy.

He couldn’t help it.

And then—

He saw him again.

"What...is he doing here?"

Kaelis had been summoned by his father, something important, something he couldn’t avoid.

But on his way—

He saw it.

That familiar pale blonde hair.

And those—

Those magnificent pink eyes.

The same ones he couldn’t forget, no matter how much time passed.

His steps slowed.

His breath caught.

But instead of relief—

Instead of joy—

Fear crept in.

Instinctive.

’Something’s wrong,’ Kaelis thought, his chest tightening as that feeling settled deep.

And his instinct—

Was right.

"A few days ago, that brave boy saved me when some dirty older kids tried to take my pendant."

Helios’ voice came from behind him.

Kaelis turned—

And saw it.

The pendant.

His pendant.

The one that had been taken from him—

Now in Helios’ hand.

But Helios didn’t hold it like it was borrowed.

He held it as it belonged to him.

"I was so moved and in awe of him..." Helios continues, stepping past Kaelis without pause, his expression light, almost pleased. "I had to take him here to be my aide."

Kaelis’ breathing started to get heavy.

Each inhale felt tighter than the last.

Like something inside him was starting to crack.

He steps forward.

One step.

Then another.

"How could you?" Kaelis says, his voice shaking despite how hard he tried to steady it. "You...you knew...you..."

"That this kid is the same one you’d go out for just to see and give some bread?" Helios cuts in smoothly, turning his head just enough to look at him. "Of course."

Kaelis freezes.

"You said you didn’t care about him."

"Yes..." Helios replies, tilting his head slightly, like he was considering something trivial. "Until I saw his face. I instantly knew he had to be mine."

Mine.

The word sat wrong.

Then Helios laughs.

Soft and amused.

"You know what’s funnier?" he continues, that same light tone not matching the weight of his words. "He thanked me for the bread you gave him, and he saved the pendant your mother gave you."

Kaelis’s hands clenched at his sides.

"I have to thank you, brother. I think you’ve given me something more valuable than—"

"I’m going to tell him."

The words come out sharp and firm.

Kaelis’s eyes narrow, something shifting inside him, something that felt a lot like anger finally pushing through everything else.

Courage.

It was sudden and unexpected.

"Oh?"

"You weren’t here in all the days I gave him the bread," Kaelis continues, his voice steadier now. "I could prove it was—"

"If you do that..."

Helios’ voice cuts in again.

Quieter this time.

Colder to the point that it made Kaelis shiver.

"I’ll tell father that the boy hurt me."

Kaelis stops.

"And then he’ll get thrown out again..." Helios adds, watching him closely. "...or worse."

Silence.

"Do you really want to risk that?"

Kaelis just stared at him.

Disbelief was settling in slowly, like his mind was refusing to catch up with what he just heard.

’...did he just—’

"You’re a monster."

The words slip out before he can stop them.

But Helios—

Helios just laughs.

"I simply did what you couldn’t," he says easily, like this was all obvious. "And I think I deserve it. You were weak and shy. I was smart and brave."

His smile doesn’t waver.

"That’s how life works, Kaelis."

That’s how life worked.

"Next time, if you want something, fight for it," Helios adds, already turning away, like the conversation was over. "I’m simply teaching you a lesson."

He waves his hand lightly.

"And it just so happens that your little pastime caught my interest."

Kaelis doesn’t move.

He just stands there.

Watching.

Because that’s all he could do.

Watch—

As Helios stepped forward.

As the boy turned toward him.

As those pink eyes—

The same ones Kaelis had watched from the shadows—

Lit up.

Bright.

And trusting.

The boy moved closer to Helios without hesitation.

Like he had found someone to hold onto.

As if Helios—

Was his savior.

’...that should’ve been—’ Kaelis thought, but the thought didn’t even finish.

Because it didn’t matter.

Not anymore.

He watched—

As Helios smiled.

As he spoke.

As he claimed something that was never his to begin with.

And the boy—

The boy stayed.

Stayed by his side.

Followed him.

Listened to him.

Lived for him.

’He doesn’t even know,’ Kaelis thought, his chest tightening painfully.

The name he carried.

The loyalty he gave.

All of it—

Built on something that wasn’t real.

Kaelis couldn’t even say his name.

Because it wasn’t a name the boy chose.

It wasn’t even a name that belonged to him.

It was something Helios gave him.

Something Helios owned.

And Kaelis—

Kaelis never said a word.

Not then.

Not after.

Not ever.

Up until—

Present...

"It was never Helios who gave you that bread., Kaelis whispers to Ezra, making the knight’s eyes widen.

"But he said—"

"He lied. You already knew that, that’s why you’re upset, right?" Kaelis says slowly, though even he wasn’t sure what kind of expression he was making. "It wasn’t him."

"Then...who?"

Oh.

This was it.

Finally, he could tell the truth.

It was what he had been waiting for all this time.

But...

’I can say it now.’

"I..."

It was him.

It was Kaelis.

He wanted to say it was him.

"...don’t know."