LUNA: The Witching Hour

49: Sky and Fear

"As expected from His Majesty,"

It took Midnight for a while to locate his position but it wasn't as hard as he thought it'd be. He'd actually expected Scorch to be better at hiding. The firstborn had always been the best in every field their father had tortured them in. For a Scorpio Chrysias to be caught so easily, Midnight needed to take extra precautions.

"Brain so big I knew I wouldn't be able to outsmart you no matter how much planning I take" Scorch continued using a tone between boredom and teasing. Dressed in his immaculate velvety blue royal clothes, Scorch didn't look like he was doing something brutal. He had always looked so clean and tidy. Not a speck of dirt on his hands, yet Midnight was most aware of how filthy they had always been, just like his.

Not so long ago when he was peacefully watching the games from a distance, then there was a single unnerving feeling that traveled his body to warn him of something. It was too late for him to realize that the threat was going to be them. The very first thing that popped inside his mind was the witch. Sahar. All his muscles strained at the idea of not prioritizing her but he knew the witch was capable of protecting herself. And Arius was with her too.

The awful sight of the tragedy of the witches crawled at his guts, even so, there was someone he needed to confront as soon as possible. If he couldn't do it, the dragons would always have the advantage no matter how you see it.

He caught Scorch at the bottom of the mountain, just right outside the secret entrance Midnight had discovered last night. His older brother was specifically there to greet Hekate's Court himself and he came just in time to save the terrified faces of the Court from Scorch. Despite the fact that he couldn't care less about what would've happened to Victoria and her loathsome court members, he'd actually love the idea of seeing them being murdered cold-heartedly. He knew deep down his so-called heart that Sahar would share his joy.

"My brother, Greed," The Demon King began. The alarming screams of the witches and the barbaric growls of the dragons above intensified the tension between them. "Treason against your king. Law 5th of the Seven Deadly sins: Thou shall not dishonor the blood pact of a cardinal sin. Pledging alliance to another race under the name of a cardinal sin without the consent of the king. Etcetera, etcetera. Death doesn't sound satisfying, to honor you as my brother, you shall be punished in the most exquisite of ways"

It was smart for Scorch not to look at him directly in his eyes. The Greed of Sin knew exactly what was about to come if he had listened to his pride. "Ah, I thought my betrayal won't surprise you anymore" two rings from his fingers blinked from the illumination.

"But it breaks my heart," No hint of pain in Midnight's voice. "That my eldest brother, whom I treated equally the same despite his threats to me, still chose to betray the youngest in the family"

Although the words he had thrown were meant to be sarcastic, he perceived that it might have affected Scorch somehow from the way his jaw ticked.

"We're bound to break each other's hearts, brother. You ate father's, remember?"

Midnight nodded once as he gazed down on his hand and scratched an imaginary itch. Only to be reminded of how warm Sahar was when he fingered her in the tub. "I loathed him but there was no denying how tasty his heart was"

A second passed when Scorch proceeded, "There was no point of having you as our king"

"Pwede mo naman kunin mula saakin ang trono"

Bahagyang ngumisi si Scorch. "Our brothers aren't loyal to you. Alam mo dapat 'yan"

"But they are to the kingdom," He countered back, "Unlike you"