𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐄

𝐱𝐢𝐢𝐢. 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐦𝐧𝐢𝐚 ☾︎𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑡ℎ 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑙☽︎

"Nice shot!" Lucius ducked and drove his dagger into the demons' chest.
"You too!" His parabatai threw her crossbow on the ground and drew her Seraph blade.

Lucius couldn't help but smile. He beheaded another demon and ran to her side. Only one of the abominations remained, clicking its pincers.

He charged at it, and, in the last second before collision, let himself drop to the ground and slid under the body of the Demon on the demon ichor. Before it realized what had happened, his dagger was already sticking out of its stomach. It groaned one last time before dissolving completely.

Lucius got up, almost tripping over again. His parabatai helped him up, smiling.

"That was close," she smirked. Lucius elbowed her in the ribs, trying to hide his smile.

***
"How'd it go?"

"We cleaned out a lair of Shax demons in Hell's Kitchen"
"You know I don't mean that"
Lucius dropped his dagger. He had volunteered for Ichor duty after he had heard that Julian was doing it as well. Julian Trueblood had been the only person next to Alia not to judge him after his brother had been proven to be the father of Alina Fairchild's child. Not her husband. Since the trial it had been hard for him to walk the halls of his home without whispers following him wherever he went.

He looked him in the eyes. His eyes were confusing, a shade of deep brown, always staring right into his soul.

"Look, Julian, I think it's obvious that I don't want to talk about any of this. Alistair made his choice. There's nothing left to say."
"There's always more to say"
Lucius hated the way Julian was always right.

"Please, don't sentimental on me, you and Alia are the only sane people in my life."
Julian didn't avert his gaze. He seemed to be pulling the words right out of his mouth.

"The truth is that I hate him, I hate him so much, because he didn't even stand for his mistakes. I don't care about the child; I care about his behaviour. Alina Fairchild was deruned, and he didn't stand for her when he wasn't. He's my twin brother, but I feel like I don't know him anymore. Everyone thinks I support what he did, but I don't. But he's the only real family I've got left. I thought that after Ana left everything would turn out alright. I kept my promise. Alia's my parabatai now. I never told her about Ana. And now we're all supposed to be happy, right? But I can't, because I'm a liar, because I feel like I don't deserve what I have. Before I met her, I was useless. Now, I'm basically head of the Institute. And- I don't deserve this. I-"

"Lucius, we all make our choices. Ana and Alistair made theirs. Alia will have to make hers very soon."
Lucius looked at him. It was rumoured that Julian had warlock blood in his family, and it wasn't really hard to believe, because Julian just seemed to know things, things that no one else knew.

"Maybe you're right"

They continued in silence, only pausing to occasionally catch each other's eye and silently asking why?

The only problem was that none of them knew the answer to that question.

***

Far, far away, a woman stood in a burning tower, looking over the ragged wasteland.

"I know"