The Shadress (MCD x Reader)

Ch. 09- Familiar Faces

I glanced at Aphmau and Garroth in turn, dreading what kind of conversation my accusation was about to dredge up. Zane had readily given away who was under the hood, but I was not quite sure if this was a conversation I wanted to have in front of people I was attempting to gain the trust of.

Namid, give me strength. "There's no point in hiding it anymore," I spoke with a clear frustration, although it hedged on exhaustion. "You can unmask my brother now."

Aphmau visibly tenses next to me, and I hear Garroth shuffle, although I think he keeps his surprise hidden better than Aph. Zane gets a worried look in his eyes which I'm tempted to scoff at. "What- Whatever do you mean? I had no clue you even had a brother."

At his response, I actually rolled my eyes. "Clearly, you're a worse liar than I thought. I'm not stupid, I know my brother went to work for you – not to mention on what – and I know you would use this fact to your advantage." I pause and watch with careful eyes as my brother shifts in his place, gently placing a hand on the hilt of his sword. "Also, I'm not as bad at magic as he is; I know my brother's aura when I feel it."

Lillian, with her arms crossed on the table, leans forward just a centimeter, and the High Priest poorly disguises a scowl. He drops the ignorant act immediately. "Do you blame me? For all I know, you beckoned me here to kill me."

"For all you know, I called you here to work out some kind of deal with you – a peace treaty of sorts. But you have shattered any of those lines of thinking as soon as you brought a person I cannot stand into a meeting with me." As I get angrier and angrier, my voice raises just a little; Irene leans away just a little.

My brother's hood falls from his head, though his mask still covers the bottom of his face. The platinum blond of his hair reflects any of the light in the room. His dark eyes narrowed at me. It takes a tilt of my head and a narrowing of my eyes for him to take a step forward and remove his sword from his scabbard. His sword is exactly like mine, with the exception of the types of magic we are born with. I have shadows; he has light. It glows with the power lining his blade.

I hear Garroth draw his sword behind me, but he makes no other audible movements.

"Get your dog to stand down." I give Zane a deadpan, unimpressed expression.

Despite the fact that I thought it would rile him up, my brother does not say a word. "You are quite frustrating. You know that?" Zane pinches the bridge of his nose.

There is a pause, a moment of complete silence as nobody moves, where I contemplate what to do from here. It's not like I can... Well... "Get out," I say, lowly at first. "You are no longer welcome if you feel that you can play any kind of mind games in my presence. If you wish to speak to me, come back without my brother."

"You can't just-" Lillian begins. I feel the anger falling off of her in waves.

"Get. Out." I stand and tower over Zane as he remains seated. My fingers press into the wood on the table which makes all of the knuckles on my hands turn white.

Zane stands as well, but I remain looking down at him. "You don't get to just throw me out."

"Oh, yes I do. I was the one who invited you here, and by O'Khasian law, that means if you break my terms then I have the ability to throw you out at any point." I smirk just a little. "So, get out, before I am forced to turn to violence to remove you from Phoenix Drop."

He leaves relatively easily after that, Lillian glaring at me and my brother not bothering to pull his hood up again. I collapsed back into the chair after watching the trio leave.

Aphmau turns to look behind her before facing me fully. "What was that about?"

"My brother," I grumble. I feel like a child, reacting so strongly to my brother like that.