Helanie:
The glare Kaye was giving was the scariest thing I had ever seen. It took back to the day he had chased through his mansion like a madman. And now, seeing here with his brother in his garage, of course, he wasn’t going to take it lightly.
"I can’t believe this," Kaye muttered under his breath, his voice dripping with anger, though this ti it wasn’t directed at . He was furious with his brother.
"Kaye! It’s not like that. She—" Maximus stamred, glancing at before turning back to his brother.
"Then what is this? We decided to cut her out of our lives, and you bring her back?" Kaye snapped. "Don’t tell you needed a sister so badly that you decided to keep her for yourself after we kicked her out?" His voice rose as he shot a venomous look.
"Oh, co on, Kaye!" Maximus groaned, throwing his hands up in frustration.
"Kick her out right now," Kaye demanded, glaring at Maximus. But before his brother could respond, he continued, turning to . "You! You manipulative little thing. What kind of sob story did you spin to make my brother feel sorry for you and bring you here?" He jabbed his finger in my direction.
"I didn’t tell him any sob story," I began, trying to defend myself, but Kaye wouldn’t let finish.
"You’re not allowed to speak to . Gather whatever you brought and get out!" he shouted, his hostility inching toward . Maximus quickly stepped between us.
"Kaye—" Maximus groaned, trying to calm him down.
"If I am not allowed to speak, don’t ask any questions!" I shot back, my voice rising in frustration. His frown deepened, his anger visible on his face.
"What did you just say?" Kaye asked, his tone dark and nacing. He had an unsettling way of intimidating —he didn’t need grand gestures or loud threats. His stillness, combined with the way his piercing eyes seed to bore into my soul, made him even more terrifying. His muscles tensed, barely contained beneath his skin.
It was a truly terrifying sight.
"Easy! Co with , and we can talk about it," Maximus finally got a grip on Kaye and pulled him away from . He led him outside, but I could still see them clearly. Kaye stood rigid, his large fra dominating the space.
"I am so disappointed in you. Are you playing both sides? Acting like her older brother when we’re not around?" Kaye’s voice rang out, clear as day. He wasn’t even trying to lower it, as if he wanted to hear their conversation. Despite Maximus wanting them to speak privately.
"It’s not my fault. You’re barking up against the wrong flower," Maximus protested, his tone exasperated. I cleared my throat and muttered quietly, "Tree," amused by the confusion in his words.
Of course, I didn’t say it out loud. The fact that Maximus had mixed up the saying was proof that, despite their strength, they weren’t as infallible as I had expected.
"Then who should I bla?" Kaye asked stubbornly, clearly not one to be reasoned with easily.
"Emt!" Maximus replied, a look of guilt flashing across his face as he dragged their brother into the ss. I instantly wanted to defend Emt, but then I rembered—they were brothers. By the end of the day, they’d forgive each other, but not .
"Emt? What did he do now?" Kaye rolled his eyes, clearly used to his brother’s antics. I could imagine Emt being the one who often stayed out of their sches.
"He’s the one who practically forced us to accept her as a candidate," Maximus admitted. I guess he should have explained that part first, because Kaye imdiately latched onto it, pointing an accusing arm in my direction.
"She applied to the academy, and you let her?" Kaye’s voice rose again, but Maximus quickly grabbed his arm and pushed it down, trying to keep the situation under control.
"Emt did. You know how he’s getting; he’s becoming a real nuisance," Maximus wasn’t lying. Emt was the reason I even got the chance, and I hadn’t even thanked him for it yet.
"Huh! I’m more surprised Norram allowed it," Kaye said, his hands now resting on his hips. He looked so aggressively dangerous, it was hard not to feel intimidated.
"What could he do? He’s stuck between his brothers. He doesn’t have a favorite, so whenever we clash, he sidesteps to avoid picking sides," Maximus explained and quickly added, "I had to bring her here because I didn’t want her going to Emt for help with money. He’s been showing a soft spot for her, and that could lead to her asking him for—" He cut himself off abruptly when his eyes landed on .
It was painfully obvious that Maximus was struggling to convince Kaye that he wasn’t interested in helping . I an, how long could he keep dragging his brother into this and blaming him for everything?
That’s when Maximus grabbed Kaye’s arm and pulled him even farther away, their voices lowering until I couldn’t hear them anymore.
My attention drifted to the table where Kaye had left so of his things. Among them were small glass bottles filled with herbs. I picked one up and read the label on the white note stuck to the bottle. "Fla of lust." I then tilted my head and read what this herb was. It was a lush green herb that can cause a creature to go into heat, wanting sex, in simple words.
I stared at the herbs for a mont before my eyes were drawn to a small brown package. Sothing was poking out from it that I couldn’t resist touching.
It was a purple rose.
I had never seen one before. The edges of the petals were white, and the stem was completely free of thorns. Just pulling it out of the package made smile.
It looked so inviting, so delicate. I held it the mont I laid eyes on it.
I completely forgot about the brothers, or that I was even in the sa place as them. All I could think about was the rose in my hand.
"You’re so pretty," I whispered, holding it up to my face. "I bet you sll amazing."
I wasn’t sure how a rose could possibly speak to soone, but I swear it felt like it was asking to sll it.
And I had to.
How could I deny a beautiful rose’s request? I brought it closer to my nose and took a small sniff, smiling at the heavenly scent.
Then I did it again. And again. A total of five tis, until I felt like I couldn’t get enough of it. But it had enough of .
Suddenly, everything around blurred. My knees buckled, too weak to hold up. My eyes grew heavy, and before I could even call out for help, I collapsed to the ground, my fingers tightly wrapped around the purple rose.
Everything went silent for what felt like an eternity. Then, a soft whisper in my ear jolted awake.
"My sweet, beautiful daughter, co have breakfast with us."
There she was—my mother, dressed in white, with a purple rose in her hair, gently stroking my hair.
It was as if I had woken up in a perfect world.
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