The wind was soft tonight.
Lucian sat alone outside the dorm, back resting against the training hall wall, a can of some fizzy drink Evelyn left behind in one hand. The moon sat heavy above, silver spilling across the tiles like water.
He didn’t say anything. Didn’t need to.
He looked toward the grove on the edge of the training field.
The trees out there were reinforced—built with mana to take hits from people like them. Still, it didn’t sound right. Too sharp. Too tired.
Lucian sighed and blinked out of sight.
When he reappeared, Silas was mid-swing—fist slamming against bark. His knuckles were raw. Blood seeped into his wrist wrap. Mana cracked in the air, faint sparks clinging to his arm. The tree didn’t budge.
Lucian watched for a moment.
Then stepped forward and leaned against the opposite side of the trunk.
"You planning to break your arm?" he asked, voice soft.
Silas didn’t stop. "Just training."
Silas punched again. "Couldn’t sleep."
Lucian nodded slowly. "You could’ve just said that."
Silas lowered his fist finally. Breathing hard.
Lucian studied him. The way his shoulders were hunched. The slight tremble in his hands. The tightness in his jaw.
"Hey," Lucian said. "What’s up with you?"
Silas glanced sideways. "What do you mean?"
"You’ve been quiet all day."
"Yeah, but usually it’s a dumb kind of quiet. The kind where you’re waiting to say something stupid and ruin the mood."
Silas almost smiled. Almost.
Lucian pushed off the tree and walked closer.
"That’s not the Silas I know. You don’t sulk. You complain. You say weird shit. You’re the idiot who throws a punch first and thinks later."
Lucian tilted his head. "So. What’s wrong?"
Silas let the silence sit for a while. The wind stirred his hair. His fists were still clenched. Blood crusted across the wrap now.
"...earlier today. In the hallway."
Silas’s voice dropped. "When that Caelum rep said we were theirs. Like we ever meant something."
Lucian didn’t answer.
Silas’s eyes didn’t move. "Do you know what it was like? Back in the house?"
Lucian stayed silent.
Silas’s words came slower now. Softer. Like each one had weight.
"They hated us. Our faces. Our hair. The way we looked like her. Like our mom."
His breath hitched. "She came back pregnant. After leaving them. Said she found love, found something better. Came back hoping they’d accept it."
He scoffed. "They didn’t. They never did."
Lucian sat down on the ground beside him. Arms resting on his knees. He didn’t interrupt.
"She got sick after the twins were born. Not physically. Just... something snapped. They never let her leave the estate. Said they were ’protecting the bloodline.’ Said she brought shame."
Silas clenched his jaw.
"We were five when she... when she jumped from the balcony."
Lucian looked down at the ground. The moon’s light seemed colder now.
"They blamed us. Said she broke because of us. Said we were cursed. Tainted. The family name would rot if anyone found out she gave birth outside the blood pact."
Silas’s voice cracked now. Just a little.
"They made us stay. In that cold fucking estate. Tutors came, guards watched. But it wasn’t living."
Lucian didn’t speak. He let the silence hold it. Let Silas breathe.
"You know what they called us?" Silas muttered.
Lucian turned his head. Waiting.
"House Mistakes," Silas said. "Not sons. Not nephews. Just... mistakes."
His fingers twitched. "They never hit us. Not directly. But they didn’t need to. They controlled everything. What we ate. Who we saw. What we read. Every move watched."
Lucian swallowed hard.
"Reia broke first," Silas said. "She tried to run. Got caught. They didn’t speak to her for a year. Not one word. No eye contact. No food unless I took it from the guards and gave it to her myself."
Lucian shut his eyes.
"We were kids, man. Just kids."
Silas leaned his forehead against the tree now. The bark scraped his skin, but he didn’t care.
"And now they show up. Pretending like we’re part of them. Like they care. Like they fucking noticed."
He laughed. Just once. Bitter.
"They only came because of you. Because of the simulation. Because of what we did today."
Lucian looked at him. "That’s not your fault."
Silas shook his head.
"We left that place two years ago. Got out thanks to that one maid who lied to the guards and said we were being relocated. Reia almost died escaping. She cut her leg on the estate gate. Still has the scar."
Lucian exhaled slowly.
"She limps when it rains."
They sat there for a while.
Nothing but wind and old memories.
Then Lucian looked over at him again.
"You never told me any of that."
Silas laughed again. "You think I talk for free?"
"I thought you just liked being a dumbass."
Lucian smiled faintly.
Silas’s voice went quiet again.
"I just... I didn’t expect it to hit so hard. Seeing them. Hearing their voices. It’s like everything came back. All the shit we buried."
Lucian looked up at the stars.
"They don’t get to define you," he said.
Silas let out a slow breath.
Lucian stood. Walked over and held out his hand.
Lucian raised an eyebrow. "Come on, man. The tree’s not gonna apologize."
Silas rolled his eyes and took the hand.
Lucian pulled him up and patted his shoulder. "You’re not a mistake. Neither is Reia."
Silas didn’t answer. He didn’t need to.
Lucian gave him a crooked smile.
"You’re annoying. And reckless. And say the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. But you’re not broken."
Silas finally smiled. "You’re such a bad liar."
Lucian shrugged. "Takes one to know one."
They started walking back.
The night stretched quiet behind them.
No bloodline. No estate. No cage.
Just themselves. And what they chose to be.