"Well, what did you say, Justin?! Sister… why are you calling me sister?" Calamity's eyes widened in sheer bewilderment, her knuckles white as she clutched the silk blanket to her chest.
"Didn't Mother tell you? You have an older brother exactly five months older than you," I replied. My voice was steady, but it was laced with a jagged edge of frustration. That was the truth Alicia had burned into my mind.
"Justin, that's absurd. It's impossible!" Her voice trembled, the logic of her world fracturing as she retreated further into the safety of her covers.
"Claire… mind if I call you Claire?" I added, trying to soften my tone, though the anger simmered just beneath the surface like molten glass. "That's not the point.
The point is, I'm your half-brother. And you… you reek of those dragons. It's disgusting. I can't believe the Queen kept someone like me a secret from you." I paced the room slowly, the moonlight catching the silver embroidery of the rugs, letting the weight of my words settle like lead.
"My mother said nothing about me having a brother," she whispered, her voice small and defensive. "She only said she fell in love with a dragon and had me. Nothing more, nothing less."
I stood still, the shock in my own eyes reflected in a nearby mirror. So the Queen really wants nothing to do with me? She fell in love with a dragon? What about my father?
I shook my head, my jaw tight. "Let me leave you with this: Why do dragons only marry high-ranking demons? What happened to the previous Demon Lord my father? I don't have the answers yet, Claire. I'm hunting them myself." I picked up a small, pulsating orb from her dressing table, letting its light dance in my palm. "Catch up later, sister."
With a flick of my wrist, a crimson magical circle erupted beneath my feet, and I vanished into thin air, leaving the balcony door swinging wide in the cold night wind.
I needed the Queen.
She was the only one who could tell me the truth all of it. I stormed through the silent, vaulted hallways, my teeth clenched until my jaw ached. I moved like a shadow, the cold marble biting at my feet, until the sound of deliberate, soft footsteps echoed ahead.
"I've lost my way… looking for the bathroom," I muttered, forcing my shoulders to drop into a casual slouch.
"Umm… can I help you, young man?" A soft, hauntingly familiar voice floated toward me. The Queen stood there, pale and ethereal in her silken nightgown. The moonlight turned her black hair into a river of ink. Her expression was calm, but her eyes those eyes were pools of anxiety.
This was her.
"Mother… I need answers!" I growled, my voice raw with a lifetime of fury.
"Justin… don't say that here," she whispered, her eyes darting to the shadows.
"Why can't I call you Mother? Are you not the woman who gave me life?" I hissed, leaning in, my voice low and dangerous.
"Not right now, Justin. This castle is a den of vipers. It's too dangerous for you," she said, tears suddenly welling in her eyes.
"Why not?!" I practically screamed.
She grabbed my hand, her touch surprisingly gentle and warm, and dragged me through the labyrinthine hallways until we reached the grand library.
She fumbled for a hidden lever behind a row of ancient tomes. The wall groaned and shifted, revealing a hidden sanctum bathed in a blinding, pure energy. The air was thick enough to taste, a heavy pressure that seeped into my very marrow.
"Justin, allow me to explain," she said, her hands hovering near me, trembling with maternal worry.
"There's nothing to explain," I said, turning my face away. "When those gates to the demon realm finally opened, I told myself I finally had a mother. I thought I'd finally feel that love. But you weren't there. Only Alicia was."
"JUSTIN! My hands were tied! I couldn't come to you!" she sobbed, tears finally streaming down her cheeks.
"Yes, obviously. Just another excuse," I said, tears bubbling at the corners of my own eyes. She reached out to touch my face, and I instinctively slapped her hand away.
"Don't touch me!" I snapped, my eyes burning with hatred. "Speak! What the actual hell are you doing with these dragons?!"
"It's not like that," she quivered. "A lot has happened. This alliance… it's the only way to save the Kingdom from total annihilation."
"I don't care about your realms, your politics, or your kingdoms!" I roared, the sound echoing off the hidden walls.
"Why keep it a secret? Why act like I never lived? What happened to my father?! And why does that Dragon Lord reek of blood?!"
She swallowed hard, her voice a ghost of a whisper. "Okay… I'll tell you everything… but not now."
"What the hell do you mean, not now?!" I shouted, the betrayal crushing my chest. "When will I learn the truth?!"
The Queen's hands shook as she pulled five ancient, leather-bound grimoires from the shelves. Each one hummed with its own heartbeat, a dark, primal energy.
"These are the secret books of the strongest demons," she whispered. "They contain the knowledge to control the power you've inherited. I'm giving them to you… because only you can save us now."
I let out a bitter, jagged laugh. "So you only care about me saving your sorry ass?" I turned toward the exit. "Forget I was even your son. Forget I'm even alive. Alicia is a better mother than you could ever hope to be."
I watched her collapse, her hand over her mouth as her sobs hit the floor. I cast an invisibility spell, a faint red glow shimmering as I faded from sight.
But I stayed. I watched from the corner.
She sank to her knees, clutching a locket from her neck. "Yuto… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry," she wept, looking at a small portrait inside. "I hope he understands why I hid him. If the Dragon Lord finds out… he will hunt him and kill him. I cannot bear to see another soul I love die by his hand."
I felt a chill. The Princess knows. I shouldn't have gone to her. She'll tell Darius while Volta is away, and the hunt will begin at dawn.
I exhaled, a grim grin spreading across my face. Time to disappear. I moved through the corridors, the heavy books clutched to my chest. Finally, I reached the shared room.
Alana was a peaceful silhouette in the moonlight. I leaned close to her ear.
"Alana… I need you to do me a favor."
"What? It's the middle of the night, Justin!" she hissed, rubbing her eyes in a daze.
"Shh! Be quiet, idiot. The point is… I'm leaving for a few days. I've stirred the hornets' nest, and I need to get out before the swarm hits."
"Justin… what the hell did you do?" she asked, sitting up, her confusion giving way to genuine concern.
"Nothing to worry about. Don't waste your thoughts on me. Goodbye… my pretend fiancée," I said softly, resting a hand gently on her head.
With a final spell, the crimson glow enveloped me. The air shimmered, the space warped, and I was gone vanishing into the starless night sky, carrying the weight of my fury and a power that was only beginning to wake.