"Have you actually been out all night?" Sharish's hand froze over the pouch with tea leaves as I silently closed the door of his chambers behind me.

"Yeah... It was worth it though."

"How so?"

Taking a deep breath, I walked over to him and put the tea set aside. "You better sit down."

The mage frowned, but did as he was told. Weird how little time it took for the reluctance and mistrust between us to melt into almost casual behavior that an accidental onlooker might consider friendly.

"You can come in now," I threw towards the door.

I stayed close to Sharish's armchair when it opened again, making sure nothing too sudden would ruin this fragile plan. Even without looking at him, I felt the mage stiffen up at the sight of Canidralth, leading in a tied up Light Caydranth.

"How dare you..." he started, attempting to get up, but I quickly put a hand on his shoulder, preventing it.

I met his furious gaze calmly before taking a step forward to stand in the mediating middle between the two brothers. They sure did look like siblings now. Light was wearing a robe very similar in style to Sharish's. He explained to me yesterday that it was somewhat a traditional robe of the Caydranths. Light's was purple though. Not a flashy purple, but a dull one, dark, seeming to absorb light rather that reflecting it.

Our plan was to reestablish connections after all.

"Some things need to be made clear here, before any of us takes further action..." I tried to sound steadfast, crossing my arms on my chest.

"What are you talking about... Where was he? Why did you tie him up?"

"The answer to the first question gives the perfect reason for the second. He was aiding us. Us being the Disciples."

Sharish's shocked gaze wandered from me to his brother and back again. "And you hid this from me..."

"Not quite," I raised a hand in a calming gesture. "He never told us who he really is. To us, he was Light Darken up until last night."

"Not too creative, little brother..."

"Well what was I supposed to do?" Light spoke up for the first time. "Sigrian's sirath can tell lie and truth apart..."

"I'm doing all this for your safety, for the safety of our people..." Sharish's voice was trembling ever so slightly now. "And what I get in return is a stab in the back?!"

"And what if I don't want this kind of protection?"

"... do you even hear yourself? They would kill you where you stand if they only had a chance, many of our kin already suffered that fate!"

"And your response to it is giving them even more reason to hunt us?"

Sharish's hands gripped the armrests tightly, his eyes reflecting every emotion possible. I couldn't even imagine the storm that must have been raging inside his head...

"I've met many people in my life, big brother, and you know what I learned? If someone guilty and weaker knows punishment is coming their way, they flee or hide. If someone innocent knows an unjust peril hangs over their heads, they stand up to fight it even if they're weaker..."

A small snort escaped Sharish's lips. "You can't convince me that they're all innocent, don't even try."

"All? For sure not. But most of them. Yes, the human race is inferior to ours in many ways, power, lifespan, knowledge, and even the way they treat other living beings. But don't we have imbeciles among our ranks as well? Are others justified to call us all idiots because of those few?"

"Judging is far less harmful than picking up weapons..."

"True," I reentered the conversation. "But, when I think about it, Light is not entirely in the wrong. None of what we're dealing with is only black and white. Look at me. I'm basically still human, only with some borrowed dragon power. That doesn't stop me from hating some of my kin for what they're doing to others... And even though you're threatening some humans who never did anything wrong, I don't brand all mages as so unreasonable."

Sharish's eyes narrowed at me. "You think I'm unreasonable...?"

"At some points, you are. Eradicating thousands because ten raised their hands against you? You don't seem to see that, apart from the differences between our races, there are also similarities."

"Excuse me?"

"Most humans know what it's like to act out of fear of losing a loved one. Pick whatever city and talk to whichever human you fancy and ask what they would do to protect the person they love most. I guarantee you that anyone would say that they would do anything."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"That doesn't mean the rest of the world will be forgiving..."

"And we create a feedback loop... For that matter, I'm curious about something. The rest of the world includes my family... Would you kill them just because they're human?"

"You're cooperating with me, so I'm willing to spare them..."

"Ah, so you are actually willing to check the trees before setting the forests on fire after all," a small smile appeared on Light's face, soon reflecting onto mine.

"Did the Empress teach you that line?" despite the annoyance in Sharish's voice, something in it wavered. "Let me tell you a different one: you will never learn about the whole universe if you keep studying just one star, little brother..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that there's more at stake here than just mine or your fate..."

Light straightened up a little, trying to find a more comfortable position in his bonds. "It's the kanh, isn't it..."

I perked up. "What about the kanh?"

Sharish's piercing gaze switched to me. "Do you know how elves came to inhabit Earlindon back when it was all still our land?"

"Some calamity drove them out, right? Some natural disaster?" No, my mind told me. That was what I thought long ago, when my only source of information was books. Now it didn't add up with what I learned later. There was a war about to break out between Heiserth and the surface during the times of Acamres the Founder. And it was after my race came to settle down in Earlindon, preceded by centuries of peace...

"That's what they told you?" Sharish agreed with my thoughts. "No wonder they're ashamed of the truth..."

"Who told me? And what truth?"

"Other humans, I guess. Same old liars, just like the ones who invaded Elirieth..."

My mouth fell open a little. "Invaded...?"

"That's right. Dozens of ships with bloodthirsty humans, forcing the elves to leave their home and seal it in a way that made the return impossible even for them..."

I sat down slowly, staring at Sharish in disbelief. "Why would we attack Elirieth...?"

"Why don't you ask your ancestors?"

I clenched my fist a little. "You... I mean we are fighting to create a way for the kanh to return home?"

"That's right."

"Why not simply build some ships in secret and help conceal them when they'll be setting off?"

"Why in secret?"

I blinked, a little stumped. Then it dawned on me. "You didn't choose Shinestone in a passing fancy..."

"It's the biggest port in Earlindon. Dozens of ships. All we need to do is clear it of humans, and the way will be free for the elves."

"But if they only need ships and peaceful passage... then maybe there's no need for war? Maybe I can... issue a decree to just let them go?"

Sharish let out a tired sigh. "You could. But even if it would stop humans from raising their weapons, I can't say the same for the kanh. Their hatred runs deep, Sigrian... They already tried to get out to the surface once, centuries ago. Do you know how it ended?"

"In bloodshed..."

"Exactly. All because we allowed humans to settle down here. The kanh were content with living underground for a long time, that's what they were used to anyway. But when they learned that the land above their heads was about to be simply handed over to their enemy... Try imagining it. The race that drives you away from your homeland suddenly gets 'rewarded' by mages who offered you shelter long ago. The kanh must have seen it as pure impudence from the humans and treachery from the mages..."

"Why did the mages do that then? Weren't they aware of the risk...?"

"Only a few were. A long time passed between the kanh arriving in Earlindon and us allowing humans to come here. Acamres the Founder was relatively young, he might not even have known that there are elves underneath our land, because they didn't show themselves for centuries..."

All the pieces that we collected from Canidralth, Armailith and now Sharish violently clicked into place one after the other. "Acamres traveled north soon after the first human city was built and encountered 'an obstacle' around the Elkjar Mountains... Hreshia conceals the main entrance to Heiserth..."

"The obstacle was the kanh who learned about the human race starting to inhabit Earlindon. Acamres didn't hide the fact that it was mainly his doing, and soon fell under the blade of the kanh leader. Nevertheless, the kanh were stopped from emerging to the surface thanks to his efforts. But there was nothing and no one there to stop their helpless anger from growing for hundreds of years..."

A weird cough came from my left. I glanced at Canidralth. "What is it?"

"Nothing at all. Just something stuck in my throat."

It was a filthy lie, but now was not the time for his nonsense. "So there's... no way to end this peacefully?"

"I'm afraid not," Sharish leaned back a little, almost comfortably now. There was something unnerving about it... and sure enough... "Especially not after you've all tricked me."

"Sorry?"

"Stop playing dumb. The way you look and bounce off each other is clear as day. You only did this to save yourself and your companions, didn't you..."

I lowered my gaze, but with no shame to show. Getting up, I walked around Light's armchair and unceremoniously cut his bonds. "It was worth a try."

"You decided to bring Light into this later though... why would you risk blowing his whole cover for such a hastily thrown together plan?"

"You threw away everything for yours. Your life in the north, a life without vengeful breaths constantly on the back of your neck..." I didn't flinch when Sharish narrowed his eyes at me. "In your own way, you still love him, I know it..."

There was a long moment of silence. What would win inside that torn soul now...?

The desire to have his brother at his side again...?

The desire to protect him, including his feelings...?

The sense of duty towards the kanh...?

The hatred towards the human race...?

"And because I do..." Sharish finally spoke up, his voice harsh, but not without regret, "I need to make sure he's safe..."

A soft click came from the door behind our backs, followed by the subtle sound of glass vibrating in the window frames. He was blocking off all possible exits... He had Siaril's sword at his disposal, in other words, plenty of energy to spend on tearing us to shreds... If it was just me and Light, I would have started to panic by now. I wasn't capable of breaking any spells, and Light would probably hesitate to do anything that could potentially harm his brother. Luckily...

"You better duck behind that armchair," Canidralth threw at us, raising his hand to face the door.

We barely managed to, when a menacing crackling filled the air, followed by a loud bang. The view was obscured by the back rest of the armchair, but the splinters whizzing past were enough to confirm that the escape route was clear again.

A piece of wood was our least worry right now though.

I had a feeling that the hope of the escape route somehow being equally clear of kanh was a vain one.