The only thing I was able to do was stare in terror. It... couldn't be true, could it...?

Light didn't say a word. We just heard one short, shaky inhale, after which came a long silence, as if he was holding his breath, his eyes fixated the floor. After what seemed like a full minute, he lifted his head a little and glanced at Siaril, but he only shook his head.

"I guess further pretending makes no sense..." Light finally said, all energy seemingly drained from his very being. "I didn't expect something so trivial to give me away..." a sad smile appeared on his lips. "And here I thought I found a creative way around that cursed name. 'Darken'... if translated into the language of mages, it becomes 'Caydranth'..."

My legs almost gave up on me. Armailith's growl came from outside, almost making the glass in the windows vibrate. I dared a look at Siaril.

He was sitting with his head down, his slender fingers clenching the navy-blue fabric of the bed sheets... The realization made an ice-cold chill creep up in my chest. This just couldn't be happening for real...

"You knew about this..." I started quietly, fearing that any louder sound could irreversibly seal this cruel truth. "You knew from the very beginning..."

"I did..." he whispered.

"So that's why... that's why Sharish always knew where we were and what we were doing..."

"No, it's not like..."

"That's why you so 'off handedly' suggested to find a hiding spot for that shard of the Sunrise we got from Canidralth! You wanted him to have easy access and fun with it!" I shot an accusing glance towards Light...

... and stopped in my tracks.

I recognized that look... I saw it once before, during training, but dimmed, concealed by a veil of careful words weaved just for me and my sirath. Now it was fully out in the open, clear and so intense that it made his eyes shine with tears of regret eager to see the outside world...

This wasn't the face of someone secretly working for Sharish.

While I was still frozen stiff, Light reached into his pocket and took out the bright crystal that I just mentioned. He didn't even look at it before throwing it to the floor in front of me with what felt like disgust. The stone chimed dully. "Here... I don't want it..."

"What are you...?"

No answer came.

"Light..." Yasenka suddenly spoke up, her voice calmer now, still stern, but in a different way... in the big sister way. "Somehow, it seems like you walk around trying to solve all of other people's problems, but it's actually you who has one..."

"I'm so sorry..." came the choked whisper. Sivath seemed to sense his distress and soundlessly came closer, gently tucking his head under his master's hand.

The illathan smiled a little, her expression already forgiving. "I never gave it a deeper thought... but it has been sitting in a dusty corner of my memory. The paintings I once saw in the Shinestone stronghold and the ones in this mansion... They came from under the same hand, didn't they?"

Light's eyes wandered to one of them that hung on the wall to his left. His stare was almost accusing, as if calling it a traitor in amused bitterness. "They did..."

"Sharish told me he lived there with his brother... was that true?"

"It was..."

My master... the man who helped me become one with my wings both physically and mentally, the man who helped Siaril find me, gave us a second home while concealing us from the eyes of Sharish Caydranth... was Sharish's own flesh and blood. Light Caydranth.

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"You shouldn't judge people by their family..." Siaril said softly, quietly, his eyes still down. "Be it the family of your greatest foe, the royals or anyone else... You just shouldn't... Light never acted against us, he's trying to help us to the best of his ability. He's Sharish's brother, so what? Does that make him responsible for what Sharish has done...? Yisral kidnapped you and ordered Canidralth to wipe your memory... am I responsible for that just because the same blood flows through my veins...?" I felt something twist inside my stomach. "Did I lie when I said that I want to stay by your side...? Did I lie when I said that I want to protect you and see the end of this fight with you...?"

I clenched my fists, looking away. I thought nothing could drive the nail of guilt into my mind deeper than the ice-cold of my sirath beneath my shirt, but I was wrong... The despair in my friend's voice, the tone that begged to forgive him for things he never did...

How could I have been so blind...?

I closed my eyes, feeling a single, lonely tear trace a cold line down my cheek. "No..." I said, my voice trembling despite my best efforts. "You didn't..."

"Guys... don't tell me you've argued because of this..." through the hint of confusion, I could tell that Light wasn't just concerned for us. He was afraid that he was the reason for our argument...

"Sig... do you know why Light left his brother?" I looked up. Why was Yasenka asking me this, and not Light? "Do you know why Siaril ran away from home and kept a secret from us?"

"Not really..."

"Then how about we listen? It makes no sense to try and drive a wedge in between us all because of something that we're only assuming, and not the actual truth," she looked me in the eyes, serious. "After all the work you did to help Siaril... don't go destroying it again. There's only one thing worse than losing a friend.. and that's hating them..."

"I could never..." I stammered out before my voice broke, leaving me with nothing to defend myself with. Not that I could. It was my fault, period...

The question now was... how could I make it right again...? Something like that wouldn't be forgiven easily, would it...? Should I... no, that wouldn't be enough... but then what...?

It was then that my breath got caught in my chest for a second. Something obscured my vision, a pair of slender arms wrapping around me...

That was enough for it all to get freed in an instant - my voice, my breath, the thorns wrapped around my mind. "I'm sorry..." I whined, embracing him too, almost desperately. "I'm sorry, I... I have no idea what's gotten into me..."

"It's alright..." the relief in Siaril's voice was practically palpable. "You were in so much stress lately... and I'm not without fault either..."

Wiping my eyes chaotically, I looked into his. The guilty look on my face must have been enough, because he just shook his head, telling me there is no need for further apologies. It was that easy... "But..." I said instead, "if Light is just helping... couldn't you just have told us?"

Siaril gently pulled me towards the bed and sat me down, before doing the same. He took a few moments to gather his thoughts.

"There were a few reasons for the silence," he eventually started. "First of all, Light just didn't want to reveal it. We were aware that you wouldn't be able to fully trust him if you knew who he is. That's why he wanted to gain your trust first, and then reveal the truth. We didn't think Ertralia could just expose us like that..." Siaril made a short pause, as if wondering how to continue. He glanced at me. "Do you remember our first meeting, when I told you about the acquaintance of mine that I live with and another that gave me my sirath?"

"Yeah?"

"One and the same guy," Siaril pointed to Light. My master managed a sheepish smile.

"How come?" Yasenka perked up, confused. "Why did you have it?"

"Irony of fate I guess... before I start explaining though, I want to apologize."

"Didn't you already?"

Light shook his head. "Not for hiding stuff from you. I... I was there, in the Shinestone stronghold... I knew what Sharish did to you, and yet I didn't stop him..." he bowed before Yasenka, regret and bitterness staining his usually cheerful face, the façade hiding all the pain these circumstances were causing him gone. "Please forgive me..."

"Hey..." the illathan approached him, gently touching his cheek and making him look up again. "His actions weren't your fault... But if you lived there on a daily basis, then Sharish surely took all pains to make sure you're on his side. How did you manage to escape this madness? And through what miracle did you survive what I did...? Or did you already leave by then...?"

"Oh, you knew...?"

"I heard you two talking about Siaril and that you were supposed to find him. I'm genuinely baffled I didn't recognize your voice until now..."

"I guess the thick walls distorted it a little. And I can't exactly say I allowed myself to be fully me while living there... You have no idea how grateful I am that I look nothing like Sharish though. That would've been trouble."

"Yeah," Yasenka laughed a little. There was no more distrust in her voice, just compassion and gratitude for Light's fastness. The air suddenly became easier to breathe...

"Imagine, Sharish even went as far as sending some assassins to help me should I fail to convince the Disciple of Ralethiel," Light seemed eager to get it all off his chest all at once now. "If he didn't agree to cooperate, they were supposed to... let's say... eliminate the threat by slitting his throat..."

I wasn't sure what was bigger, my gaping mouth or the distance my eyebrows put between themselves and my eyes.

"That was probably the craziest first meeting in the history of Earlindon," Siaril stated perfectly calmly.