Kaelen's world blurred, a swirl of fragmented images and distorted sounds. His pulse pounded in his temples, the colors of the room too sharp, the sounds too loud—everything felt like it was collapsing in on itself and expanding at the same time. His mind swam, unable to grasp onto anything real, like falling through a liquid maze with no end in sight. The blood he'd drunk, the shimmering haze of the ambient magic.

A laugh echoed—Thaige's, rich and sinister—and it hit Kaelen's ears like a dagger wrapped in silk. His eyes darted around the room. Everything was off, twisted by some dark force, and he couldn’t tell if his daughters really were that monstrous, playing with him like some kind of perverse game.

Selene's eyes flashed as Thaige scooped her up, her tiny hands still sticky with cake. Mira panted at her feet, her muzzle stained with frosting and crumbs. Kaelen’s heart twisted, watching what had become of Mira. She stared at him with glassy, submissive eyes, a hollow shell of who she had been.

Thaige’s voice cut through the chaos like a knife, her words slippery and wrong. "Who's your most favorite aunt?" she cooed, but didn’t wait for Selene’s answer. Her gaze had already locked onto Kaelen, and in that moment, he swore he saw a flicker of something—something terrible—behind her eyes. The room felt too hot, the walls too close, and he suddenly wanted to tear away from everything.

Thaige put Selene down as if she were some discarded doll, her stride hypnotic as she moved toward him and Arian, her steps creating ripples in the air. Was she floating? Walking? Kaelen couldn’t tell. Valerian followed her, his presence a looming shadow that seemed to stretch and bend the space around them.

Thaige smiled at Kaelen, her lips curling in a way that made his skin crawl. “Brother, how does it feel to come back to a full house of children?” Her voice sounded far away, distorted like a melody played backward. “Let me guess, you’re either infatuated or thinking of changing your identity—though I suspect the latter, seeing how you've already bonded with your son.”

Her words slithered through his mind, each one sinking like a hook into his thoughts. He couldn’t tell if he was actually hearing her or if her voice was inside his head. Valerian reached out, picking Arian up effortlessly, though the boy immediately recoiled, pushing away with a fierce glare.

"Adrian, why such a scornful look, boy?" Valerian's voice was low, like rolling thunder, shaking the very air. "Are you giving your father a hard time? Remember, Kaelen didn’t even know you existed until recently. You’re lucky to have a father who cares."

Arian's face twisted in rage, his icy blue eyes flaring up, glowing like burning coals. “Yet you do nothing but encourage my sisters’ abuse of their power,” he spat, his voice trembling with suppressed fury.

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Valerian’s laughter was a sharp, jagged sound that sliced through the room. “They’re using their god-given talents as they were meant to. You, on the other hand, hide in your little workshop, tinkering away, avoiding the world.” His voice was mocking, cold, cruel. "Stop acting like a peon and live up to your potential."

Kaelen blinked, and suddenly it was as if the entire room had shifted. His father loomed impossibly tall, a mountain of a man, while Arian shrank into the distance. Kaelen couldn’t tell, but the world felt unreal, drenched in colors that didn’t exist.

“I hate you, Grandpa!” Arian’s voice rang out, a sudden, piercing shriek that rattled Kaelen's bones. He watched in slow motion as Arian bolted for the door, leaping into his hovercar with impossible grace, the sound of the engine roaring to life an overwhelming, vibrating pulse in Kaelen’s skull.

Gone. Just like that.

Kaelen felt like he was drowning, the world spinning out of control. He turned to his father, forcing himself to focus. “How have you been, Valerian? It seems you’ve got a… unique relationship with Arian.”

Valerian sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. His presence felt heavier now, the air around him thick with unseen gravity. "The boy’s too smart for his own good,” he muttered, his voice a low growl, like a storm rumbling in the distance. "He’s judgmental of his sisters, and expects too much from people. I know he’s brilliant, but they’re just children—he needs to understand that."

Kaelen’s chest felt tight, the weight of Valerian’s words pressing down on him. "I’ve noticed that," he murmured, his head spinning. The room swirled again, the figures of his daughters—his monstrous little angels—flashing in and out of focus. "But Arian… I think he has a point."

Valerian’s gaze sharpened, his lips curling into a slight smirk. "Of course he does. But life isn’t that simple, my son." His voice was cold, clinical. "You can’t just tell people to stop what is second nature to them."

Kaelen blew out a breath, his thoughts scattered like shattered glass. He couldn’t deny it any longer—this was his family. His daughters, his son. And they were tearing each other apart. But he was grateful, somehow, for Valerian’s presence. For all the darkness and insanity swirling around them, at least Valerian was there to help pick up the pieces.

"You know," Valerian added, his voice cutting through Kaelen’s haze like a knife, "I was surprised to find out you were such a womanizer. Getting so many pregnant before running off to space." He chuckled, a dark, mocking sound. "Though, to be fair, I always knew about Loren. Seraphis, however… she’s the real surprise. She rose to the occasion, didn’t she? Taking care of these princesses while you were gone."

Kaelen could feel the weight of Valerian’s words settling deep into his bones. It wasn’t just the booze, the drugs, the blood. It was the truth. The brutal, unforgiving truth of the life he’d returned to.

This was his legacy—a house full of monsters. And as much as he tried to deny it, a part of him knew, deep down, he was just like them, his mind fracturing as he glanced around the room. The girls. Celesse, Xyra, Selene—they were watching him, their eyes gleaming with some dark, alien intelligence.

They knew.