Kaiden woke slowly, the faint light of dawn filtering through the curtains of his private wing in the Runewoven Guild Hall. The mountain air was crisp even inside, and he could hear the distant sounds of activity echoing through the corridors.
He lay still for a mont, surrounded by warmth. Aria was curled against his side with her head resting on his chest. Nyx had claid his left arm as a pillow. Luna sprawled across the foot of the bed with one leg hanging off the edge. Bastet and Calypso occupied the other side, the two monster girls looking a lot more friendly with one another than they ever did while awake.
Usually, he’d stay exactly where he was, content to let them sleep and enjoy the rare mont of peace and heavenly warmth.
But he heard sounds coming from outside the room.
Carefully, he extracted himself from the tangle of limbs and blankets, moving with precision to avoid waking anyone. Aria mumbled sothing incoherent and rolled over, imdiately claiming the warm spot he’d left behind. Luna rely rolled off the bed to the floor, cursed a truly unladylike one, then went back to snoozing softly.
He smiled and pulled the covers back over Aria’s shoulder and then cradled his foul-mouthed gar girl and placed her back onto the bed before padding quietly toward the door.
The private wing’s common area was surprisingly lively.
Alexandra stood at the kitchenette wearing her demonic maid attire. She was explaining sothing with thodical precision, gesturing to ingredients laid out on the counter with the kind of focus that suggested she’d researched this thoroughly.
Alice stood beside her in a simple nightgown, her mismatched eyes fixed on the cooking demonstration with intense concentration. A stack of perfectly golden waffles sat on a plate nearby, evidence of her earlier work.
"I understand you already know how to make delicious waffles," Alexandra was saying patiently, "but if you want to cook for your brother properly, you shouldn’t feed him sweets all the ti. It’s okay to do it every once in a while, but if you’re going to be helping with his breakfast every day-"
"I will!!" Alice decreed, erasing the hypothetical.
"... Okay, then I must put my foot down even more so. He’s a man who exerts himself trendously on the battlefield. His body requires protein, healthy fats, complex nutrients... Not just carbohydrates and sugar."
She picked up an egg and demonstrated how to crack it one-handed into a bowl. "Breakfast should fuel him for the entire morning, to let him wreak havoc out there until he refills his body with lunch. Waffles are lovely as an occasional treat, but they won’t sustain soone with his level of physical output."
Alice grumbled under her breath, her arms crossing. "Waffles are the best, though..."
Alexandra giggled, the sound warm and genuine. "Not everyone has a sweet tooth like you, Alice. I’ve noticed Kaiden enjoys a much more varied diet. Giving him sweets every morning wouldn’t be to his liking... or so I believe based on my observations."
"Hmph!!" Alice pouted, her cheeks puffing slightly. She didn’t like how Alexandra was talking so knowledgeably about her big brother! That was supposed to be her expertise!
Kaiden leaned against the doorfra, watching the exchange with quiet amusent. It was genuinely cute seeing the two of them like this, Alexandra patient and instructive, Alice competitive and determined to prove herself.
They were truly shaping up to be great friends.
Though that was already a foregone conclusion.
He stepped into the kitchen and wished them good morning.
"Good morning!" Alice chirped back imdiately, her face lighting up. "Take a seat, big brother!"
Alexandra just smiled at him, warm and genuine, before nodding in greeting and returning her attention to the cooking demonstration.
Kaiden settled into one of the chairs at the small dining table and watched the instructions continue. Alexandra moved with grace, her demonic maid attire swishing as she demonstrated proper knife technique for dicing vegetables. Alice mimicked her movents carefully, tongue poking out slightly in concentration as she tried to match the blonde’s precision.
The two girls worked together to prepare what was shaping up to be an impressive breakfast spread. Eggs, bacon, sautéed vegetables, fresh bread warming in the oven, and more. Alexandra explained the protein-to-carb ratios while Alice nodded along seriously, clearly determined to prove she could do this.
It was cute and unexpectedly wholeso watching them work in sync, Alexandra’s patient guidance blending seamlessly with Alice’s eager enthusiasm.
Then ca the sound of knocking at the door.
Alexandra imdiately moved to answer it, but Kaiden raised a hand to stop her. "I’ll get it. You should just focus on the breakfast before Alice burns it all."
"B-BIG BROTHER!!!" Alice scread in utter outrage. "How dare you?!"
Her pout intensified to nuclear levels as she turned her head away from him dramatically, refusing to make eye contact. "I’m a good cook..." she murmured under her breath. "What a rude big brother... Perhaps I won’t add enough salt to his breakfast... Hehe, that’ll show him!"
Then she whimpered imdiately after. "Wait, I can’t do that... He’d think I’m a bad cook and he wouldn’t want to cook for him again..."
Alexandra just smiled at the girl with clear amusent dancing in her crystal blue eyes.
Kaiden shook his head, equally amused.
Yes, his little sister was still wonderfully unhinged.
He stood and walked toward the door.
Kaiden pulled it open.
Vaelira stood on the other side.
The bitchy blonde who had once made his life hell looked drastically different now. Her posture was stiff, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. She wore expensive clothing that showed how well-off she was, but none of it seed to give her confidence.
Her eyes narrowed at him for just a fraction of a second, an instinctive reaction, a ghost of her old superiority complex trying to surface.
Then it died instantly.
She averted her eyes, looking down and to the side. She didn’t et his gaze. Couldn’t et his gaze.
Kaiden was the exact opposite, radiating the kind of confidence that ca from knowing exactly where he stood in this relationship. "What brings you here?"
Silence.
She remained still, observing her feet with intense focus.
Then she murmured sothing beneath her breath, barely audible.
"I can’t hear you," Kaiden said flatly.
"...apologize..." she whispered, slightly louder this ti.
"I can’t read minds, Vaelira. You’re going to have to speak properly."
Her head snapped up, irritation flashing across her face. "You told to apologize, so here I am!"
Kaiden’s amusent disappeared in an instant.
His expression went cold and hard. "Vaelira."
The change was imdiate and visceral.
Vaelira’s lips trembled. Her whole body went rigid as the mories crashed over her. Being tortured by him, the agony of the curse he’d inflicted on her, the way he’d held her life in his palm like it was nothing. She rembered begging. She rembered breaking.
She shook from head to toe.
Her defiance crumbled like a sand castle being kicked.
Her eyes dropped back to her feet, and when she spoke again, her voice was small and stripped of any fight. "I... I said so extrely ugly words to your maid. I’m here to apologize... Will you let in?"
Kaiden’s expression softened imdiately.
He smiled, warm and welcoming, as if the brutal display of dominance had never happened. "Much better. Co in."
He stepped aside and gestured for her to enter.
Vaelira hesitated for just a mont before stepping through the doorway, her movents careful and asured, like prey walking into a predator’s den.
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