The door slammed open, the sound echoing like a thunderclap in the tense silence of the room. My gaze snapped to the doorway, where Evander stood, his shoulders stiff, his breath coming hard and fast. His eyes darted between me and Seraphina, taking in the scene- the tears streaking her face, the smoldering rage in my own. For a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath, balancing precariously on the edge of an abyss. Evander's expression was guarded, his emotions buried beneath the stoic mask he had learned so well. But I could see past it. I always had. Beneath his carefully composed exterior, his inner storm raged, raw and turbulent. Anger, confusion, fear, and something darker- something that reminded me all too much of myself.
For years, I had watched him. Observed him. He had Seraphina's gentleness, yes, but beneath it lays a shadowed core, a hunger for something greater. It was buried deep, hidden deep inside his soul, but it was there- a darkness waiting to be unleashed. And yet, that same potential made him dangerous. A blade still sheathed but sharp enough to cut.
"You dare interrupt me?"
I said, my voice cold, my eyes narrowing. Evander flinched but didn't retreat.
"I heard shouting. What's going on?"
His voice was steady, but his gaze betrayed him. He was searching for answers, trying to piece together the fragments of the storm he had just walked into.
Seraphina stepped forward, her hand trembling as she wiped at her tears.
"Evander, this isn't the time-"
"No,"
I interrupted, cutting her off with a wave of my hand. My gaze never left him.
"Let him stay. Perhaps it's time he learns the truth."
"The truth?"
Evander's voice sharpened, his brows furrowing.
"What truth?"
I allowed a slow, calculating smile to spread across my face as I stepped toward him. His tension was palpable, his shoulders stiff, his fists clenched at his sides. He was trying to maintain control, but I could feel his inner turmoil as clearly as if it were my own.
"You've always prided yourself on seeing what others cannot, haven't you?"
I said, my voice low, almost mocking.
"Always watching, always analyzing. Tell me, son, what do you see when you look at me now?"
His jaw tightened, but he didn't back down. Brave boy.
"…I see someone who's changed. Someone who's let ambition consume them."
I laughed, a sharp, bitter sound that filled the room. "Ambition? Is that what you call it? No, boy. What you see is clarity. Strength. The will to do what is necessary to ensure Drakhelm's survival."
"You mean war,"
he said, his voice steady but filled with an undercurrent of anger. Seems like he heard more then I thought.
"You want to destroy everything we've worked for. Everything Mother has worked for."
I felt a flicker of amusement at his defiance. It was so much like my own, once upon a time.
"Do you truly believe peace with the humans can last?"
I asked, circling him slowly, my footsteps echoing in the chamber. His eyes constantly following me, calculated, reserved.. but not flinching in any way.
"Their kind is weak, petty, divided. They cannot rule this world. And yet they cling to their thrones, their treaties, their illusions of power. But not for long."
Evander's eyes widened slightly, the first crack in his composure.
"What are you planning?"
I stopped in front of him, towering over him, letting the full weight of my presence bear down on him.
"Tomorrow, when the sun reaches its zenith, the human royal family will fall. Their empire will crumble. And Drakhelm will rise to claim what is rightfully ours."
The color drained from his face, but he stood his ground. "You're planning to kill them.."
It wasn't a question. It was a realization.
"Indeed,"
I said, my tone cold and precise.
"While they bicker and scheme, believing their peace will protect them, we will strike. A clean, decisive blow to end centuries of stagnation."
"You're going to start a war,"
he said, his voice trembling with fury.
"Do you have any idea what that will cost? How many lives will be lost? Monsters and humans alike?"
What an annoying but smart child. I leaned in closer, my voice dropping to a whisper.
"War is the price of progress, Evander. Of power. You, of all people, should understand that."
His eyes burned with a mix of anger and something else- something deeper, darker. Fear? No. It was something more complex, a conflict within himself that mirrored my own. He hated me in that moment, probably always, but he also understood me in a way that no one else ever had.
"I'm nothing like you,"
he said, but his voice lacked conviction.
I smirked, stepping back.
"Aren't you? You think I haven't seen the darkness in you? The doubts, the anger, the hunger for something more? You hide it well, but not from me. You're more like me than you want to admit."
Evander's fists clenched, and for a moment, I thought he might lash out. But he held himself back, his breathing uneven, his eyes locked on mine.
"You're wrong,"
he said, his voice shaking with suppressed rage.
"I won't let you destroy everything."
I laughed again, the sound cold and hollow.
"And how do you plan to stop me? Do you think you can stand against me? Against your own blood?"
He didn't answer, but the fire in his eyes told me everything I needed to know. He would try. He would fight me if it came to that. And for the first time, I felt a flicker of something I hadn't expected: uncertainty.
Seraphina's voice broke the tension, sharp and trembling with emotion.
"Azaroth, stop this madness! Can't you see what you're doing? You're tearing this family apart!"
I turned to her, my expression hardening.
"This family was meant to rule, Seraphina. Not grovel before humans. If you cannot see that, then you are as blind as the rest."
Her tears glistened in the firelight, but her voice was steady.
"I will not let you destroy everything we've built. I will not let you turn our children into pawns in your twisted game."
My anger flared, hot and blinding.
"You think you can stop me? You? The woman who clings to her naive dreams of peace while our enemies grow stronger by the day? You are a fool, Seraphina. And if you stand in my way, you will fall with them."
The silence that followed was deafening, the air thick with tension. Evander stepped between us, his gaze locked on mine, his expression unreadable.
"Enough,"
he said, his voice low but firm. I stared at him, my rage simmering just beneath the surface. He was a threat, I realized. Not just to my plans, but to everything I had worked for. His potential, his strength, his defiance- they were both a curse and a challenge.
"Careful, boy,"
I said, my voice cold and dangerous.
"You tread a fine line."
"So do you,"
he replied, his voice unwavering. For a moment, we stood there, locked in a silent battle of wills. And for the first time, I saw the cracks in my own resolve. Evander was not like Seraphina. He would not be swayed by words or sentiment. He was fire and shadow, a reflection of my own ambition- and my greatest threat. The room seemed to darken, the weight of our unspoken conflict pressing down on all of us. The storm was coming, and I knew then that it would not be averted. It was only a matter of time before everything shattered.