In Lost Dreams the Four Were Bound

07 - Nerin - Spite Between Delvori Siblings

Emboldened by the day's victories, Nerin entered Neris's laboratory with a controlled, steady gait. He stood tall, trying to maintain his stature and height to appear imposing. Without letting his eyes stray, he approached the table where the man had been placed. He looked him over with stern red-brown eyes, feigning a guise of disinterest. Then he looked up to see his sister standing near the windows. She was playing with different alchemical reagents, her dark skin gilded in the waning light.

"Vindal," he called, opening his arms while keeping his gaze fixed on her.

"Ne vivahr!" she said, a vial slipping from her hands. She turned and faced him, regaining her composure. "I was beginning to wonder if I'd have the pleasure of seeing you today." She walked over and wrapped her arms around him as his arms closed around her. She reached up and kissed his lips, smiling as she drew back. Her red-brown eyes were fixed on his, waiting for an answer to his absence.

"Lord Ohran kept me," he explained, not looking at her directly. "We were talking about the arrangements and the traditions involved for the ceremony. He's keen on details. Of course, not that you would have the mind for any of that, ne vindal."

"Ah," she said, an annoying hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Always on to bigger and better things, aren't you, my little Nerin?" He glared at her as she chuckled at his expense.

"Must you mock me even when we're so close to starting something new here?" He tried to jest but was unable to hide the pain in his voice.

"It is not to mock you, ne vivahr," she said, giving him a playful glance before and returning to her projects. "What are harmless play and the truth between siblings?"

"You always seem to try and find some way to undermine me, ne vindal." Though his words were brooding, he attempted to match her mischievous attitude. "How am I supposed to know mocking from harmless play?"

"Perhaps by having some humility, my dear brother. Then again, we both already know that you do not feel . . . what's the word? Adequate, vivahr Nerin?"

His sister thought she was always in control, even when everything was conspiring otherwise. As his embittered thoughts bubbled, he maintained his poise. He was willing to ignore how she had slighted him. Coming to a stop behind her and wanting to be impish and unrestrained, he placed his hands upon her hips and yanked her back against himself, causing her to gasp. With a wicked grin, he chuckled beneath his breath.

"Should you be doing that where there are so many prying eyes?" she asked. "The shutters are hardly covered."

"What should these simpletons think of us, ne vindal?" he asked in a dark tone. He stroked his hands up her sides, down to her hips, farther down her upper thigh and back. He was rough with his motions, amused at how she responded. Neris's body swayed as he petted her, pressing her firmer against him. They had an understanding between them. Despite her coy nature, she knew her place.

"Well, they should think nothing of our traditions or personal affairs, ne vivahr. I just thought you would have already had your fill with your maidens and their nectar," she said. Of course, it was more play on her part, and she played the role well. She brought her head back against his chest, grasping his hands and bringing them to her breasts, letting out a deep breath. He leaned over her, pressing his lips to hers. She pushed herself against him, yearning for his caress. He stroked her bosom, led on by her motions as desire and lust built within.

"You know that simple women cannot quench my thirst." Nerin struggled to contain himself, but his primal urges and unrestrained thoughts overcame his composure. Unable to take her suggestions any longer, he made his move. With quick, nimble fingers, he plucked at the lacing of her dark, silken bodice, but before his hands could even loosen a single knot, Neris turned and pressed her hand against his chest. The force of her push sent him back several paces as he stumbled to maintain his balance. Regaining some of his composure, he glared at her, his chest heaving as she laughed at him.

"Why do you taunt me so?" he demanded, feeling hurt and betrayed. His blood was racing. He was hot and had nothing to appease his urges. Grinning wickedly, she continued to laugh, turning back to the counter. "Answer me!"

"You've always been so quick to jump, my young brother. So quick that you're lured in by any little show of interest or small opportunity," she said, her tone calm and cool. "In all honesty, did you really think I'd want you? How many times have we played this game, you and I? And still, you never learn. Really, it's becoming quite boring."

"So, what was this then?" he asked, stamping angrily.

"Just a way for me to pass the time, ne vivahr," she said, her smile as cold as ever. "Why would I waste my energy? I would rather spend it on something worth my while." She glanced over at the sleeping man, directing Nerin's gaze. "I can always appease myself or use an equally sufficient talvuo later, if need be."

"You should respect your—"

"Respect my blood?' she asked, finishing for him. The snap and the meanness in her words stunned him. "I think you and I both know how much I respect my blood. And don't you dare think to command me to do such a thing, you ignorant child."

"You dare call me a—"

"Bite your wicked tongue, you little bastard!" Neris commanded. Again, he shied away from her. "You are ungrateful and still, to this day, are unable to comprehend the sacrifices others have made for you. So, yes, you are an ignorant child. And until you show me otherwise, don't expect me to treat you as anything else."

He gave her a heated glare. Outrage and insatiable insecurity gnawed through his psyche. Try as he might, he couldn't stop his anger from showing or the tears from welling up as he tried to stand his ground. With a sudden bitterness, he directed his anger at the sleeping man upon the table.

"What does he have that I don't, ne vindal? What does he have that I lack? Answer me!" he demanded as he lumbered toward the sleeper. "He left us for dead, Neris. Or have you forgotten?"

"Do you not remember whose ambition led to our folly?" Her words cut as they laid out yet another one of his failings.

"The vaults were our birthright!" he exclaimed with sunken pride, tapping his fingers on the tabletop. "Everything in the gods-forsaken place was to be ours."

"Who's birthright, dear brother? Mine? Our comrades?"

"Of course it was! It was for all of us. It was for—"

"Your greed got them all killed!" she said. "Was it worth it, dear brother? Was it?"

"It wasn't my fault!" he snapped. "There was a tremor. You were there! You know!"

"But you ignored the warnings that you had been so graciously given and treaded on unsteady ground," she said, shaking her head as she regained her composure. "Quit trying to shake off the blame, ne vivahr. Until you learn to take responsibility for your failures, you will never become more than what you are."

"And what is that, ne vindal? What am I?"

"I've already told you," she replied, turning back to the counter. "Or should I repeat myself?"

"Yes, well, ne vindal," Nerin said, half turning back to the sleeper, "too bad your toy is still asleep. It must be upsetting to be deprived for so long. It would be such a waste if he never awoke."

"Who said a toy needs to be awake to be played with?" Neris replied, unfazed. "As for the latter part of your threat, I would watch that tongue of yours."

"Or what?" he asked with sullen anger, trying to hold back a frown. His sister rotated in place, her hand stretched out in a near-perfect arc. With a thud and a twang, something heavy and metallic landed between his legs, biting into one of the table's wooden columns. Looking down, he saw a small dagger embedded in the wood.

"Or you might lose something precious to you," Neris said with dark intent, turning away from him once more.

Biting his lip as rage swelled in his breast, he turned and made his way to the door. Neris thought she was clever, but if she only knew what greatness awaited him. He would make her understand everything that she had taken for granted. In the end, she would respect her blood and take her place by his side.