Lykalis has a new obsession: a bewitching man carrying secrets stained in blood. But is he worth less than the safety of her kingdom? Or is he worth more than she could ever imagine?
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The King...
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Trust No One
MOIRA rolled his eyes at Lykalis as he sat behind her, his fingers twisting around the feathers of her wings, substantial in size but not yet opulent like his. It was molting season, for both teens and adults. Lykalis's first time molting would have been a mess, if not for the careful hands of her older brother gently aggravating the abrasive sheath covering her incoming feathers.
"You know, I can't always help you with everything." Moira said pointedly as he tossed an empty casing in the paper bag next to them. "You're technically a full-fledged adult now. You have to start doing things on your own."
Lykalis huffed, puffing her cheeks as she crossed her arms over her chest. She was sixteen and childish, vexed by the very prospect of being forced to take part in royal formalities she would never desire.
Years of her life had been catered towards one specific goal: to have fun. And fun she had, Moira encouraging fairly harmless mischief as they pranked the older guards, dumping buckets of water off the towers, laughing as they sputtered under an unforeseen rainstorm. Those days, she blindly refused to believe could ever end. She enjoyed being around Moira, she enjoyed bantering with him, and sure, they fought over petty things like who sat on the left in the carriage to visit father and Moira's words could be unintentionally hurtful just as she did the same to him, but—
That's what it meant to be siblings; to have fun, to wound each other, to forgive each other, to remember that they would always have each other's back.
Moira had every opportunity to give her a cold shoulder, to be ignorant of duties bestowed upon him simply because he was the elder brother and she was his younger sister. He could have hurt her in the most detrimental of ways, spitting venom and manipulative lies.
But he did no such thing.
He could never do such a thing.
"I know I am." She replied with a prideful turn of her head, feathers propping. "Besides, I do plenty of things on my own. You're just not there to see it because, oh guess what? I'm alone."
She smacked Moira with one of her wings and he yelped.
Lykalis let a proud smile form on her face.
Moira finished tugging the last casing off her inner feathers, before he grabbed the end of her short ponytail. He tugged on her hair, causing her head to jerk back slightly. He snickered as Lykalis let out an embarrassing shriek. He quickly let go of her head and darted out of her room.
