Inheritance Redefined

Chapter Ten

Elara didn't look anyone in the eyes that morning and all the brothers noticed.

She kept her head down as she stepped out of the Calviero car, her backpack tight over one shoulder, lips pressed into a thin line. Without her colored contacts, everything felt exposed. Raw. Wrong.

Her eyes - one ice-blue, the other a deep, forest green - were too noticeable.
Too memorable.
Too easy to mock.

Back in London, it made her the target of rumors and whispers. Freak, they called her. The girl with witch eyes. She started wearing colored lenses before she turned ten, just to try and blend in. Just to try and survive.

Now, she didn't have a backup pair.
And the box that held her last lenses was ash.

She kept her gaze low as she walked through Viremont's marble halls. The blur of uniforms passed her like waves. No one could quite place what was off about her... not yet. But it was coming. She could feel it.

---

By second period, the whispers had started.

"Is she okay?"

"Something's off about her."

"What's wrong with her?"

"She looks... different."

Even Olivia gave her a worried look between classes. "Are you alright? Did something happen at home?" she asked softly.

Elara just shook her head and moved on without lifting her eyes from the ground.

At lunch she found a shaded bench in the garden, head bowed, fingers clutched in her skirt. It didn't matter that Viremont was supposed to be better than London. Here, everything still depended on how you were seen, on what your family name is.

And her eyes were impossible to ignore once you've seen them.

"Hey, Elara" Leo called over to her, balancing his tray on one hand like it weighed nothing. "Rough morning?"

Andre gave a small nod, his eyes sharp. "You okay?"

Elara hesitated. Then, slowly, she looked up.

Just for a second.

Both boys blinked.

"...whoa," Leo said.

Andre gave a quiet breath. "Didn't realize your eyes were..."

"Heterochromia," Elara muttered, heat rising in her face to her cheecks. "I used to wear colored contacts. I don't... anymore."

"They are amazing!" Leo yelled. Andre nodded in agreement. "Yeah, why did you hide them? They are awesome."

Elara's face got even redder. "The kids in London weren't as accepting as you two are. I was bullied for years because of my eyes. I was the freak of the school, even after I started using coloured contacts."

Leo whistled while Andre looked angry. "You know that's not how it is here, right? Even if people don't like your eyes, they can't say anything about it. You're a Calviero. If people mess with you they mess with your whole family and that means they mess with the all five Empires. And you aren't the only one with Heterochromia. All three the heir of the Drakos Empire has Heterochromia. It's normal by now."

"There are others? I haven't seen them." Elara asked, eager to see someone like her.

"Yeah, the youngest two heirs still go school here. The oldest heir graduated last year. They're all a bunch of entitled pricks if you ask me. Most heirs are. Don't tell anyone I said that." Andre muttered.

Leo rolled his eyes and smirked. "Come on, let's go inside."

He took Elara's hand and dragged her to the table Olivia was sitting at, explaining for Elara what was wrong and then leaving with Andre to go sit with Elias and the rest of their friends.

Olivia gasped as soon as she saw Elara's eyes. "Wait wait wait. Your eyes. You've had those eyes this whole time? That's so - honestly, I wish. They're stunning El."

Anastasia sat down beside Elara with a dramatic flair and gave her a slow once-over. "Model-level genetics," she declared. "And you've been hiding them this whole time? Tsk. I feel betrayed."

She makes a dramatic gesture as if she was stabbed and all three girls burst out laughing, earning a few curious glances from nearby tables.

Elara laughed once more under her breath before speaking. "You don't understand. It was a problem back home. People didn't like it. Thought my eyes were weird."

Anastasia rolled her eyes. "People always think anything unique is wierd. What matters is how you feel about your eyes. Personally, I think you look like a rockstar with those eyes."

Olivia nodded in agreement. "Here here!" She yelled with her mouth stuffed with food.

---

Across the courtyard, seated at one of the elevated tables, overlooking the area, Orion Drakos leaned forward, his tray untouched on the table.

He hadn't meant to stare.

He hadn't meant to care.

But the moment Elara Calviero lifted her head - even from across the courtyard - something in him stilled.

One eye blue. One eye green.

Just like -

He stood abruptly, grabbing his phone and stepping away from the noise his friends were making. His fingers hovered over two numbers, Dad and Grandpa. He hesitated, then rolled his eyes and dialed a third.

It rang once.

Then, "Orion, darling," came the warm, clipped Greek-accented voice of his grandmother. "Calling me during school hours? Should I be flattered or worried?"

"There's a new girl at Viremont," he said quickly. "The new Calviero. She has our eyes. Both of them an exact replica."

A pause.

"I figured I'd tell you," Orion added. "Since no one else ever picks up."