The Firelands

82 - Through The Heart

                 

16th day of the forth Month, Worth's Moon

3:00 pm

The Forgotten Temple

The silence that followed Theth's surprise attack was unbearable because Zedkiel didn't know what Eldor would do or what he was thinking as he hovered right beside Falsina's unconscious form.

The second he moved, Zedkiel flinched but he just folded up one arm and pressed his other hands to his eyes, letting out a sigh as if everything was very bothersome.

"Oh Zedki," he said slowly, "Do you have any idea how much your new friends annoy me?"

Zedkiel didn't reply. He could imagine considering anything involving him seemed to annoy his eldest brother.

"I do hope those idiot excuses for Angelic Princes finish that wretched angel off, what's wrong with his wings by the way?"

"Nothing is wrong with them," Zedkiel muttered, "They are just different."

Eldor snorted. "What a ridiculous notion. They're wrong and make him a freak; the same way Cirdan is a freak. Though of course you would just call him 'different' – a convenient way to cover everything that is wrong about him."

"There is nothing wrong with Cirdan," Zedkiel said, his voice still small and quiet, growing quieter when Eldor looked at him.

"How did you survive?"

"What?"

"How did you survive the poison? I assume you aren't immune or something," Eldor said.

"No, I'm not. We were lucky enough to find the antidote in time," Zedkiel replied.

"Ah, that's a relief."

"Wh—" Zedkiel started, looking up right before Eldor appeared inches from him and slammed a dagger into his abdomen, twisting the blade once, twice and a third time, holding it tight as Zedkiel let out a scream of pain before he wrenched the blade free.

"Right," Eldor said, his tone completely business-like. "This time if you would be so kind as to die from the poisoning, I would most grateful."

Zedkiel's body went limp as he stared wide-eyed at his brother, breathing hard. Should have lied. Most definitely should have lied there. His mistake.

"Now there's enough poison on that blade to kill you within the hour – if not sooner," Eldor said, moving back to the hammock Falsina lay in, drifting down and sitting on the edge, crossing his legs and watching Zedkiel. "And I have time."

"You will not replace me, Eldor," Zedkiel growled through clenched teeth, twisting his arms to try and pull them free.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Even if you manage to kill me, you will not replace me. You will never gain the markings I have. My dragon is never going to accept you and the others... they will never, ever allow you to be one of them."

Eldor looked at him for a long moment, then gently settled his chin in his palm and smiled.

"I'm not trying to replace you," he said softly, "As much as I hate you for it, you are the Knight of Earth, a member of the Dragon Realm realmlore, I cannot change that, no matter what I do." He shrugged. "My job is not to replace you, it is simply to remove you."

"Why!?" Zedkiel snarled. "Why do you care? This has nothing to do with you!"

"Because I hate you, Zedkiel, as I always have. Your enemy is my friend, simple as that," Eldor said.