Chapter 48: There’s A Mole Amongst Us
Zephan;
"What’s wrong with you, Zethar?" The words leave my mouth as I watch my brother closely, and he smiles.
That stubborn smile he always gives when he’s hiding something.
"What are you talking about? I’m fine." He lies, and my eyes notice the reluctant coil of his tail behind him.
"I missed you while I was away." He speaks as he slithers closer to me.
"Did you miss me, brother?" He questions as he opens his arms, and I look back at his face.
He’s smiling, but I can feel his hurt.
He forgets every time that I can feel bits of his emotion. He forgets I can feel bits of his emotion... the sorrow in him is in my heart too
He treats me like the rest of the world, but he forgets that we hatched from the same egg.
I smile at him as I know he hates pity, and I move closer to him.
I pull him into a hug, and he buries his face in my neck as my arms wrap around him.
I gently stroke his hair, and he lets out a breath.
My presence soothes him as usual. But it’s not enough. I know he’s injured, but I need to know what’s wrong to be able to help him.
"I heard you laid waste to Balinar’s men," I speak softly as I stroke his hair, and he scoffs.
"It wasn’t as satisfying as it sounds. I couldn’t protect what mattered most." He whispers, and my heart aches at the sorrow in his voice.
"He died trying to save me. Took a knife to his heart for me..." He adds, and I swallow.
"He’s always been loyal to a fault," I reply as I tighten my grip on my brother, and he does the same.
"I failed him. It was my duty to protect him." He croaks, and I let out a breath.
"We failed you. We should have known Balinar was on our land. We should have known he was coming after you. We should have known your life was in danger. If we did better... Maruck would still be here... And you wouldn’t be nursing an injury for two days without any attention to it." I reply, and he goes rigid.
He gently pulls away from me, and I watch his face. I tuck his hair behind his ear and smile at him.
"It’s no one’s fault that Balinnar is such an audacious fuck." He spits, and I smile bitterly.
"It’s not your fault that Maruck had such a good heart," I reply, and he pauses as he stares at me.
He scoffs and gently smacks my hand away from his face.
"You know you’re older than me by just 30 seconds. You don’t always have to act so old." He scolds, and I scoff.
My eyes dart back down to his tail, which is coiling sluggishly as he moves, and this heightens my worry.
"I’m not done acting old. What’s wrong with your tail?" I question as I tap into my beast core and allow my tail to come out as well.
Zethar tries to move away as I approach his tail, but his movements are sluggish.
"You know you need my help. Don’t be difficult." I scold, and he pauses.
"Where’s your injury?" I demand further, and he sighs.
"Goodness, you’re annoying." He says with a roll of his eyes as he slithers to his bed.
He sits at the edge of it and looks at me with his usual indifference.
"It’s nothing serious. I just got a little tear during the exchange. It’ll heal in no time." He says as he flips his tail, and my heart skips a beat when I see the gaping cut at the side of his tail.
It’s about 12 inches long, jagged like it was clawed open. It looks bled heavily... and probably hurts like hell. I blink at the red slit in his black tail, and my skin crawls as I wonder how hard it must be to slither with such a wound.
I look back up at him, but he’s staring at his fingernails like they’re precious gems he just discovered.
"How did you manage this?" I demand as I move closer to examine the wound.
"I didn’t do anything to it. I just didn’t shift for two days." He replies, and my eyes widen.
I turn back to him and he flashes me a mock smile.
"Instead of treating yourself, you avoided shifting to your animal form?! What kind of logic is that?!" I rage, and he shrugs while feigning innocence.
"It helped control the bleeding." He says, and I blink at my insane brother in disbelief.
"But using your man form to hide a beast wound is draining," I note, and he shrugs before leaning back on his hands and staring at the ceiling.
"I survived." He replies, and I blink at him.
"Getting Maruck back home was more important." He adds, and I sigh.
I slither over to the bed and sit beside him.
He won’t admit it, but I know what’s going on. He blames himself for Maruck’s death, so he’s using this as a punishment. He doesn’t want me or anyone else to help with this wound because he wants to suffer through this pain.
I let myself down on his bed, and as my back touches the cool bedding, I let out a sigh. I need to fix him. But it’ll do no good to be direct about it.
"Balinar will certainly come here," I state, and I feel him turn around to look at me.
"Imagine his satisfaction when he sees you pale and limping," I add before looking at Zethar, and he blinks at me.
"I can already picture that infuriating smile of his," I add before looking away, and the bed dips as Zethar lies down beside me.
"I wish I could kill him." He whispers, and I turn to look at him. I see the pain in his eyes, and I force a smile.
"At the rate he’s going, he’ll soon give us an excuse to strike. But I need you to be alive and healthy enough to teach him a lesson when the time is right." I reply, and he blinks at me.
"If we leave that wound unattended and it gets infected, you could lose a leg oror be left with a permanent limp," I add, and he stares at me in silence.
"Can I fix it?" I push, and he shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath.
"Fine." He replies as he tilts his head away, giving me access to his neck.
I smile in triumph as I bear my fangs.
I move closer to him, and he groans softly as my fangs sink into his skin. I let my venom flow into his system, and I watch as his injury immediately responds.
He groans louder as the wound starts closing up. This is a common practice for Nagarians. Our venom may kill outsiders, but for each other, it’s a healing potion.
I take my mouth away from his skin, and he rubs his neck as my bite mark vanishes.
He lifts his tail and examines it, and I watch in silence.
"I’m cold." He suddenly says, and I raise a brow at him.
He moves closer with a knowing smile, and I scoff at this needy side of him.
"I’m only allowing this cause you’re still recovering," I note, and he chuckles.
I open my arms and he rolls into my embrace with his tail curling around mine like we used to do when we were little boys to fight the cold.
He’s currently the most important person in my life, and although I may nt show it, I am so relieved he survived Balinar’s men.
This, however, leaves me with so many questions.
How did Balinar know where he was? How could Balinar’s men slip into our territory without us knowing? I was so close to losing my brother.
There’s a mole amongst us.
But who??