BRIGADE
The fire that had so quickly flared between them quiets but he cannot help but feel that all they are left with is the ash of what could have been. It causes a sharp pain in his chest, a regret that slices clean through him, and he does his best to grit his teeth and set his jaw so that he does not need to focus on the way that it hurts and the ways that he doesn’t understand why it does. It makes no sense. It makes none—
He cuts his thoughts off, his features as stormy as his thoughts.
“Then you don’t know me,” he says with a bitter bite, turning his head to the side, taking in a deep breath. “Have you ever betrayed your family?” It is almost a relief to say the words out loud and he takes his time turning his gaze back to her. This time, the strain on his face is clear, the grief underneath it apparent as he fights against the churning waters. “Have you stood on the sidelines and watched as a war was waged on your home and did nothing to stop it? Did nothing to stand up to it?” He swallows the fury down.
“I am a coward,” he admits and suddenly all the venom he had poured on her earlier redirects to himself.
His eyes close and his wings by his side transform to the chestnut and ivory of his twin, the grief so palpable as he reminds himself that he still doesn’t know where his parents are—still doesn’t know if his sister is okay. Still doesn’t know and is too scared to find out. What if they are gone? What if they are—
Again, he cuts himself off, unwilling to entertain the possibility further.
The weight of it sits like a stone in his chest as he listens to her, watching as she reaches for him and doesn’t flinch. “I am not afraid of being burned,” he says suddenly and then instantly regrets it.
the world was on fire and no one could save me but you
it's strange what desire will make foolish people do
@[Brinly]