Page 145 of Scourged

Sebastian leaned forward, eyes focusing on the book Andrian was reading. His brows pushed together even as he smiled.

“‘A History of Dragons?’” He looked at Andrian. “Again?”

Andrian grunted, shifting in his seat. “What? It’s a favorite.”

“Oh, trust me. I know. I remember that being the one item you brought with you when you moved to the capital. How you read it every night for eight years. Often aloud and to the rest of us, whether we wanted to listen or not.”

“Of course, you all wanted to listen. They’re stories about dragons.” Andrian shot him a weak glare out of the corner of his eye. “What boys aren’t obsessed with dragons?”

Sebastian chuckled. “Fair,” He settled further into the seat. “They say the stories are true. But they’re all so old, they feel more like fiction now.”

“I still believe in them.”

They fell silent. For the briefest of moments, Andrian let himself fall into the idea of dragons walking the earth again. Three decades into his life, and he didn’t think he’d ever give up those boyhood dreams of one day hearing one roar.

Andrian almost scoffed at himself. He might believe in the stories, but to think dragons could return? Those were the wishes of a child.

The dragons were gone, and they were never coming back.

“Did you need something, Sebastian?” Andrian’s tone was almost bored as he turned to fully face Sebastian. The otherman’s brows were knitted in contemplation, and he shook his head slightly before running a hand through his hair.

“Yes,” he began, his words slow. “I have …” He drew a deep breath, rubbing his palms across his thighs. “I’ve come to apologize.”

Well … of all things, Andrian certainly hadn’t expectedthat.

Andrian blinked. “Apologize?”

“Yes. Apologize.” Sebastian turned away, looking at the marble fireplace on the other side of the room. “I was an ass … after. I’ve known you my entire life, and the moment that was tested, I treated you like an enemy. And I’m … I’m sorry.”

Andrian kept his expression schooled into neutrality, a skill he practiced far too often. “I was an enemy. You don’t have to apologize for treating me like one.”

“No. No, you weren’t. And we all know—knew—that. But I was so angry at myself for failing that I didn’t even care.”

A heavy silence extended between them.

“She wouldn’t have been taken if it hadn’t been for me,” Andrian murmured, his voice too soft, too quiet, too empty.

Sebastian whipped his head. “But you don’t remember any of it. You have no memories until she woke you up with the bond.” His eyes narrowed. “Right?”

Andrian’s jaw worked. “No, I don’t remember any of it. I’ve tried; trust me. I spent those early days back from Khento drowning myself. Both in whiskey and in my memories. But no matter how deep I tried to go, nothing came up. It’s like it never even happened.” He scratched at a frayed thread in his chair.

“But even without my memories, I know, in mysoul, that it was my hands who took her. It was this body that tormented her. And for her, itwasme. He might not have been me, but he wore my face, and spoke with my voice.” He refused to meet Sebastian’s stare, too afraid of what he might find there.

Andrian drew in a shaky inhale. “I keep people distanced from me because I don’t want to see them hurt. To lose them. To be the one who causes those things. It happened first with my mother, and I swore to myself, never again.” He clenched his hands. “But I was too fucking weak. I let Mariah in. And it happened again.”

He finally risked a glance at Sebastian, whose eyes were now wide, expression open. “I don’t want your pity. I don’t want your apologies. You treated me the way I deserved. You treated me the way I would’ve treated myself, had the roles been reversed.”

The room was quiet and still. Understanding—something the two men hadn’t shared with the other in a long, long time—passed between them. The understanding of two brothers who knew each other too well and were now bound by something more than just an oath or a mark on their chest.

Love made things weak, but once tempered, it could be forged into something indestructible.

Even love between brothers, even if they shared no blood.

Sebastian broke the stillness with a great, drawling inhale. “Okay, then. No apologies.” He smiled. “Acknowledgment, then?”

Andrian leaned back and nodded. “Yes. Acknowledgment.”

Sebastian smiled tentatively. “Good.” His gaze drifted around the room before returning to Andrian. “So, what do you plan to do now?”