Aria screamed as she flung her large bed frame into the castle wall. It crumbled to pieces. But that alone wasn’t enough to satisfy Aria’s rage. She needed to find something—anything—to smash.

  She saw a flower vase with blue roses. Perfect! She went towards them and reached out her hand, only for it to be caught by her brother. She quickly turned to him, her facial expression showing rage.

  Alden winced at his sister. He was in the process of letting go of her wrist, his fingers losing their grip. But he remained strong. His loosened grip strengthened.

  “You can’t break that,” Alden said weakly. “It’s a present from Lycan, and you know how hard it is to find blue roses in this season.”

  “It’s because it’s from Lycan that I want to smash it!” Aria screamed. Aria pushed her hand forward, but Alden wouldn’t let go. Aria turned to him, her face stale and her eyes staring at him, unmoving.

  “I—I won’t let you break it,” Alden stuttered. She could use more force to reach the vase, but she might hurt Alden in the process. She didn’t want that. None of the twins wanted to hurt one another.

  She sighed. “Alright, fine! I won’t break it. Now let go of me.”

  “Do you promise?” Alden asked.

  “I promise,” Aria answered. Alden let go of his sister. Aria walked away from Alden and the vase, her eyes shifting towards it. The moment her brother left its side, Aria rushed towards it. A fist was brought out.

  Alden quickly ran back to the vase. He stood in front of it with his arms extended to the side.

  Aria stopped inches from her brother’s face. He turned away and closed his eyes. Aria brought her fist down and clicked her tongue out of annoyance.

  She turned away from him and sat on the stone floor. Her knees raised to her face, and her arms went over them as she rested her face on her knees.

  She faced the destroyed wall of the castle. A gentle breeze pushed against Aria, waving her red, fiery hair. She had a good view of the outside and its greenery.

  She stayed quiet, not saying anything. Alden, noticing this, sat beside his sister. His legs were crossed.

  “You know, this place kind of looks like the farm. Don’t you think?” Alden said. “With how green it is.”

  “This is NOTHING like the farm!” Aria blurted out. “The air here—It’s too clean. Too breathable. Not enough pig shit smell.”

  Alden laughed. “Yeah, you’re right. I never thought I’d ever miss waking up to that.”

  “Neither did I,” Aria said. Alden smiled at his sister. He felt he was making some progress.

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  “And Father’s not here,” Aria said, her voice low and cracking. She grabbed the fabric of her clothes tighter. Alden’s smile dropped. They stood in silence for a while, looking through the destroyed wall and into the fields. It was calming.

  Alden took a deep breath and let it all out for what he was about to say. He knew she wouldn’t like it, but he felt he still had to tell her.

  “Revenge won’t bring him back, Aria. You know that, don’t you?”

  Aria let out a huge puff of air. “Yeah. I know. I’m not stupid!”

  “I never said you were. It’s just—”

  “Just what!?” Aria snapped.

  Alden’s mouth moved, but no words came out. “Nothing.” He turned away from his sister.

  Aria turned back to the outside. An ache appeared in her chest. ‘Why am I like this?’, Aria thought. ‘He didn’t deserve that. He doesn’t deserve a sister like me.’

  Aria turned her eye to her brother but not her head. He looked so sad. Her eyes averted from him. Her thoughts wandered to a memory of their father. The memory of his face was slowly fading, but not quite gone yet. His voice, however, Aria could never forget.

  Soft and strong at the same time. She remembered him singing her lullabies and scolding her a lot. One memory of her father was her fondest.

  He placed his hand on her scruffy, fiery red hair and knelt down to her level.

  “You need to look after your brother, Aria. He’s not as strong-willed as you. So protect him when he’s not able to. Can you do that for me?” her father asked.

  Little Aria nodded. “Mmm-hmm. I can do that. I promise.”

  Aria opened her eyes. The memory was over. She turned to her brother. Looking back at the memory, Aria thought maybe her father was just trying to be kind to her when he made her make that promise.

  Sure, Alden wasn’t like her, but Aria saw that as a good thing. He was calm. She was anything but. He thought things out. Anytime she couldn’t resolve something, violence would be her first thought.

  She always messed things up in the heat of the moment, and Alden would always save her from herself. Alden was the one who was looking out for her, not the other way around.

  “Hey. Are you still mad?” Alden asked.

  “No,” Aria answered.

  “Good,” Alden said. They returned to silence. “To tell you the truth, when Lycan told us that we didn’t have to join the travellers yet because he thought we were too young, I was… relieved.”

  His legs still crossed, he interlocked his fingers. “I know you want to do something now, but can’t we just wait for a little while longer?”

  Aria didn’t respond to her brother. She didn’t even turn to look at him. Alden’s heart became heavier, and he let out a huge sigh.

  “When Lycan does think we’re ready, we’ll have to start fighting and killing again. You’ve done the majority of that for both of us, so… thanks.”

  Alden got up from the floor and walked away from Aria. He faced the wooden door and looked back at his sister. Her face still faced the destroyed stone wall. He hoped that maybe she’d look back too. But she didn’t have to for him.

  “When we do join the rest of the pack with their plans to find the ritual, just know—I’ll have your back, Aria. I always will.”

  Aria still didn’t turn back to her brother. With a saddened look on his face, Alden exited the room. Hearing the opening and closing of the door, Aria finally turned back.

  She could still hear her brother’s heartbeat. When she didn’t hear it anymore, she stood on her feet. The night sky was approaching. The atmosphere was getting darker.

  Aria removed her boots and tied them to her ankles using her shoelaces.

  She looked outside once more. The moon was slowly shining its face in the heavens. She clenched her fists.

  “I’m sorry, Alden, but I can’t wait for Lycan’s approval anymore.”

  She jumped, descending quickly. She brought out her claws from her hands and feet. With one side of her hand and the same side of her leg, she jabbed the castle walls—but not completely. She slid down, her indented claws slowing her descent.

  Finally reaching the ground, she ran on all fours and passed the barrier surrounding the castle.