Underneath the Silhouette
Chapter 102: Shades of Family

Chapter 102: Shades of Family

Shade walked back to the second building, his right hand jammed deep into his pocket, his knuckles white against the dark fabric. His expression was grim, a mask of tightly controlled tension, as if he were bracing himself to face some devastating news he desperately wished to avoid.

Each step was heavy, deliberate, echoing faintly in the quiet academic halls as he moved towards the farthest end of the second building—to the very room where chaos had reigned just hours before.

Shade paused outside the door, inhaling deeply, drawing in a shaky breath that did little to calm the frantic drumbeat against his ribs. The cool air seemed to scrape at the raw edges of his nerves. He pushed the door open, the heavy wood groaning softly on its hinges, revealing the familiar, comfortable chaos of the common room he shared with Eirin.

"Did you enjoy your little stroll with your girlfriend?"

Trixtan’s voice, dripping with playful insinuation, cut through the tense silence, shattering the fragile calm Shade had tried to construct. Trixtan sat sprawled on a plush, emerald-green sofa, a half-eaten apple balanced precariously on his knee, his usual carefree grin plastered across his face.

Shade’s gaze, sharp and cold, pinned him. "Cut the crap and just tell me what I need to know." Shade said, his voice flat, devoid of its usual sarcastic bite. Jokes held no place in the heavy atmosphere pressing down on him. "Why did you call me here?" His eyes darted around the room, noting the closed blinds, the subtle shimmer of a privacy charm, confirming the gravity of the meeting.

Trixtan smiled, a relaxed, almost serene expression that belied the tension in the room. He patted the vacant cushion beside him on the sofa, a silent invitation to sit. Shade, weary of the unspoken theatrics, of the constant emotional assault of the day, walked over and dropped onto the sofa without another word. The plush cushions sank beneath his weight, offering a deceptive comfort.

"I’m just trying to calm your nerves," Trixtan said, his voice dropping a notch, the playfulness receding. He reached out and patted Shade’s shoulder, a gesture of unexpected comfort, a rare display of quiet understanding between them. "What I’m about to say is something that I am not allowed to tell anyone but the Queen and the elders. And now, you."

Shade’s jaw tightened, his gaze fixed on Trixtan, an unspoken command for him to continue, to get to the point. His nerves were anything but calm. The very air around him seemed to thicken, heavy with impending revelation.

Trixtan sighed, a long, drawn-out sound that seemed to carry the weight of a secret. "You know I was sent to the Infirmus to watch over the movements of the æons, right?" Shade gave a terse nod, his answer clipped.

"I was undercover, and I really got into where their lair was—imagine how dangerous that was for me!" he added, a desperate attempt to lighten the mood, a fleeting return to his usual self-deprecating humor. But his gaze soon turned serious, the light in his eyes dimming, replaced by a profound gravity that eclipsed his usual flippancy.

"While I was there," Trixtan continued, his voice softer, almost reverent, "I met a woman. Remember what I said before? About Eirin’s autograph? The person behind it was that someone. Her name was Sheena... Sheena Cromwell.

The name hung in the air like a sudden clap of thunder, shaking the very foundations of Shade’s world. His eyes widened, pupils dilating, a primal shock seizing him. His body went rigid, all the suppressed tension in his shoulders suddenly locked into place.

"Where is she now?"

The question was a desperate gasp, torn from his throat. Trixtan tried to calm Shade down, a hand rising in a placating gesture, but the young man had no time to calm down. The revelation, the unbelievable, impossible truth, pulsed through him. All this time, the person he was searching for, the phantom memory that haunted his waking hours and stalked his dreams... he finally learned of her location.

"Why did you leave her?" The accusation was sharp, edged with a grief he hadn’t allowed himself to feel in years.

Trixtan raised both hands in front of him, a gesture of surrender, his expression now openly empathetic. "Calm down, Shade. Your mother’s doing well there, and you know I can’t do things that are out of my orders."

Shade balled his fists, knuckles white, trembling with an almost unbearable surge of fury and a desperate, surging hope. Hope for reunion, fury at the circumstance that kept them apart.

"You’re right," Shade ground out, the words raw. "I should be the one to save her from that place." He tilted his head, a muscle in his jaw working, and cracked his knuckles, the sharp snap echoing in the quiet room. "Just tell me where it is, and I’ll go." A dangerous glint entered his eyes, a reckless determination. He was ready to burn down the entire world if it meant finding her.

Trixtan, faster than Shade anticipated, grabbed his arm, his grip surprisingly strong, anchoring Shade to the sofa, to the reality of their conversation. "You can’t. Just like what I told you, she’s doing well there. She’s safe because someone of high rank is keeping her safe."

Hearing that, Shade’s mind reeled, a fresh wave of confusion washing over him, displacing the anger. Why would someone of high rank keep his mother safe in the very place that had kidnapped them, that had torn them apart all those years ago? It made no sense.

"Why would someone like that keep my mother safe?" Shade demanded, his voice strained, laced with disbelief. "Did you forget that those people were the very reason why we’re apart? And I was the one saved instead of her!" The injustice of it, the bitter irony, was a physical ache in his chest. Every memory of his childhood, of the endless, fruitless search, was tainted by this new, disturbing information.

Trixtan sighed, a deep, heavy exhalation, his usual jolly expression nowhere to be seen, replaced by a serious face, etched with a gravity that only Shade, in their shared moments of vulnerability could truly witness. The weight of the secret seemed to press down on Trixtan, too.

"It’s her son, your brother. He’s someone of high rank in that place."

The news struck Shade dumbfounded, a cruel, disorienting blow. All sorts of emotions, a chaotic storm, went through him in rapid succession. From raw, searing anger at the revelation, to profound grief for a life he never knew, and finally to a bewildering, unsettling confusion.

’A brother? In that place?’ Shade thought. "D-Did they force her to give birth? W-Was she—" He couldn’t even continue speaking, the words choked in his throat. The images that flashed through his mind were too gruesome, too horrifying, something he didn’t want to imagine, a darkness he recoiled from.

Trixtan sighed again, his gaze unwavering, compassionate. "At first, she was forced to bear a child... but she said she started loving the child before it was even born as it reminded her of you, Shade. She saw you in him." Trixtan paused, allowing the words to sink in, to twist in Shade’s gut. "And I know that is something you didn’t wish for her to go through, my friend, but she is much safer there than here, with him."

Shade bit his lower lip, almost a childish gesture of distress, trying to process the enormity of it all. A brother. A brother born of captivity, loved by his mother because he resembled him. The thought was a complicated knot of agony and faint, unbidden tenderness.

"I have a brother... did you learn who it was? His name? Anything?" Shade asked, a desperate hope clinging to his voice.

Trixtan shook his head, a gesture of regret. "No. His identity is tightly guarded, even from those close to him. But all I know is that they’re taking great care of your mother because of him. He is powerful, influential. I told her about you, Shade, about your survival, about your search. Sheena said that she misses you a lot, and that there was never a day that she didn’t want to see you, to hold you again, to know you were safe."

"Then the more I need to see her!" Shade erupted, his voice cracking with emotion, the unfiltered pain of years of separation finally breaking through his carefully constructed defenses. He started to rise, a desperate need for action propelling him.

Trixtan shook his head again, a firm, unyielding gesture. His hand tightened on Shade’s arm, keeping him grounded. "But she also said that’s fine for now, Shade. And she needs to stay with your brother, because she’s the only one he’s got. He truly relies on her. It’s her choice, Shade. Her sacrifice, for his safety, for your safety, in a way."

Shade released himself from Trixtan’s grip, running both hands through his hair, then pressing his palms to his temples, suppressing whatever chaotic surge of feelings was tearing through him.

"What else?"

Trixtan cleared his throat, his expression still grave. "She said, instead of searching for her, search for your father. He probably needs you. She believes he’s still out there, somewhere, searching for the two of you."

"How am I going to search for him when I’m stuck here, bound by the academy rules?" Shade sighed.

Trixtan leaned over, patting Shade’s shoulder once more. "I’ll help you in any way I can, Shade. You know I will."

Shade nodded. "I appreciate that." It was the first time he said something like that, causing Trixtan to swallow hard.

"Also... I have to apologize."

Shade raised a brow. "For what?"

The usual cheeky smile of Trixtan appeared. "I told other people about your kiss with Eirin, hehe," he giggled, leaving the young man dumbfounded.