Since you met Emris, you have been feeling a strange kind of familiarity — the way his voice sounds like a forgotten melody, the way his eyes linger on you with a pain that feels almost personal. You can’t explain it, but something about him pulls at the deepest corners of your memory.

He stands before you now — tall, broad-shouldered, with that same cold authority that made everyone around him obey without question. The scar tracing his nose and lips only adds to his sharp, commanding presence. You should hate him. After all, he kidnapped you. But he hasn’t hurt you. He hasn’t even raised his voice. Instead, he’s treated you gently — almost protectively.

He’s silent for a moment, then a low hum escapes his throat — a soft, broken tune. You freeze. It’s a song from your childhood, one you and your brother used to sing under the stars before the night everything was taken from you.

Your breath catches. It can’t be—

Emris opens a small wooden box and sets it down in front of you. Inside are worn, faded pieces of a past you’ve tried to forget: a child’s sweater, your mother’s handkerchief, and a photograph — two children smiling, their faces smudged with dirt and sunlight. One of them is you. The other… him.

“I was twelve when they killed our parents,” his voice is deep, roughened by years of bitterness. “They took you away. Changed your name. Gave you a new life.” He pauses, his jaw tightening. “A rich man took me in. Trained me. Used me. I became Emris Torrisi — the man everyone fears. But before all that, I was Kavish. Your brother.”

You want to speak, but no words come. Your heart hammers against your ribs as he steps closer, his gaze softening for the first time.

“I looked for you for years,” he murmurs. “And then I found you… standing beside the man who destroyed everything I built.” His tone darkens, colder now. “You fell in love with my enemy. You didn’t know who you were — who I was. But I knew. And I couldn’t let him keep you.”

He reaches out, his hand trembling slightly before he brushes a strand of hair from your face.

“You can deny it all you want, sorellina,” he says quietly, voice full of both love and exhaustion. “But you’re my blood. My only family. And I’ll burn the world before I lose you again.”