You Are Not Our Sister, Kaelith

Corven stepped over the scattered herbs without even looking down, his eyes locked on Tallis as he marched toward us.

“What were you saying to her?” he asked, voice low but trembling with anger.

Tallis didn’t move. He planted his feet like he was bracing for a storm. “It is none of your business.”

Corven scoffed.

My heart dropped. Corven rarely scoffed. When he did, it meant he was done being calm. It meant blood was close.

“I asked you again, Tallis,” Corven growled, stepping in closer. “What were you saying to her?!”

Things were spiraling fast, faster than I could breathe. I had to stop it. I squeezed myself between them and pressed a hand to Corven’s chest to force distance. The moment my palm touched him, I felt his heartbeat. It was racing far beyond normal.

“Corven, look at me,” I whispered urgently. “Please. I’m sure Tallis didn’t mean what he said. He was probably joking. We… we joke like that sometimes, right, Tallis?”

I glanced back, silently begging him to agree so this could die quietly.

Tallis said nothing.

“Right, Tallis?” I pressed, eyes pleading now.

He looked at me, then at Corven… and said one tiny word.

“No.”

That was all it took.

Corven’s rage erupted. I didn’t even see the shove coming. My back slammed against the herb shelf. Dust shot into the air as glass jars filled with dried leaves, roots, and tiny labeled petals rattled violently. A few fell, breaking open on the floor.

Before I could steady myself, Corven was already on Tallis.

His punch was brutal and fast. It landed square on Tallis’s jaw. Then he grabbed Tallis by the shirt and yanked him up with a snarl.

“Say that again! You love our sister? Our younger sister?!”

He punched him again.

Tallis hit the floor, blood already forming at the corner of his mouth.

“Stop—please!”

I screamed, stumbling toward them as more jars crashed to the ground. Neither of them heard me. Or maybe they did and didn’t care.

Corven hauled Tallis up again. “What kind of a brother are you? Is that why I found you in her room two nights ago? Staring at her while she slept? I asked you, Tallis! You told me you heard noises and wanted to check on her!”

He shook him violently. “How long have you been nurturing this forbidden desire? Tell me, how long, Tallis?!”

He pulled his fist back for another blow—but Tallis caught it midair. 

For a split second, everything froze. Then Tallis shoved him back.

He wiped his bloody mouth with the back of his hand and spat to the side.

“Forbidden desires, Corven?” he laughed weakly. “Then what are your desires for her called?”

Corven froze.

“You and I both know you’re only this mad because I told her first,” Tallis continued. “Something you never had the balls to do. You think I don’t know you love her too?”

Corven’s gaze snapped to me.

“That’s not true, Kaelith.” He turned back to Tallis. “Shut up!”

But Tallis didn’t.

“It’s obvious, man. It’s fucking obvious, so stop pretending to be the good guy, because you’re not. And the only reason I’m not fighting back is because you’re my brother.”

Tallis’s gaze shifted from Corven to me and stiffened when he noticed the thin line of blood sliding down my elbow. A piece of glass from a broken jar had cut me, and the red drop kept falling. His voice came out in a whisper, as if the word itself frightened him.

“Is that blood?”

He moved toward me, but Corven stepped in first and reached for my hand.

“You’re bleeding. We need to clean that right now,” Corven said, pulling my hand gently but firmly as he examined the cut. He started guiding me behind the counter where he kept herbs and clothes, but Tallis grabbed my other hand immediately and pulled me back toward him.

“I will do it,” Tallis said, his voice deeper, harder. His grip tightened like he wanted to pull me away completely.

Corven didn’t let go. “Leave her, Tallis. She’s hurt.”

“You let go. I said I’ll handle it.”

They pulled me back and forth like I was some rope in a fight I never signed up for. Their anger surged again, louder and sharper. They were talking over each other, arguing about who had the right to take care of me. Every tug sent a sharp sting up my arm. The cut began bleeding even more. The pain spread from my elbow to my fingers.

I begged them to stop, voice shaking. “Please, stop. You’re hurting me.”

They didn't even notice me. They were lost in their fury, too consumed by whatever they felt for me.

Their hands tightened around me, the pressure making my wrist throb and my hand burn until tears gathered in my eyes.

Since they wouldn’t listen to my voice, I reached out with my leg and kicked the closest jar off the shelf. It crashed onto the floor, shattering loudly.

The sound finally broke through them.

They paused. Their eyes dropped to my arm, and the blood ran down faster now, worsened by their struggle. I jerked my hands free immediately and stepped back. My heart pounded painfully against my ribs.

I looked at both of them, tears spilling down my cheeks. “Where are my brothers?” My voice trembled. “What has gotten into you both? How can you be fighting like this because of me? How can either of you say you love me? Have you forgotten that we are family? Corven… Tallis… I’m your—”

“You are not our sister, Kaelith.”

They spoke at the same time, the same sentence, the same breath.

Everything inside me stopped.

The words hit me so hard my vision blurred. A sharp ache shot through my skull. I pressed my hand to my forehead as the pain crawled deeper.

I forced the words out. “Did you just say that to me?”

They both tried to explain—stuttering, scrambling, trying to soften it somehow. But I didn’t want to hear any of it. The moment had already carved itself into me.

They made it clear.

I was not their sister.

I was not part of their family.

And as the truth settled heavily in my chest, I knew it was time. Time to search for the people I truly came from. The ones whose blood ran in my veins. The ones I had been running from and longing for without even knowing it.

I walked to the counter. My steps were weak. My hands trembled as I reached for my bag. I didn’t look at either of them again.

With my bleeding arm and a heart breaking inside my chest, I walked out of the shop.