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Eris hovered at the door of Silas’ chambers, but did not enter. A small, meaningless courtesy that Silas could only imagine was supposed to be a balm on the rest of their lives broadly, and on the fact that Eris threw the door wide open without warning regardless.
It looked like a tornado had torn through the bedroom, as it often did. Silas liked to say that he thrived in chaos, but truthfully he hated the idea of unseen servants in his bedroom, and could not be bothered to maintain them himself. Last night’s silk coat was thrown across the bed, rumpled and wine stained -he wondered how that happened briefly, before reminding himself that it didn’t matter. It had and the periwinkle jacket had been hide ous; the wine red was an improvement, really. He should stain the rest of it.
There was a quiet sigh on the divan beside him. Silas frowned slightly at the unfamiliar face cushioned on his thigh. A woman who’s name he’d either forgotten or never learned slept with her head in his lap. The mere fact that she was still asleep raised questions. Questions like why on earth Eris was barging into his room without making through his door at such an early hour.
Oh.
The sun was setting. Nevermind.
“Silas, we are going hunting.” News to share, then. Eris rarely ever went through the trouble of dragging Silas from his den for anything less, and Silas never let him succeed for anything but the most sensitive gossip.
“Right now, brother?”
“Yes, right now. I hear the game is good.” Well, he seemed eager to share whatever it was he had ferreted away in his sick little brain.
“Get dressed and tell your friend to go home.”
Silas groaned, annoyed, but shoved the woman off him, grabbing blindly for an overcoat. Far be it from him to flout the rules of propriety. Silas would never be caught dead in such a state of undress.
“You heard him. Out.”
“Silas, just because you put your dick in her doesn’t mean you need to be one. For fuck’s sake, help the girl find her clothes in this mess.” The contempt drips thickly from the words.
“You said the game was good now, I wouldn't want to miss it,” he replied, strolling out the door, shoving his cold pipe into his pocket. Silas couldn’t have given less of a shit about hunting, but Eris would leave him alone sooner if they went now. The woman would clear out on her own just fine.
Eris rubbed at the crease between his eyebrows.
“Alright, fine. Let’s just get to the stables.”
“After you, dear brother,” Silas said, wobbling into an off-kilter bow. Eris paused.
“How sober are you? Can you ride alone without caving your skull in?”
Silas grinned. “Sober enough.”
“If you die I’ll be quite cross. You’re too useful.” That was as close to ‘I care’ as Eris could get these days. There had been a time where he’d say more. Before Lucien ran off with his trust and Marus went into his grave with his love. Silas expects neither, anymore.
“When's the last time I died riding a horse? Never? That's what I thought.”
Worry creased Eris’ lips. There was nothing to be worried about. Silas, just like his big brother, knew how to handle himself under the influence. Frankly, Silas couldn’t handle himself sober . Things spilled from him when there was nothing to dampen the roaring inferno in his gut. Rage, fire, blood, vitriol spewed from him hitting whoever stood the closest. Eris was the only one who still stood close enough to get hit from time to time. Trying to fill the chasm that Marus’ left between them.
Eris seemed to feel it so much more sharply than Silas ever could. Nearly a century after the coffin had been closed, Marus still rotted inside Eris.
“Fine, let’s go.”
Silas went through the motions of saddling and riding like a man sleep-walking.
Eris’ horse stopped ahead of him and it was only by the blessed attention of his own mount, that Silas did not find himself colliding with him. “If what I tell you gets to Beron, he’ll kill us both without hesitation.”
"Business as usual then," but the foggy cloud of intoxication was clearing quickly.
“Night has agreed to my proposal. They have an interest in seeing me on the throne.”
" Really , now? Isn't that fun?"
“It’s a relief is what it is. It means this will work.”
"Finally kissed all required asses?"
“I did nothing of the sort, I simply explained my case, and they agreed.” Eris sounded … just a bit defensive. Oh, that was just too good to pass up. Straight laced Eris? Having liaisons ?
“ Right. ”
“I did not kiss anyone, Silas.”
"Oh, you absolutely kissed someone. "
“Weigh your next words carefully.”
"Who'd you kiss at the Night Court? The bombshell you didn't want to marry? The scary one with the dark hair?"
“ He didn’t turn me down. ” Silas could see the second Eris’ words registered in his brother’s mind, and the blood drained from his cheeks.
A predatory grin curled Silas' thin lips. "Oh, he didn't, did he? "
“Silas, shut up. ”
"You can't say shit like that and expect me to let it lie. Who was he? What did he look like?"
Eris seemed to battle with himself for a moment. “I’ll answer your questions if you swear to never breathe a word of this to anyone.”
"My lips are sealed."
He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I- I went to an event and got very drunk and happened to run into a slightly less drunk General Cassian. Things… escalated.”
Whatever Silas had been expecting, it hadn’t been that. "You. You tumbled an illyrian warlord."
“Nothing actually happened , Silas. We kissed in a dark corner, he told me to try again when I was sober, and then he walked me to the inn I was staying at so I wouldn’t wake up in a gutter. That’s it.”
"So he did turn you down!" Silas crowed.
Eris goes from white to red so fast he barely stops over by pink. “He didn’t- it’s not- we were both in a sorry state!”
"It's a rejection until you actually fuck him."
“I’m not- that is never going to happen.”
Silas couldn’t help the inelegant snort that escapes him, leaning over his horse to Eris. "That's too bad, I'd have wanted to know if touching their wings actually makes 'em scream.” Eris flushes impossibly darker. Somewhere between beat and plum. "What do you think? I think it's probably true."
“I- I don’t know. I didn’t touch them.”
Silas shakes his head. "You really need to learn to just go for it."
“I do not have that luxury, Silas. Father - he would not stand for it. It would sway his favour to Adrien.” Favour, favour. His brothers begged for it like dogs. Fell over themselves to kiss the ring. Silas could not be bothered to fight for something he was denied by a quirk of his birth. To hell with Father’s favour.
"Sounds to me like you basically already had your hand down his pants. At that point you might as well."
“I was drunk and it was a mistake. ”
"You're no fun, Eris."
“I’ll be ‘fun’ when he is dead and the Court is stable.”
"So ... when even your immortal ass is covered in wrinkles and age spots."
Eris rolled his eyes, having finally scraped his composure together again. “Your vote of confidence in my leadership is astounding, dearest brother. Besides, I’m sure you’ll be having enough ‘fun’ for the both of us.”
“Damn right.”
“Just don’t burn down the Forest House.”
Silas lets sparks roll over his fingertips. "Again, you're no fun."
“I let you burn down plenty of other things.”
"And I want to burn the world down." It was the truest sentiment Silas had expressed all day. Burn it all down, until there was nothing left to rise from the ashes.
Eris looks at his brother with a steely gaze. “I will remind you that I have rules and limits.”
“I don’t.”
“And that is precisely why you are not heir apparent.”
"Me?" he laughs. "I never stood a chance. Father could never let himself be outshone by his heir."
No Vanserra was weak. None of their magic was anything to scoff at, but Silas’ body struggled to contain his own fire at the best of times. It coiled under his skin, burning at flesh and bone, searing fevers so high he boiled ice baths without any effort. Faebane, and running it dry made it possible to live with. Glass cannon, his Father had called him derisively, but neither Eris, Marus, nor Silas had missed the twist of fear . Eris was lucky that Silas was content to play second fiddle.
“Just destroy what I tell you to and we’ll keep getting along just fine, Silas.”
Silas grinned widely. "We'll be fine, then."
“Good. Do you have any questions regarding the Night Court?”
“How long are you planning to play nice?”
“For as long as it benefits me.”
"In it for the long haul, then. Can I go back to my pipe and my slow afternoon now?"
“After we catch something. It would be suspicious to come back empty handed.”
He rolled his eyes. "You're the worst."
“I thought we agreed that title went to Adrien.”