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In the living room of their new home, Gabriel de León was enjoying a read. He'd missed the comfort of a good book during those years spent fighting and seeking revenge; now that it was all over, he could truly relax.
His gaze occasionally rose from the pages to look at his sister, sitting in the armchair across from him. She'd joined him an hour earlier and spent the time with her eyes closed and her head tilted back against the backrest. She hadn't spoken to him, hadn't even brought anything to do.
Gabriel didn't know what she was doing exactly and was slightly worried.
Finally, Celene opened her mouth and said: «Kill me.»
«Why?» her brother asked, giving her his undivided attention.
«This headache is killing me. I can't stand them anymore.»
«Who is it this time?»
His sister opened her black eyes and gave him a meaningful look.
«Your two fathers are fighting like beasts.»
The look on Gabriel's face at those words was almost worth the pounding headache. «Don't call them that.»
«Believe it or not, those are not my words.»
«Great Redeemer, what do I have to hear.» Gabriel sighed.
«What do I have to hear, Gabe. At least you don't have to listen to them bicker like children over you.» his sister snorted, closing her eyes again.
Gabriel looked at her apprehensively. He probably should have killed her, given the circumstances, but he didn't want to lose his sister now that they'd managed to win the war.
The problem was only one: when they'd killed Fabién Voss together, there was a fifty percent chance he'd die under Ashdrinkerr's blade, and a fifty percent chance that Celene would get him as part of her harem of souls.
Of course, fortune is blind and misfortune sees very well, so Celene found herself with the fucking Forever King inside her head.
His presence itself was intense but not painful; so his sister had said. She often heard him talking to his daughter Aléne, since she was there too, but it wasn't too annoying.
The problem was Wulfric. It was inevitable there would be friction, considering Voss had exterminated all the Esana centuries before, but apparently the one who had really pitted them against each other was Gabriel.
When Celene had told him this, Gabriel had laughed until he was sick. They both had a lot of nerve, wanting to fight over him. Wulfric had never even met him, and Voss had tried to make him his son after exterminating his family. What exactly were they talking about?
They were also idiots for arguing and irritating the only person who could end both of their lives. Gabriel didn't want to have to kill Celene, but to give her some peace, he certainly would.
Celene made an exasperated noise. «Gabe, they want to know which of them you consider a better father.»
«Don't they have better things to do than be a pain in the ass to both of us?»
«Voss wants to know.» Celene said, as if aping him. «Aléne, on the other hand, wants you to know that she doesn't want you as a brother. Nor me as a step-sister.»
«Reassure her that it's mutual and that she should be thankful the Devil lied to Fabién about it.»
«Voss is sulking.» Celene reported shortly after.
«Sounds like his problem.»
Celene giggled, slightly hysterical. «Come on, be a good boy and answer, so they'll stop bothering me.»
«Let's see...» said Gabriel, pretending to actually think about it. «I've never met Wulfric. I've never seen him. I don't even fucking know what he looked like...»
«Just look at yourself in the mirror, Gabe. He was your spitting image.»
«... On the other hand, Fabién killed my family, burned down my house, tried to kill all my friends, and almost killed Dior in an attempt to convert me and make me his son.» Gabriel finished, ignoring his sister's comment.
He looked at Celene without showing emotion. «Fuck, neither of them. The only father figure in my life who was remotely passable was Greyhand.»
«Who you killed yourself.»
«I said he was remotely passable, not good.»
Celene chuckled again. «You're hopeless, brother. It's surprising that Patience and Dior turned out so well with you as their father.»
«I feel like I did a pretty damn bad job with both of them, considering I had them both killed.»
«Dior's alive.»
«By pure luck.»
«But she’s alive and she loves you, so stop sulking like Voss is doing.»
Gabriel recovered immediately. «Well, I hope that now that they have their answer, they’ll leave you alone.»
«They won’t, so now’s a good time to remind them that, as much as I love having a family and still being on this earth, I’ll gladly let you set me on fire if it gives me some peace.» Celene said, enunciating each word.
Gabriel saw a frown on her forehead ease as the argument in her head presumably ceased. Celene sighed with relief and commented: «They’re all afraid of dying and going to hell. It must be new for Voss to be put in line by vampires who are technically inferior to him. The others know I’m not joking.»
«I know you’re not joking either. I’m just glad they won’t force us to do something irreparable.»
«We're going to have to die someday, but I guess it's no big deal. We'll still see each other in hell, right?»
Gabriel smiled. «You can count on it, little sister. You can count on it.»