"Father?" Tuf's voice was sharp with disbelief as they stepped through Vivi's portal, arriving directly inside Alpha's office, only to find Caelum casually humming while arranging fresh flowers into a bouquet.
"Are you okay?" he added, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"Yes. I am okay, cub," Caelum replied without looking up, his voice unusually light. When he finally glanced at them, he smiled, and for the first time in a thousand years, that smile reached his eyes.
"I felt you earlier, Father," Luna said softly, settling onto the sofa beside him. "At Mother's palace."
"You were there?" Peanut asked, quickly sliding beside Luna. "Why didn't you show yourself? You should've joined us. And… why didn't I feel your presence? Was it just me?"
The others, Nugget, Alpha, Tuf, and Orso, gathered and sat around as well.
"No, Pea," Caelum said, setting a finished bloom into the bouquet. "It seems that when you are with your mother, my connection to all of you, except for Luna, is severed."
He paused, glancing up again.
"And I didn't show myself… because I couldn't. And more importantly, I didn't want to ruin your fun. I could hear the laughter. It was enough."
"Did you find something out, Father?" Nugget asked carefully.
"Yes," Caelum replied, a faint, amused smile tugging at his lips.
The room fell into an eager silence, all waiting for elaboration.
Caelum said nothing more, just returned to arranging the flowers.
"Father!" Tuf finally burst out, voice raised in exasperation. "What did you find?"
"I can't tell you," Caelum replied calmly. "Unfortunately, I can only tell Luna."
"But Father…" Nugget and Peanut said in unison, their voices hurt.
"I'm sorry, girls," Caelum said gently. He reached over and cupped Nugget's cheek. "But your mother was right. Luna is the loophole."
He looked each of his children in the eyes. Whatever they saw there, it softened the tension in the room.
"I know it feels unfair," Caelum continued. "And you may think I'm excluding you from certain things, now and in the future. But understand that I'm doing this so we can become whole again."
The room fell silent, reverent.
"Since Luna is the only one I can stay connected to when you're with your mother, starting tomorrow, you'll need to stay by her side," he instructed, turning to Luna, who gave a quiet nod.
"As for the rest of you," Caelum continued, now more business-like, "you'll be working with me. We must prepare for your mother's formal arrival."
He began assigning tasks, each one of them attentive, well, except for one.
"Why do I feel like I'm getting triple the workload?" Tuf muttered, brow furrowed.
"Because Luna's staying with Mother," Nugget deadpanned. "So who do you think gets her workload?"
"I pay the highest tax in this empire, and yet you all work me like a damn slave. I demand my custody be transferred to Mother," Tuf huffed dramatically.
"You can take the Regent role instead," Caelum offered with a dry chuckle. "Since our little Regent seems to have no plans of returning here anytime soon."
"No! Father!" Tuf protested instantly. "That's the worst job. I'd rather work five times harder!"
He marched behind Luna's sofa and wrapped his arms around her from behind in a casual hug. "Anyway, I can visit anytime. Since I have mate rights."
"First," Peanut said flatly, "that's unfair."
"Second," added Nugget with a grimace, "you're gross."
Tuf stuck his tongue out in response, grinning like a child.
Caelum chuckled, truly amused this time.
"Fine, fine. You can practice your so-called mate rights, as long as you do your work properly," he said, raising a brow in warning.
They spent the rest of the evening discussing plans and responsibilities, laughter occasionally mixing with strategy. It felt almost… normal.
Eventually, Caelum excused all of them, except for Luna.
He needed to speak to her alone.
The others didn't need to be told twice. One by one, they filed out of the room, leaving only Caelum and Luna behind.
As they walked down the hallway, Alpha called out casually, "Tofu, how's your little project?"
Tuf rolled his eyes. "Next time, can you not act so nonchalant? Makes it harder for me to pretend you don't know what I'm doing."
Alpha laughed. "Then maybe don't involve Comet in your schemes. Twinlinks are as strong as matebonds, you know."
Tuf glanced at Cosmo, who was walking one step behind, as usual, beside Alpha. "Then why ask me? You could just interrogate your person and get the same answer."
"Because I told him not to tell me anything unless it's a matter of life and death," Alpha replied, gaze sharp. "I want to hear everything from you or Luna's mouth."
Tuf paused, then looked at his older brother with a sly grin. "How about a drink in your chamber? Looks like Luna and Father will take their sweet time talking. I'd be bored out of my mind."
No more words were exchanged. Orso, Nugget, and Peanut quietly headed to their private floors, while Alpha and Tuf ascended to Alpha's.
Once inside, Cosmo immediately poured them both a drink before they even sat down in front of the open verandah of Alpha's luxurious chamber. Without waiting for a command, he activated a Rune seal, a containment spell that would block all sound from escaping or being heard inside, even through magical means.
"Three elves are already pregnant," Tuf said bluntly after taking a long sip of his drink. "But I haven't given them further instructions yet. When Comet informed me, Mother was… unstable. I couldn't bring myself to focus on anything else."
Alpha remained quiet, swirling the dark amber liquid in his glass.
"The Cylinder hasn't glowed again. Not even once in the past four weeks," he finally said. "You think your project isn't working?"
Tuf leaned back and looked out at the city lights beyond the tower.
"Luna and I agreed, we'll only consider it a failure if the halfling becomes a full demi-human, and the Cylinder still doesn't react."
"That'll take eighteen years to find out," Alpha said, standing now, sipping his drink as he paced to the window.
"Not exactly," Tuf replied. "My Leviacron-1 has a specialized chamber. I had Milo build a time-acceleration core. Time inside that pod flows differently depending on the setting. The three elves are already inside. Eighteen years for them will pass in just two weeks of real time. My Marshals, aside from Comet, are monitoring everything."
Alpha raised a brow. "You've been busy."
"Yes," Tuf replied, no hint of pride in his voice. Just determination.
"All females, right? The Elves and Faes you sent into the human kingdoms to procreate?" Alpha asked.
"Yes," Tuf nodded. "Only female demi-humans were sent to the human kingdoms to procreate."
"I've been studying the Narf halflings ever since I heard about your project," Alpha said. "And I noticed a pattern. Halflings tend to be born carrying the father's race. If the mother is demi-human and the father is human, the child's human at birth. But if the father's a demi-human, the child is demi-human right out of the womb."
Tuf tapped his glass against his lip thoughtfully. "But the Narfs only ever sent women to the surface. To Vaelundis."
Alpha nodded. "Because Vaelundis figured it out earlier than anyone. When a human carries the child of a demi-human, the baby consumes the mother's life force. It kills her before birth. So the only condition for procreation was that the Narfs, the demi-humans, carry the seed. Not the other way around."
Tuf's gaze sharpened as he absorbed the implication, then turned to his brother, narrowing his eyes.
"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" he asked, brow raised in challenge.
Alpha didn't blink. "What do you think I'm thinking?"
"You want me to have human women carry demi-human seeds."
Tuf said it flatly, his voice edged with disbelief. Alpha didn't answer. He just smiled, that infuriating, knowing smile.
"You piece of shit," Tuf growled. "Why do I always end up doing the dirty work?"
Alpha sipped his drink casually and sit. "Because your fur is black, Tofu. When you do dirty things, it doesn't show. Mine is snow white. Imagine the stain."
The dry sarcasm made Tuf chuckle despite himself. "And to think most people see you as the reasonable brother. Safe. Trustworthy. If only they knew you're a massive asshole."
"Second only to you," Alpha said with a raised glass.
"I wouldn't be me if I wasn't an asshole," Tuf said proudly. "So how do you propose I pull this off?"
Alpha waved his hand. "You tell me. You and Luna are the smartest among us. I have high EQ, not IQ."
"Tsk… So I do the dirty work and the planning. You guys love me too much. You love making my life hard. Then you all wonder why I keep fucking with you."
Alpha laughed, deep and genuine.
"Anyway," Tuf muttered, shifting topics, "how did you even study Narf history? You can't read for shit. You're dyslexic."
"Cosmo reads it for me, of course," Alpha replied matter-of-factly.
"You should really start wearing the glasses Peanut made for you," Tuf muttered.
"They make my eyes hurt. Plus, they don't suit my face."
"You sign a lot of papers. And you just let Cosmo read them for you? Brother, did you forget he's still a demon? It's literally in their blood to embed soul-binding contracts in fine print. For all you know, you might've signed your soul away."
"Don't worry," Alpha said with unnerving calm. "That won't happen anytime soon."
"How can you be so sure?" Tuf asked suspiciously, sipping his drink.
Alpha leaned back with a relaxed sigh. "He already did it."
Tuf choked on his drink.
"What?" he coughed violently. "Shit, the liquid went down the wrong pipe, " He grabbed the handkerchief Cosmo silently offered and wiped his mouth. "When the hell did that happen?"
"The first night he crawled into my bed," Alpha replied, tone still disturbingly casual. "He dangled the signed contract in my face."
Tuf's mouth hung open. He turned slowly to Cosmo.
"Didn't you have three mates?"
"Yes, Master," Cosmo answered calmly.
"So… you're soul-bound to three other demi-humans?" Tuf asked, looking at Alpha now. "But I only ever see him with you."
"He got jealous when they shared my bed," Alpha answered. "So he severed them."
Tuf froze.
"What the fuck? You let him do that? Do you even know how painful that is?"
"Don't look at me like that," Alpha said, raising a hand in mock defense. "I didn't ask him to. I have mated siblings, you think I'd voluntarily cause that kind of pain? He did it without warning."
Tuf shook his head in disbelief. "Why would you even do that, Cosmo? Soulmate-severance leaves you empty, like your whole being is bleeding out from the inside."
"I was inside him when he did it," Alpha cut in, a smug smirk on his lips. "So maybe… he didn't feel so empty after all."
Tuf stood up so fast his chair screeched. "OH MY FRINKING GOD. ALPHA! What the hell?! I didn't need to hear that! I swear, I can't unhear it, I can't unsee it, it's burned into my brain now!"
"I didn't know you were a selective homophobe," Alpha said flatly, one brow arching with unimpressed amusement.
"I'm not homophobic," Tuf scoffed, pouring himself another drink. "And selective homophobe? Is that even a thing?"
"You never complain about Nugget's choice of partners," Alpha pointed out, sliding his glass forward so Tuf could fill it.
"That's different," Tuf grunted. "Nugget and I share… similar interests sometimes. Besides, that's not the issue. Do you really think I enjoy hearing about my older brother's sexcapades?"
"That's why I had a soundproofing rune etched into this chamber," Alpha replied smoothly, lips twitching into a grin. "Cosmo is… a screamer."
"STOOOOOOP!" Tuf growled, clutching his head like he could shake the mental image loose.
Alpha leaned back, clearly relishing his younger brother's torment. Cosmo, who had remained stoic throughout, now had a faint flush creeping up his ears. He may have looked composed, but Alpha's loose tongue about their private connection, the one he'd ensured from the moment he laid eyes on the eldest child of the Demon Lord, was rare and clearly embarrassing, even to him.
"Okay, okay! I'll stop. Stop overreacting," Alpha said, chuckling.
Tuf scowled, then turned toward Cosmo. "So… where are your mates?"
"Hades," Cosmo answered curtly.
Tuf narrowed his eyes. "You know what? You're the biggest asshole in this room. You severed your matebonds just because you got jealous, and then sent your mates to my pleasure dungeon? That's a major douchebag move, Cosmo."
"I've done worse, Master Tuf," Cosmo replied with the calm pride of someone who had long accepted his villainy.
"Severing a matebond is the worst thing you can do," Tuf muttered, more serious now. "Everything else is child's play in comparison."
He turned to Alpha with a pointed look. "You better be careful with him."
Alpha's smile returned, dangerous and lazy. "Don't worry about him, Tofu. I keep him under control. I chain him to my bed and fuck him until he faints, with a smile on his face, every time he does something I don't like."
"That's it," Tuf snapped, slamming his glass down and standing abruptly. "I'm leaving."
"Wait," Alpha said quickly.
Tuf didn't look convinced. "I'm not listening to another word about your sex life."
"It's not that," Alpha said, still laughing but shaking his head. "Sit down again. Cosmo has something to show you."
"Nope. I like women, brother," Tuf said bluntly. "Never dreamed of playing with men unless I'm shredding them to pieces."
"Asshole," Alpha muttered. "This is serious."
Tuf studied him for a long moment. And when he saw the glint of real seriousness in Alpha's eyes, he sighed and returned to his seat.
Cosmo stepped forward without a word, raising his palm. In a flash of pale light, a worn, ancient pocketbook appeared on the table between them.
"What's that?" Tuf asked, leaning forward.
"This book has been passed down to the eldest son in our family," Cosmo explained.
"Then why do you have it? Comet is older than you," Tuf said.
Cosmo nodded. "He gave it to me when he chose to become Mistress Luna's aide. In case I was the first to have a child."
"You two are both insane," Tuf muttered. "You sever your matebonds for a soulbinding contract. As if I'd ever allow your brother to soulbind to Luna. Not a chance."
Cosmo gave a small, knowing smile but didn't reply.
"So why are you showing this to me?"
"I've never been able to open it," Cosmo said. "And when Comet had it, he couldn't read the writing either. But earlier today, when I saw the Empress… the book reacted. Like it was resonating with her presence."
Tuf straightened. "What is it supposed to be?"
"According to Comet," Cosmo said, his voice low and reverent, "this book belonged to the Celestial Solmara himself. It tells the story of the world's creation."
Tuf slowly turned to Alpha.
"Let me guess, you want me to figure out what it's for?"
Alpha grinned, lifting his drink. "Smartest brother and hottest mess. I believe in you."
"Asslicker," Tuf muttered in which Alpha only winked.