The night didn't feel silent.
It felt aware.
Cyan stood apart from the others, the faint pressure in his chest refusing to fade. Even without focusing, he could sense the distance between himself and the thing watching him.
Family, his blood whispered.
"You're thinking too loudly," Quinn said, stepping beside him.
Cyan exhaled slowly. "I know."
Before she could ask more, the air shifted.
Three presences cut through the night like blades.
Cyan turned sharply.
They emerged from the shadows without sound—two boys and a girl, their expressions cold, familiar, and unmistakably related to him.
Zen walked in front.
Her gaze swept over Cyan, unimpressed. "So this is where you ran off to."
Daniel followed, hands in his pockets, eyes sharp with calculation. "You look… different."
Seth said nothing. He simply watched Cyan like a threat that hadn't decided what it was yet.
Quinn tensed. Mason's shoulders stiffened.
Cyan felt it immediately—the pull of blood.
"Zen. Daniel. Seth," he said quietly.
Zen scoffed. "You say our names like you belong with us."
"I didn't choose to leave," Cyan replied.
Daniel tilted his head. "Maybe. But you chose to come back."
Cyan's hair lightened faintly, reacting to the tension. His eyes sharpened—not glowing yet, but close.
"Careful," Zen warned. "You don't control that power."
Cyan met her gaze evenly. "I'm learning."
That gave her pause.
Seth finally spoke. "Camil knows."
The name hit like a strike.
Daniel nodded. "You woke something. He felt it."
Quinn stepped forward. "Then why are you here?"
Zen's jaw tightened. "Because if Camil finds him first…"
She didn't finish the sentence.
Cyan understood anyway.
"You're not here to help me," Cyan said. "You're here to protect yourselves."
Zen didn't deny it.
The silence stretched.
Then Mason growled softly. "If you're planning to hand him over—"
Seth's eyes flicked toward Mason, sharp. "We're not hunters."
Zen added quietly, "Not like him."
Cyan studied them. His siblings. Distant. Wary. Still bound by blood.
"Then leave," Cyan said. "Before you're forced to choose."
Zen stared at him for a long moment.
"You've changed," she said. "Maybe too much."
Daniel smirked faintly. "Or maybe not enough."
They stepped back into the shadows.
But before disappearing, Seth spoke once more.
"When Camil comes," he said, "don't expect mercy."
The night swallowed them whole.
Quinn exhaled. "That went… better than I expected."
Cyan stared at the darkness they'd left behind.
"Blood answered blood," he murmured.
And somewhere far away, beneath a blood-red moon, Camil smiled.
"Good," he whispered.
"They're circling you now."