Kael
"It's time for you to come back home, son. Quit chasing a silly dream and come back home." My father's voice blasted from the other end of the phone.
I was mid-workout when I saw his call. The dumbbell suddenly felt heavier, even though I could easily lift it.
I paused for a moment before responding.
"I'll be back once I am done with this, Father. Plus, what's the rush? You have Evan and Eren there to help handle things in my absence; I do not see what the big fuss is about."
With the way silence filled the other end of the phone, I could tell that my dad was really pissed.
"Stop this nonsense, Kael. I am not getting any younger, but it's not enough reason for me to sit back and watch you spend reasonable years on a project that is doomed to fail. Get over your childishness and come home."
"I'm sorry, Father, but I'm not coming home any time soon.
My revenge is counting on me being here, and might I remind you that as much as this was a personal choice, I'm doing this for you, for all of us—to teach them to never mess with us or anyone else, as a matter of fact."
"I just want to see you accomplish other things with your life, son. It's been years; don't you think it's time to let it go?"
"Never. Over my dead body will that happen. This is for Vivian and I'll stop at nothing until I make every single member of their family pay. I swear on my life."
He kept mute, and for a moment my resolve wavered, but images of my dead sister's bloodied form flashed through my mind and I had to drop the dumbbell to keep myself from crashing into the wall.
I took deep, calculated breaths before I spoke again.
"You already have two sons who the world knows about, and if you're so afraid you won't be getting an heir, then I'd take that as the normal symptoms of aging and nothing else." My father hated being called old.
The easiest and fastest way to get into his bad books was to refer to him as an old man, and there you have it.
"I know what you're trying to do, Kael, and just because the world doesn't know of your existence doesn't ultimately make you invincible. If you're not very careful, your mask will blow off and your enemies will feast off your head. Come home, son, please."
"I have to go now, Father. I'll reach out if there's any need for me to."
Before he had the chance to say something more, I ended the call.
Beads of sweat dripped from my skin and I reveled in the feeling. I loved the clarity and warmth that came from a good workout.
I devoted my free time to training or working out, and I was glad that I loved doing both.
The words of my father still hung heavily in the air, and a suffocating sensation slowly gripped me.
I really didn't want to spend all my life trying to get revenge, but Vivian wasn't just my little and only sister—she was my friend too. They took her away from me. It happened in front of my very eyes.
The sound of her screams still tortured my nights. The way she begged for mercy and forgiveness for something she didn't do.
The ruthless nature they had to kill her even though they knew she was innocent was something I still couldn't understand, even after all these years.
Vivian was my immediate younger sister, and I loved her just like every big brother loves his sister. She was so full of life and love that it felt unbelievable when they took her away.
I remember that day as if it were yesterday—her screams and pleadings, my helplessness as I stood watching them take her.
This was a few years ago when Seraphina's father was still alive.
The level of ruthlessness with which he ruled was something I couldn't understand.
That day, Vivian and I were on our way back from our secret sneak outings in the village. It was easy to blend in because we were the only two children who weren't exposed to the media.
My family was one of the most powerful and wealthy families in the kingdom.
I was fine with the invincibility and carefreeness the secret of our existence brought, but that day I wished things were different because if they knew who we were, they wouldn't have dared to lay a hand on us.
We were on our way home when we passed the carriage of the king.
Back then the kingdom followed really medieval practices; I was rather surprised when they began embracing modern changes.
Based on the rules of the land then, women were supposed to bow their heads every time the king's carriage passed as a sign of respect.
My breathing fell into rhythmic motion as the events of that day played brutally in my head.
"Stop right there!" one of the guards called out to us authoritatively. We stopped and the guard walked up to us.
Smack! A sound rippled across the street and I turned to see his hands on Vivian's cheeks. He had slapped her.
"Take her away." Just like that, they picked her up like she was a nasty criminal. Vivian tried to shake them off, but it was impossible for her considering how bulky the men's frames looked.
Everything was happening so fast. I tried to grab her and threw a few punches that barely did any damage.
Before I could reach for Vivian once more, I felt powerful fists on my jaw, blacking me out almost instantly.
"Kael! Please let him go! Kael, stand up."
Images blurred in my vision and the only thing I remembered was Vivian's screams.
I ran back to our house to inform our father of what happened, but to my greatest dismay, he acted completely indifferent. For a moment I wondered if he didn't hear me.
"Vivian is in danger. She's been captured by the king's guards."
"Don't bother me, boy. Why waste energy on her? She's a female, sooner or later she would have met the same end."
Hot blood rushed through my veins and I couldn't breathe properly. There was no fucking way he could have said that.
But he did. I closed my eyes in disbelief; the reality of how utterly useless I was fully unraveled before me.
When I went back to check on Vivian, she was gone, her corpse tossed out in the fields as if she were a fucking commoner.
I was angry. Angry at myself for being so fucking useless, angry at my father for letting Vivian die when he could burn the whole kingdom down if he wanted to, but mostly angry at the man who caused my sister's death.
The death of Vivian was a brutal eye opener, and shortly afterwards I left my brothers and joined the military.
I worked so fucking hard, but it was not enough; it would probably never be.
But the difference between now and then was very clear, and I swore on Vivian's name that I would get my revenge at all costs.
The beep of my phone pulled me away from my thoughts. I looked at the caller ID; it was an unknown number, but I picked up regardless.
A rough voice spoke in the background. "I know your secret, Kael Riven."