Sebastian's fingers curled slowly around the storage room handle.
Inside the darkness, Elara stopped breathing.
Rain hammered violently against the penthouse windows while lightning flashed silver beneath the crack of the door. Manhattan blurred outside in cold stormlight, the city looking distant and unreal beneath the thunder.
If he opened the door
"Sebastian." Alaric's voice sliced through the penthouse. Cold.
The handle stopped moving instantly.
Silence stretched heavily through the apartment.
Then Sebastian smiled faintly without turning around.
"You were always terrible at hiding things from me," he murmured.
Elara pressed trembling fingers harder against her mouth.
Slowly, Sebastian released the handle.
But he didn't step away from the hallway. That was worse.
"You know what I remembered recently?" he asked conversationally.
Alaric said nothing.
Sebastian glanced toward the rain-soaked windows.
"Alera used to hate thunderstorms."
The name hit Elara like a knife straight through the chest.
Outside the storage room, thunder rolled low across New York.
"She'd run into your room every single time it stormed our little neighbour," Sebastian continued softly. "Twelve years old. Barefoot. Crying dramatically because she thought lightning meant someone was going to die."
Elara squeezed her eyes shut instantly.
"She'd sit beside our fireplace wrapped in your hoodies while you pretended not to enjoy it," Sebastian murmured. "God. You looked ridiculous back then."
Alaric's voice came low. "Stop talking."
But Sebastian ignored him completely.
"You loved her young." A pause. "Too young, maybe."
Lightning flashed violently across the penthouse.
"You practically built your entire personality around loving Alera Montclair."
Something shattered suddenly. Glass exploded against marble.
Elara flinched hard.
Outside, Alaric had thrown the whiskey glass hard enough to crack part of the kitchen island.
But Sebastian just watched him calmly.
"That right there," he murmured. "That's exactly what I mean."
A dangerous silence filled the penthouse.
Then Sebastian walked slowly farther into the apartment toward Alaric.
"You know what fascinated me after Alera died?" he asked quietly. "You stopped looking at women."
Elara's chest tightened painfully.
"For years," Sebastian continued. "No relationships. No attachments. Nothing." A pause. "Like some part of you got buried beside her."
Alaric's breathing sounded heavier now. Rougher.
Stormlight flashed across the penthouse again.
"And then your eyes lay on my fiancé," Sebastian murmured. Silence. Terrible silence.
"The look on your face…" Sebastian laughed quietly under his breath. "Honestly, I almost felt bad for you."
A low sound came from Alaric's throat then.
Not human Not fully.
Elara froze instantly inside the storage room.
"She has Alera's eyes," Sebastian continued cruelly. "Same smile. Same nervous little head tilt." A pause. "God. Even the way she laughs."
Another low growl vibrated through the penthouse. "She will never be yours; she will never be your soulmate. Alera is dead. Elara can never replace the feelings you have for her"
Actually growling now. Sebastian noticed him and smiled,
"There he is," Sebastian murmured through blood. "The boy who still belongs to Alera Montclair."
Alaric moved suddenly. Fast enough to blur.
He grabbed Sebastian by the collar and slammed him violently against the wall hard enough to shake the framed artwork beside them.
"You don't say her name."
The words came out distorted now.
Rougher than normal. Dangerously deep.
Sebastian looked at him calmly despite the fist twisted into his shirt.
Then he laughed." You still react like a grieving fourteen year old boy."
Alaric punched him hard.
The sound cracked violently through the penthouse.
Blood spurted across Sebastian's mouth instantly as he staggered sideways into the marble counter.
Sebastian stared at him carefully.
Then laughed once under his breath despite the blood on his face.
"God," he muttered. "You really are becoming less human every year."
But Sebastian hit back immediately.
His fist slammed directly into Alaric's jaw hard enough to snap his head sideways.
Inside the storage room, Elara gasped softly.
Then everything exploded.
Alaric lunged again with a vicious snarl tearing from his throat. Sebastian shoved him hard into the dining table before driving another punch into his ribs.
Neither brother fought cleanly.
Years of hatred ripped open between them while rain battered the windows like gunfire.
"You dragged Alera's ghost into every relationship you've ever touched!" Sebastian snapped.
Alaric slammed him against the wall again.
A crack splintered through the plaster behind Sebastian's back.
"You know what disgusts me?" Sebastian spat blood onto the marble floor. "The way you looked at Elara."
Another growl tore from Alaric's chest.
"Like you found Alera breathing again," Sebastian hissed.
Alaric punched him again hard enough to split his lip wider.
But Sebastian just laughed through blood.
"Look at yourself!" he snapped suddenly. "You think this is love?"
Alaric looked terrifying now.
Blood running down his mouth.
Dark eyes burning unnaturally sharp beneath the stormlight.
And for one brief second Black veins crawled beneath the skin of his throat.
Sebastian saw it his expression darkened slightly.
"You're losing control," he said quietly.
Alaric slammed him harder against the wall.
The growl in his chest sounded almost animalistic now.
"She is not Alera." Sebastian stared at him for a long second.
Then said softly "But you still look at her like she is."
The silence afterward felt monstrous.
Then Sebastian shoved Alaric back hard enough to break free from his grip.
Both brothers stood there breathing heavily.
Bleeding Furious.
Thunder crashed violently over New York.
"You stay away from Elara," Sebastian said flatly.
Alaric's eyes darkened instantly "You don't tell me what to do."
"I absolutely do she's mine ." Sebastian wiped blood slowly from his mouth.
Alaric took a step toward him again.
Predatory Dangerous.
But Sebastian didn't move.
"You are going to destroy her," he said quietly. "And the worst part?" A bitter laugh escaped him. "You probably won't even realize you're doing it."
Another dangerous growl vibrated through Alaric's chest.
"You think you want Elara," Sebastian continued softly. "But all you really want is the little girl you buried."
Inside the storage room, tears slid silently down Elara's face.
"She deserves better than being haunted by someone else's memory," Sebastian said coldly. "So if there's anything human left in you at all "
A pause "Stay the hell away from her before you turn her into another ghost too."
Then Sebastian shoved Alaric's hand off his collar, straightened his ruined coat, and walked toward the penthouse exit without another word.
The front door slammed shut seconds later.
And inside the dark storage room
Elara finally broke she came from the store room.
She stared at him for one long, horrible second.
Then something inside her hardened, not shattered. Hardened.
Alera would've cried quietly.
Elara Montclair did not.
She wiped her tears aggressively with the sleeve of the black shirt hanging off her body and stepped forward before Alaric could react.
His eyes followed her immediately.
"Elara "
"Don't." Her voice came out cold now Sharp enough to cut.
The storm outside flashed silver through the penthouse windows while she grabbed the hem of his oversized shirt and yanked it over her head in one furious motion.
Alaric froze completely.
The shirt hit the marble floor between them.
Black silk against white stone Like something ruined.
Elara stood there in her leggings and tank top, hair messy from sleep and tears, eyes burning with humiliation and rage.
"You can keep your dead memories," she said quietly.
Alaric's jaw tightened sharply "Elara."
"No." She pointed at him immediately. "You don't get to say my name like that right now."
The growl beneath his breathing quieted instantly Not gone. Controlled. Barely.
"You know what's funny?" she laughed bitterly. "For one stupid second, I actually thought you saw me."
Her voice cracked slightly on the last word, but she kept going anyway.
"Turns out I was just another version of her standing in the right lighting."
"That is not true." he said in teary eyes.
"Then what is true?" she snapped. "Because right now all I know is my dead sister is apparently the love of your life and I'm the pathetic replacement wearing her face."
Alaric took a step toward her. "Elara, listen to me carefully "
"No. You listen."
The elevator lights reflected across the wetness in her eyes as she backed away toward the hallway.
"You don't get to look at me like I'm some tragic miracle sent back from the grave." Her chest rose shakily. "I'm not Alera."
Then Elara hit the elevator button hard enough to crack a nail.
The private elevator doors slid open almost immediately.
Alaric moved again fast "Elara."
This time his voice sounded dangerous for an entirely different reason desperate.
She hated that it affected her anyway.
"You walk out that door right now," he said quietly, "and you are not thinking clearly."
Elara laughed once Actually laughed.
"Funny," she whispered. "I was just about to say the same thing about you."
The elevator doors waited open behind her.
Warm light spilling across the marble floor.
For one brief second, neither of them moved.
Rain crashed violently against the windows behind Alaric while Manhattan glowed cold beneath the storm.
Then Elara stepped backward into the elevator.
And Alaric finally saw it.
The moment she stopped looking at him like she wanted him.
That hurt him more than the fight ever did "Elara "
Then the elevator doors shut between them.
And for the first time in years Alaric Virement looked completely alone.
The drive back to the Montclair penthouse felt unreal.
Rain drowned New York City in silver and black, while the city lights smeared across the tinted car windows like watercolour paint. Yellow taxis hissed through flooded streets below. Thunder rolled somewhere over the skyline.
Elara sat motionless in the backseat.
Still wearing yesterday's leggings Still tasting heartbreak in the back of her throat.
Her fingers were curled so tightly in her lap her nails had left crescent marks in her skin.
Every time she blinked She saw him again.
Blood on his mouth.
Dark eyes burning through the stormlight.
That horrible, raw look on his face when she stepped into the elevator.
You wanted the little girl you buried. Her chest twisted painfully.
The car finally pulled beneath the Montclair tower downtown.
The lobby glowed gold and warm against the storm outside, marble floors reflecting chandelier light while suited security guards nodded respectfully as she passed.
Elara barely noticed any of it.
By the time the private elevator opened into the penthouse, exhaustion had settled so deep into her bones she felt numb.
"Elara, where were you ?"
Julian's voice cut through the silence instantly.
He stood near the kitchen island with an untouched whiskey glass in one hand, sleeves rolled to his elbows.
Then he saw her properly and immediately straightened.
Because Elara Montclair never looked small.
But tonight She did.
Rainwater still dampened the ends of her hair.
Mascara smudged faintly beneath her eyes.
Face pale.
And there was something worse than sadness in her expression. Humiliation.
Julian's brows pulled together instantly. "What happened?"
Elara slipped off her heels beside the door without answering.
"Elara ."
"I'm tired." Her voice sounded scraped raw.
Julian slowly set the whiskey glass down.
The soft clink against marble sounded unnaturally loud.
"Elara."
"I said I'm tired." She started walking toward the hallway. Fast. Too fast.
Julian watched her carefully for two seconds before moving after her.
"Did Sebastian do something?" The question hit like a knife.
Elara physically flinched Tiny movement Barely there.
But Julian noticed nd immediately went still.
Because his sister did not flinch, not from people. Not from men
His voice dropped colder. "What happened?"
"Nothing."
Lie. Julian knew it instantly.
He caught her wrist gently before she reached the stairs.
The second his fingers touched her skin.
Elara jerked away automatically, like she expected pain.
Julian's expression changed immediately something dark flashed behind his eyes.
Slowly, his gaze moved downward And stopped.
A bruise bloomed faintly near her collarbone Half hidden beneath her tank top.
Not violent enough to frighten him. Worse.Intimate.
Julian looked back up at her face slowly.
The silence between them turned sharp. "Who touched you?"
Elara looked away immediately. "Nobody."
"Wrong answer."
"Julian."
His jaw tightened hard "Was it Sebastian?"
No response And somehow That response scared him more.
Because Sebastian would've been easy to handle.
But this? This looked complicated and dangerous.
"Elara," Julian said quietly now, "look at me."
She didn't.
That alone made something cold settle in his chest.
His little sister had always looked people in the eye when she lied.
Tonight, she couldn't even do that.
"I don't want to talk right now," she whispered.
Julian stared at her for a long moment.
Then finally let go of her wrist.
But his expression had already changed.
Protective. Suspicious.
"Go sleep," he said quietly.
Elara nodded once Then disappeared down the hallway without looking back.
Her bedroom door shut softly behind her.
Julian stayed standing there for several seconds.
Thinking Something was wrong Very wrong.