3
Aiden
The bright surroundings ofthe Valrais mansion’s grounds materialized around Aiden, the same green expanse of grass and trees stretching as far as his eyes could see just like the first time he’d visited the princess in her advanced Virtual Reality world. The lake was there too, in the distance, a shimmering silvery surface that blinded him and forced him to look away.
“Ren!”Sara’s excited voice shrieked and Aiden spun around just in time to see her drop the plush teddy on the ground and launch herself into Darren’s outstretched arms.
Ren?
“Sara,” Darren muttered, holding the girl’s small form as closely as he could without squishing her. He kissed the top of her head and breathed her in, his eyes fluttering closed on a shudder Aiden didn’t miss.
“You’ve grown so much!” Sara said when Darren put her down, spinning in a circle to showcase her red dress. “And you’ve gotten even more handsome! I missed you!”
“I missed you too, Sara.”
A heavy feeling tugged at Aiden’s heart as he watched the two siblings, their reunion both happy and heartbreaking. The sensation intensified and spread outwards when Darren’s gaze turned sorrowful, when his eyes glassed over and for a split moment held Aiden’s, revealing that void which lived in the depths of his being.
Darren, who was the younger Valrais sibling, was the older one now, Sara’s AI forever stuck to be the same age as when she had died.
Prickles covered the inside of Aiden’s throat, obstructing his airflow. It hurt to watch. He pinned his gaze on the swaying grass and focused on the feel of the soft breeze crashing into him. Even twenty years after the tragedy and the death of his sister, Darren still loved her just as brightly as he must have when they’d been just two kids playing in the fields of their beautiful home.
That was why he’d dressed up. For her, even if it wasn’t really her anymore.
Aiden wondered if they had been playing out here on the day of the assassination. Unsuspecting that the night would bring upon the end of the Valrais. And what about him? The day Marcus had massacred the Valrais family, what had he been doing? School? Or had he been out, hanging out with Claudia without any idea about the crimes her parents were about to commit? Could she… have known the truth even back then, despite her age, leaving Aiden the only one unaware?
The squeezing in Aiden’s chest grew to uncomfortable levels, making his breathing skew and his fingers dig into the area above his elbow. He needed to hold onto something to remain here in the present, but it was hard.
How could the people he’d been thinking of as his own family lie to him like that? And what if they hadn’t? What ifthey told him from the start? What kind of a world would he be living in now?
Because if he had known the real DuLaurent, then he doubted he would be standing here today, on Darren and Sara’s side, about to uncover the secrets of the Valrais Legacy.
“Kesley.”
Aiden clasped his elbow tighter and took a deep breath, then lifted his gaze from the blades of trimmed grass to Darren’s imploring indigo eyes. In the bright sunlight of this VR Earth, the purple hue of their unusual color was more prominent than in the underlying gloominess of space stations or ships, and it entranced Aiden fully, hijacking all of him until he couldn’t stop himself from drowning in it.
“Kesley,” Darren repeated, softer than earlier. His expression matched his tone, mellower now that some of that sadness was gone. “Is something wrong?” He made an attempt to hide it, but the worry bled through his words, fueling the burning sensation in Aiden’s throat and chest even more.
“I…” Aiden tried, only to swallow his words when Sara turned her attention to him and flashed him a radiant smile.
“Sir Kesley!” She yanked away from Darren and threw herself at him, hugging his waist. “I knew you would be back!” Her small arms let go and she curtsied effortlessly. “I thank you for bringing my brother to me,” she said with authority only true royalty could muster up. “Now come, both of you. I’ve prepared the best tea and biscuits I could get!”
Sara picked her teddy from the ground and put it inside the small backpack she was carrying, letting its upper body and head stick out. She offered Darren and Aiden one of her hands each. Without hesitation, Darren took it and smiled at his sister with his entire face, dropping all pretense and baring his emotions as if he’d forgotten, or didn’t care, that Aiden was watching.
There was longing, there was love, there was sadness, all of it perhaps the same as what Aiden felt when memories of Claudia flooded his head. Except the anger from the betrayal, the confusion. Those were absent in Darren’s pretty smile, replaced by something else that reminded him a lot of the guilt he felt whenever he thought about the night they’d shared.
“Sir Kesley!” Sara’s grumble pulled him out of his head. She was pouting now, hand still outstretched for him to grasp.
“Tea and biscuits sounds excellent,” he said, enveloping her fingers with his.
Satisfied she’d gotten her way, Sara droned on about her made-up day as they walked. Aiden couldn’t help but peer at Darren, noticing the slight tension in his jaw and the faraway look in his eyes that remained in place even as they sat down and enjoyed tasteless VR snacks.
After they drank tea and Darren gave Sara the short version of the prison escape, she led them to the chapel-like structure past the oak grove where she’d knighted Aiden and where the obsidian statue with the white raven proudly held vigil from its elevated dais.
“Ren Valrais!” She jogged ahead, stopping at the base of the dais. “Are you ready?”
Aiden’s breath caught, goosebumps rising all over him. His eyes snapped to Darren and ceased appreciating the stained glass and wooden interior. Ren Valrais.Thiswas Darren Howe’s true identity. A name fit for a king, each syllable as if carefully picked to relay through sound power and strength. Royalty. And as much as Aiden didn’t care to admit it, it suited Darren with his raven hair, dark eyes, sun-kissed skin, and regal features.
Squaring his shoulders and taking his hands out of his pockets, Darren stepped forward. He threw a glance Aiden’s way but stopped the nervous smile before it manifested, then proceeded to join Sara on the platform. There, he kneeled down.His movements were elegant,royal, just like Sara’s as she waved her arms and recited something in a language Aiden didn’t understand. He froze in place where he stood, unable to take his eyes off the two siblings. They were at about the same height with only Sara standing, and tinted sunlight surrounded them, making the scene look like something out of a fairytale.
