Untold Legacy

Chapter Fourteen: Twins in Name Only

Cole poked at his food, bottom lip caught between his teeth. The Haven heir glanced across the table at his parents, opening his mouth to speak, and closed it again. His shoulders slumped, ears lowering. He wasn't brave enough to say anything. His gaze flicked to the empty seat at his right, the plate of food perfect and untouched in its place. His own lay strewn around in awkward patterns, messed by the erratic and unplanned movements of his fork.

Ryvan hadn't shown up for dinner; it was a common happening lately. His older twin often lurker around the palace, snapping at the servants and higher-ups alike, constantly in a foul mood. He would disappear without warning at times, generally holing himself up in his room, and only ate, as far as Cole could tell, at breakfast. The red head was shutting himself off from everything and everyone; again, this wasn't unusual. Ryvan had always been an angry person, even when they were younger; he would boss his twin around and blame anything he did on Cole.

Not that he'd ever stood up for himself. Ryvan was the stronger, angrier twin; he wouldn't have hesitated to attack him or anyone else. It was why their parents had placed them where they did; Ryvan as leading the Freedom League, and Cole as the future Baron. With the red head in charge of something that involved fighting, they'd assumed it would quench his thirst for battle.

Apparently not. Lately he'd been even more violent, often without reason. Especially if Kari was mentioned.

His twin had lusted after the girl for years, wanting her body and her powers for himself, seeing in her a way in which to control multiple areas at once. Cole wasn't dumb, he knew Ryvans plan; marrying Kari would have meant becoming the second heir to the Spargan throne as well as the Haven, and the father of any future Light Eco channelers.

Cole had silently thanked the Gods when Kari outright ignored his advances, preferring the company of her brother and the recently humanized Kyren to that of the lustful commander.

And it had only made Ryvan angrier.

"Ryvan's been a lot more temperamental lately," he spoke finally, the words slipping from his lips before he could stop them. He'd wanted to say something, though. Surely he wasn't the only one in the family who'd noticed something off.

Ashelin sighed, a long, drawn-out sound that left Cole in surprise; his mother looked almost vulnerable, sitting across from him, a good head shorter then he, "We've noticed," she admitted, though seemed hesitant to do so, "Something's changed. Jak mentioned an aura or something…"

Cole blinked at the information; so Mar was aware of it, to? Maybe this was bigger then he'd thought…

"Your brothers always been an odd person, Cole," Torn addressed his son, leaning on the table, "But something's wrong, and you're right; he's moodier then ever. The men have been reporting extreme drill tests almost every day, most of them worked to the point of exhaustion. But we don't know what to do; if this is just a stage he's going through, there's not much we can do. Jak didn't know what it was, but Tera-" Torn cut himself off, shaking his head, "Never mind."

"What?" Cole demanded, "If I'm going to be Baron of the city in a few years, I should know what's going on with my army's commander."

Torn placed a hand on his temple, "Tera said she thought the aura seemed familiar, like someone, or some thing, that she'd been near before. Long before now, before all this, basically before she and Jak came to be in Haven."

"And that can only be a bad sign," Ashelin finished, arms crossed, "We can only hope she's wrong."

Cole nodded weakly, staring down at his food. Mrs. Mar (he felt odd referring to them by their first names) had noticed a familiar aura. That… that couldn't be good. He'd heard from his parents vague tales of where Jak and Tera had originated from, but hadn't been able to understand half of what was said. Sandover Village? The place hadn't existed for thousands of years. All he could gain from their stories was that the place had been dangerous and filled with monsters that, while not as deadly as Metal Heads, were numerous and everywhere.

Again, not good.

"I'm not hungry," he lied, pushing away from the table and standing, "I'll be in my room, if anyone needs me."

His parents said nothing. Cole turned and walked away, headed up the stairs to the next floor. He turned down the right hall, but instead of going to his own room, he stopped in front of Ryvans. He stared at it for several moments, occasionally glancing around, questioning his own sanity.

He lifted a hand, knocked, waited. No answer. Again he knocked, harder this time; silence. "Ryvan?" he called, knocking once more. And again, silence. It seemed as though his twin was out of his room, for once. It left him with an open opportunity…

Quietly, carefully, Cole pushed the door open and stepped in, stopping and staring at what met his eyes.

Strange devices were scattered all over the room, on the dressers, the floor, the bed, everything. They were twisted things, different shades of black, looking like some sort of failed Precursor technology, sparking with bolts of purple.

Dark Eco. Dark maker technology.

Cole tried to calm his heart, terrified. What was Ryvan doing with all of this?

Something caught his eye, near the back corner of the room. He stepped cautiously around every sparking item on the floor, making his way over. Once he was closer, he frowned, inspecting the thing. It looked like Ryvan had pried up a piece of the floor, the carpet loose and limp over it. A tunnel of some sort? What was he-

"What are you doing in here?" Cole had no time to react to the growl before he was thrown away from the corner, landing on his back by the door. He gasped when he looked up, Ryvan standing over him with another device under his arm. His hair was wild, sticking out in random places, eyes lit with angry fire. He almost didn't look human.

"Get. Out." It was an inhuman growl, Ryvans lips pulling back in a snarl, "If you say a word of this to anyone, you'll wish we'd never had the same face. GET OUT!"

Cole scrambled to his feet, running out and to his own room. The red head stepped forwards, slammed the door, and turned the lock. Returning to his devices, he held the newest one to his face, staring at it with a sick kind of adoration.

"She rejected me, chose that fur ball over me. But that will change. She will help me have her, and all she wants is the world," a sick laugh, "What a pleasant deal!"