Erliyen stands before him,though his face remains unreadable. The quiet steps of her approach had been deliberate, each one purposeful as if to draw out Aki's tension.
'What were you looking for?' Erliyen says, her voice calm, but there's an edge to it. Aki's eyes darted around, searching for an escape, but the surrounding felt smaller now, tighter.
Aki's heart races, the words unspoken heavy between them. Why did she call him brother? The silence seems endless, stretching out like a thread too taut to snap.
'Why are you calling me like that?' Aki asks, his voice barely more than a whisper, as though saying the words aloud might make the situation real.
'Aren't you my brother?' Erliyen's calm voice made his disguise falter.
'I am…' Aki couldn't deny anything further seeing her sad eyes.