The Name That Unstitches

Ru's voice dropped an octave—velvety, venomous. "Brother." The word curled off his tongue like the aftertaste of spoiled fruit. "Of course."

Mod didn't answer. A tremor skated through its flickering form, scattering light like disturbed ash.

Ru's lashes lowered. His fingers brushed his throat, testing the phantom pull of a song's thread—still there, still his.

"If the me I remember had wished for anything," he murmured, "it would've been blood or a crown. Or a planet to lay under my boot." His hand pressed flat against his chest, where his own heart had once beaten. "But this me—this last, sentimental clone—wished for my brother." He let out a hollow laugh. "Pathetic."

Mod didn't say anything. The air between them was wavy and glitchy, reminiscent of a damaged memory.