The Weight of Chains

"What is family?"

The thought drifted in his mind.

Lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, Ed—Caspian Arcwright.

Was family the people you were born to?

The ones who shared your blood?

If so, why did they break him?

Why did they carve into his flesh and shatter his bones as if he were something less than human?

If family was supposed to love you, then why did they watch as he begged for mercy and found none?

Or was family something else?

Something you found, something you built?

The ones who stood by you not because they had to, but because they wanted to.

He thought of Vynesaa, of Zareth, of the people who had become something close to home.

People who had given him a place where he was more than just a forgotten son of a noble house.

But could he really say he belonged?

He turned on his side, eyes unfocused as the past clawed at him.

The old Caspian had died in that house.