Chapter 6 : Vael Is Cooler Than You

"Kael, come back down"

The voice echoed through Kael's mind, steady yet laced with unmistakable disapproval. Kael's smirk faltered. He knew that tone it was of -

VAEL {*communicating with Kael through telepathy*}

"How can you leave Grandma alone?? Get down here. Before I go up there and kick your butt."

Kael groaned, rolling his eyes. He glanced down, spotting Vael standing beside grandmother, arms crossed, looking exactly like a disappointed parent.

Astra, still dangling in Kael's grasp, noticed the change in his expression;

"I swear, Kael, if you drop me, I'll haunt you!!!"

Kael huffed ignoring Vael's warning;

"you're acting like I need to drop you. I could just let go a little and make you dangle."

He loosened his grip slightly, and Astra immediately latched onto him with both arms.

"DON'T YOU DARE!!!"

Kael smirked; "What happened to all that confidence earlier?"

Just as Astra opened his mouth to argue, Vael's voice echoed inside Kael's head, reverberating through his mind.

"KAEL, I THOUGHT I MADE MYSELF CLEAR?"

Kael groaned out loud. Of course, Vael would be worried about that.

Meanwhile, Astra, still dangling in Kael's grip, spotted Vael below. His eyes lit up like he'd just seen his savior.

"THANK GOD!!!", Astra relaxed and looked down at Vael; "VAEL!!! HE IS CRAZY!!! PLEASE HELP ME!!"

Vael looked up at them, arms crossed, expression completely neutral. He ignored Astra entirely, staring straight at Kael.

"KAEL"

Kael narrowed his eyes;

"COME DOWN, NOW"

Kael clicked his tongue, annoyed; "Tch…. boring" he muttered, though a part of him did find Astra's frantic yelling amusing.

Still, knowing Vael wouldn't let up, he finally relented. With a heavy sigh, he descended smoothly, touching down near his brother. Instead of setting Astra down gently, Kael unceremoniously dumped him onto the serpent's back.

"OW!" Astra groaned dramatically, rolling onto his side. "Couldn't you be a little gentler?"

Kael smirked. "NO"

Vael let out a deep breath, rubbing his temples. "We'll talk about it when we reach there."

Kael crossed his arms, unimpressed, while Astra sat up, rubbing his ribs. "So? Aren't you going to scold him?" he asked Vael, clearly expecting justice.

Vael turned his gaze to Astra, completely deadpan. "I think you deserved it?"

Astra gasped, looking personally offended. "You traitor!"

His grandmother chuckled softly, patting Astra's head. "Now, now, dear. This is what happens when you tease someone too much."

Astra was dumb founded. He couldn't believe his own grandma wouldn't be on his side. As the serpent descended toward the estate. Astra didn't speak the whole time but as he finally got a full view of the twins' home. His mouth slowly fell open.

The mansion was huge. No massive. The kind of place nobles lived in, with towering walls, intricate stonework, and sprawling courtyards filled with lush gardens. A long balcony wrapped around the upper floors, and a grand staircase led up to a set of enormous double doors. The stone walls were carved with intricate details, and massive arched windows glowed softly in the evening light. Ivy wrapped elegantly around the pillars, giving the estate a haunting yet refined look.

The moment they landed, Astra jumped off the serpent and spun around, trying to take it all in.

"This is your house?!" he shouted, gaping at the sheer size of it.

"How do you even live in a place this big? Do you guys get lost just trying to find the kitchen?!!!"

Kael scoffed as he starched his arms; "It's not that big though"

Astra shot him a look;

"Not that big??? I feel like I will need a map just to get to the bathroom at night!!!"

His grandmother chuckled, stepping down gracefully; "It's certainly a grand home," she said warmly.

Vael nodded and gestured toward the entrance, he pushed the entrance gate opened.

"Come inside. I'll show you, your rooms."

The entrance door opened at a wide-open hall enough to fit for a royal ball. The grand staircase leading to doors large enough to fit three of him stacked on top of each other. Astra was still stuck on the size of the place. As they walked up the grand staircase, he turned to Kael.

"Do you guys have to shout across rooms just to find each other? Is there a search party if someone goes missing in the halls?"

Kael smirked; "No, if anything happens Vael can always communicate with me through telepathy".

Astra stopped in his tracks. He blinked. Then blinked again;

"What!!"

Kael shrugged; "You don't know about that??"

Astra looked at Vael in a total disbelief; "SO…. SO COOL!!!" his eyes wide open with shock but filled with inspiration.

Vael smiled unsure about how to react to Astra's reaction.

But astra wasn't done. He stepped closer to Vael, practically vibrating with curiosity;

"Wait, wait, wait …. does it work all the time? Like, do you hear each other's thoughts constantly? Or do you have to turn it on and off like a magic ratio? Can he hear you right now? Can you hear me?!" he pointed at his own forehead dramatically.

Kael snorted; "He's not a mind reader, genius. And only he can do telepathy with me ... I can't…" he smacked Astra's forehead; "I can respond if Vael reaches out first, but I can't start a conversation. It's like having a phone that can only receive calls!!"

Astra touched his forehead, his forehead throbbing with pain;

"Still! That's so amazing! You guys don't need to talk! You could just-" he stood straight like a statue and stared at nothing; "Just stare at each other and have a whole conversation while the others are clueless!"

Kael groaned; "Exactly. But it would have been more fun if I could do that too"

Astra smirked he leaned forward towards Kael's space; "Admit it Kael," he said in a teasing whisper "Vael is way cooler than you!! he can do telepathy, and you can't."

Kael's eye twitched. "Excuse me?"

Vael, who had been silently observing the exchange, suddenly let out a rare chuckle. A soft amused laugh that sent Asta into full victory mode.

"See! Even he knows it's true!" Astra declared, pointing at Vael with both hands.

Kael glared at Vael; "why are you laughing?? I thought you were my big brother??"

Vael simply shrugged, a small smirk still lingering on his lips; "He has a point."

Before astra could gloat any further, a firm tug on his ear yanked him backward;

 "ASTRA!! Is this how you talk to someone who is helping you??? Apologise right now!!" Astra's grandma pulled Astra by the ears;

"Ow ow ow !!" Astra whined.

"I didn't think you would behave like a Brat??" she said in a calm but firm voice.

Astra pouted, rubbing his ear when she finally let go; "But it's Kael."

Grandma gave him the look; "and? Does that mean you forget your manners?"

Kael smirked at Astra smugly; "Yeah, Astra. Manners."

Astra shot him a glare but wisely said nothing.

Vael, still clearly entertained, patted Astra on the shoulder;

"It's alright, Ma'am. Kael should be humbled every once in a while."

Kael narrowed his eyes at his brother. "You trait-"

"It's getting late, you both should look at the rooms and decide in which room you would like to stay" Vael smiled at grandma while helping her with her movements, completely ignoring Kael.

Vael led Astra and his grandmother through the grand halls of the estate, showing them room after room.

"There are 20 rooms in total," Vael explained as they walked through another wide corridor. The walls were lined with elegant designs casting a warm glow, and the polished floors gleamed beneath their feet;

"You're free to use any of the empty ones, but It would be easy for both of you to stay at the west wing."

Astra barely heard him. His brain was still trying to process the sheer absurdity of twenty rooms. He exchanged a glance with his grandmother, who looked equally exhausted from the tour.

"You have twenty rooms?" Astra mumbled, rubbing his temple; "for what? Do you guys host a royal court in here?"

Vael didn't answer, simply opening another door and gesturing inside;

"Astra, you should use this one"

Astra peeked inside and groaned;

"THIS ISN'T A ROOM"

To be continued….