(dedicated to @tale_gunner for the valuable inputs!)

Elijah now felt more than just annoyed.

He had greeted, and fake smiled at least two dozen nobles. It was getting harder and harder not to walk away from the theatrical gathering. His twin sister, Meredith, beside him seemed much more poised, and he couldn't for the life of him understand how his father had done this similar tedious procedure multiple times before. But then, of course, his father, Augustus, didn't have much of a choice except to do so anyway. The king of Evimeria, despite his infallible powers, never seemed to have much control. 

Quite sadly an amusing irony, he thought.

He gazed around the exquisitely decorated hall. The golden and white shimmering streamers were hanging from the high ceiling, courtesy of his mother who had spent weeks to plan this day. It was strange how suffocated he felt in the room that was as massive as the mythical Sentinel Sognare. The abode of the Vartiyahs. The protectors of Obscura.

The entire hall was a conundrum of colours. Nobles donning exquisite clothes in every hue of the rainbow. Soft, mesmerizing music played in the background. The bright lights in the hall reflected off each polished surface until it felt like the room was lit by the sun itself. The smell of cuisine of each country wafted to his nose as waiters milled about.

Elijah glanced moodily at the shiny marble flooring, distracted as he watched the light from the ornate chandeliers above reflect off it. He gazed at the several large doors each crafted with exquisite wooden intricacies. A dozen doors on either side of the hall and yet none were open for him.

After a few more minutes of greeting people that they barely knew, his grandfather strode over to them. He and Meredith spoke in a united monotone. "Good evening, granddad."

He nodded at them, his grey eyes twinkling. "You both should go and sit there." He gestured towards an empty table near them. "The ceremony will begin shortly."

Relieved, Elijah and Meredith made their way to the table where he almost wanted to collapse but knew it wouldn't reflect too well on his stature as the eldest heir. Meredith leaned backwards on the chair and sighed, "I think that was the dullest one hour of my life." 

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and took a long sip of the glass of clear liquid in front of her. In spite of how much she complained to him, her royal facade was remarkably immaculate. She looked like a vision in an off-white dress with intricate floral lace designs. A number of royals had tried to vie for her affection tonight as well. Unsuccessfully, much to Elijah's relief lest he was left to endure the gathering on his own. 

Elijah nodded. "Seems like a punishment." He halted a servant walking from behind him and took a glass of a dark red liquid, sipping slowly and regretting tasting the vile liquid immediately. The strong earthy flavour that seemed to reach his very skull left no doubt that the Wine was from the vineyards of Wysterdam, a highly over-hyped city for the ostentatious in his opinion. In order to protect his dignity however, he drank it with an impassive face and congratulated himself silently.

"When is the ceremony starting anyway?" he asked impatiently, glancing at his wristwatch.

Almost at once, there was the clink of metal against the glass, and they looked up at the makeshift stage in front of them.

"Good evening to all the illustrious nobles gracing this occasion today!" his grandfather spoke, sounding genuinely happy, something he rarely did. His twinkling eyes swept through the crowd, the lines etched in his face suddenly much less severe. "Today, my youngest granddaughter, Evelyn Marla Ellerman, will be attaining the age of fifteen and thus officially becoming a Nuvue, and an heir to the kingdom of Evimeria."

There was a ripple of polite applause that he joined in enthusiastically. Elijah's eyes flitted to where his younger sister, Evie stood behind the stage with her mother. She wore pale white robes and was biting her lip in extreme nervousness as she looked at granddad making the speech, her brown eyes sparkling. He couldn't help a small smile from tugging at his lips as his grandfather called her to the stage. Evelyn stepped up to another applause, her pale cheeks finally gaining some colour.

The custom was that as soon as an Ellerman came of age, they would be granted a pendant that would help regulate their powers, thus giving them greater control over them. An anchor to their inner abilities. To root their powers into place.

Subconsciously, Elijah's hand reached towards his chest under his white shirt, where he could feel the gentle bump and the cold glass of the pendant against his bare skin. He remembered being similarly granted the necklace just a couple of years ago. And he remembered the way the new power had made him feel.

Evie's pendant was pale white, almost like an opal. However, it seemed that inside it, white smoke swirled instead of the solid rock. His own resembled tiger stone, similar to Ezra's.

His smile slid off immediately. His heart lurched in his chest as he thought of his older brother. His vision tunnelled as the familiar sensation of weightlessness engulfed him. Ezra would be looking on proudly. He had after all, always been protective of his entire family. Moreover, even during his last moment, Ezra had protected him. 

It took all his courage to force himself back to the present as he stared blankly, unseeing and deaf, towards Evelyn making a speech. Her hair fell in soft ringlets around her round face. Her brown eyes were shining with excitement and joy as she spoke.

Meredith sighed deeply, "She looks so beautiful." 

He half glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and saw her looking happily at their younger sister. Her blue eyes were glistening.

Momentarily he thought of his elder brother, picturing him sitting beside them. His heart seemed to crush under the weight of the thought and he quickly tried to divert his mind. He was shaken from his reverie as another applause, louder than the previous ones rang around him as Evelyn finished with an extravagant bow. He took a deep breath, trying to root himself back into reality.

"I almost can't believe it." Elijah looked at Meredith, who was smiling fondly at him. She continued, "Can you imagine? Little Evie."

Elijah nodded, still reeling. Evelyn got down from the stage and walked towards the pair of them. Her long robes bellowed behind her as the music picked up from a softer, dulcet tone to a more upbeat melody.  Meredith hugged her affectionately. "That was a beautiful speech, Evie!"

Evelyn smiled. "I have been practising for months! So glad it all worked out!" She beamed at Elijah, her brown eyes sparkling guilelessly. "What did you think, El?"

He forced a grimacing smile but was saved the compulsion of actually saying anything as their mother walked towards them. 

"They're bringing in the cake now honey." She smiled at them, a lock of her blonde hair coming free of her elegant bun and framing her face. Elijah was once again taken aback by the similarity between his twin and mother. Right from their silent, blazing demeanour to their blonde hair, azure eyes and classically beautiful chiselled features. She pointed to a man wheeling in a massive seven-tiered cake, white and gold, sophisticated and straightforward. It left no doubt as to who had chosen it. Evie nodded and gestured for them to follow her. 

They walked towards the centre of the table as an orchestra started, playing upbeat tunes as Evelyn cut the cake amidst roaring applause. Elijah felt glad that the dessert would be the last thing he would have to endure before the suffocating night ended.

He stood some distance away from the crowd, which was assembling around Evie as the orchestra started playing a birthday song he vaguely remembered listening to ages ago. His eyes, however, wandered away from the little group and scanned the back of the room, where he could unmistakably see a solitary figure lingering.

He gritted his teeth reflexively as he saw Ezekiel, looking awkward and out of place. As if trying to disappear. He kept fidgeting nervously, his eyes as if purposefully dodging everyone present in the room. Elijah still couldn't understand why his grandfather had thought it was a good idea to invite Ezra's murderer to his own sister's party. He couldn't believe how angry the mere sight of him made him feel. It had been almost four years, and still, his wound felt raw and fresh. Still, the venomous serpent of anger in his chest writhed in agony at the sight of his hateful form. 

But as a Nuvue, he had been taught to stay as far away from the Achtsenza, or the eight sins,  as was possible. Pride. Greed. Wrath. Envy. Gluttony. Sloth. Lust and Deceit. 

However, he could feel anger rising in his chest. As if he had just seen his brother's body being blown apart to smithereens. He could again feel Ezra's blood on his skin. Still see the horrific sights. Still feel the hollow in his heart. He didn't realize he had been staring at Ezekiel, till their eyes found each other. His eyes widened as he saw him staring and immediately looked away. 

Elijah wanted to tear the hateful amethyst from the traitor's eyes. To destroy him like he had damaged his family. But he didn't want to cause a fiasco, not when it was such an important day for them. He forced himself to concentrate on the cake, which suddenly looked blurred around the edges.

After a while, the noise had died down, and people were sitting around the tables, chatting softly. Their voices were lazy from the delicious dinner. Elijah sat in a corner alone. The rest of his family sat at a table at the centre of the room. He didn't feel like talking or looking at anyone. His thoughts were still raging uncontrollably. He jumped slightly when he heard the loud smashing of glass and whipped around to see a waiter crouched on the floor, collecting the shards of the glass he had broken. Ezekiel, who had been leaning behind him against the wall, went suddenly stock-still. And somehow, Elijah knew something was off.

The server had barely picked up all the shards when Ezekiel's entire form started vibrating uncontrollably. Elijah got up, his senses tingling and ran over to him. He stopped dead in his tracks.

"Ez-?" 

Ezekiel's eyes glazed over as if he was no longer seeing reality. The glassy, venomous purple seemed shockingly vacant. Unnatural. 

And as he stared into the dreaded glassy amethyst eyes of his half-brother, he knew what was about to happen. In a reflex, he shielded his face. He had to warn someone. Anyone. Before another mishap occurred. He wanted to create a protective shield, but he knew he wouldn't be nearly strong enough. Even though he had learnt advance defence during his training, his air powers were still notoriously difficult to control. 

He glanced over to where everyone was still sitting, clueless. His eyes desperately searched for someone who would help him. 

Ezekiel stumbled to his knees, his body shaking violently.

"Stand back."

A calm voice called from behind him, and Elijah was relieved as his father lifted a hand, casting a massive, translucent shield around them. His grey eyes were fixed on the bastard he continued to tremble. 

Some people were now on their feet, knowing something was going on. It took all his willpower for him not to step back as the purple light that he was so terrified of started radiating around Ezekiel's body. What felt like bolts of violet and silver lightning exploded out of his thin frame menacingly. The air seemed to crackle with mystifying ethereal energy that Elijah had never understood. 

There were loud yells and whispers now. Everyone was wondering what was going on. He was scarcely aware of his grandfather escorting everyone hastily out of the room. Silence fell. A calm so deadly and still that it chilled him to his very bones. 

Everything was a blur of colours.

His father gently pushed him away, trying to shield him as Ezekiel's body started radiating an immensely, seemingly invincible and invisible power that seemed to suck the very air out of the room. Elijah's vision seemed to tunnel. His buried memories scampered to the surface like fiendish spiders crawling out of the womb of the earth when all he could do was watch, horrified.

And then, silence.