Every time I returned to Raakshya, I was always filled with this extremely uneasy feeling. I never understood why, especially since this place was my home.

      I pretended it was because I wanted no Raakshyan to see me, so I knew I had to be on my toes.

      I knew I was lying to myself though.

      But that didn’t hold me back.

      Darius was clearly after my son for whatever reason. This was the reason for why Aathiray was acting strange... it was the reason for why she was hiding something.

      And if Aathiray wasn’t going to tell me, I was going to have to find out myself.

      That means going to Keroshan.

      Facing him.

      As I approached my old home, I made sure that no one could sense my presence.

      I didn’t want Kero running off when he sensed me.

      And as I looked up at the night sky, I saw the half moon shine through the clouds.

      I took a deep breath.

      It found it somewhat funny that I felt my confidence skyrocket when I felt the moons light on my skin.

      I slowed down completely, walking now towards the house.

      And as I reached the front porch, the door opened.

      Standing there, with his eyes wide open, along with his mouth, was Serpethion.

      He was frozen solid, unable to believe what his eyes were showing him.

      A second later, Serena came. And the moment she saw me, she stood there like Serpethion.

      I gave them a smile, not knowing what else to do. “Keroshan...”

      When I said his name, I felt a change in the air.

      I felt Keroshan flinch.

      He heard me.

      Serpethion and Serena stepped aside, clearly trying to let me in.

      But they didn’t need too.

      I stepped aside as well, as Keroshan growled and burst out of the living room, towards me.

      He missed, of course.

      Instead, he found himself lying on the ground. But he got up instantly and charged at me again.

      I dodged his attack once more.

      And again.

      And again.

      And once again.

      But even though he missed every time, he kept coming at me.

      I took a deep breath and forced myself to focus.

      What was going on? What was Aathy hiding?

      My eyes stayed on Keroshan, not moving away from him for even an instance.

      Suddenly, I heard Katelyn start screaming, telling Keroshan to stop.

      When Chirpy came running to stop Kero, he growled like a beast and pushed him away.

      He came at me again. “Get over here you bastard! Fight me!”

      Katelyn kept screaming.

      Keroshan didn’t even flinch.

      I turned my head and looked at Katelyn, she was crying.

      I looked back at Keroshan and stopped moving away from him.

      I saw a smile form on his face as he jumped at me, changing in the midst of his jump.

      I widened my eyes, feeling the energy make it’s way to my right hand.

      While Keroshan’s body changed, I reversed it in my head. I felt the mark on my forehead burn as Keroshan changed back into his true form.

      Shocked, he stumbled as he landed, losing balance and almost falling over.

      But I grabbed his neck with my right hand.

      I felt him swallow. “You’re going to kill me like you killed my mother?”

      That made me flinch.

      And it also made me angry. For him to believe in something as horrible as that? My heart began to ache as I scowled at him.

      But that was all I needed him to say to confirm what I had just analyzed.

      I lifted his body up from the ground with my one arm and felt my muscles tighten.

      Keroshan choked, grabbing my arm with both his hands and trying to claw his way free.

      His eyes looked darker than ever... darker, tired and angry. And now that I had gotten a hold of him, he looked helpless as well.

      He could never break free from my grasp, not now that I’ve gotten him.

      And during that moment of helplessness, I felt Darius’ presence.

      This was it.

      I quickly released the energy that I had accumulated in my hand and a wave of energy ripped through the air, making Kero gasp and pushing everyone back until they hit a wall.

      Darius was gone.

      I let go of Keroshan and he fell backwards, landing on his bottom and sitting there, grasping his neck and coughing.

      “That is true power, my son. What you were fighting with... that was pathetic.”

      Keroshan looked up at me, and for the first time in a long time, I felt like I was looking in a mirror as a child.

      But his eyes had returned to the eyes that I knew were those of my sons.

      This was what Aathiray was hiding. She knew Darius was controlling Keroshan. But she couldn’t tell.

      “I know now is not the time to lecture you on the mistakes you have made... but I do not have another time to do that, Kero.”

      He didn’t say anything to me, he just stared.

      “You were being controlled by Darius, I understand-”

      “What?” Keroshan and Serpethion yelled at the same time.

      I frowned. “Darius was controlling you.”

      I saw relief form on everyone’s faces. Everyone’s but Kero’s. Kero just looked confused.

      “Keroshan... you have a lot of apologizing to do.”

      “To you?” He spat, angrily.

      “No.” I said. “To your friends... your sister... to Aathiray.”

      He looked away.

      “Because you allowed Darius to take control of you, these people have paid dearly.”

      “I didn’t allow-”

      “Darius was able to take control of you because you were weak. If you had more control over your emotions he wouldn’t have been able to use you.”

      Keroshan stood up and glared at me. “You’re talking to me for the first time in years and is this all you can say? That I’ve fucked up?”

      “First of all, mind your language around your father." I said, sternly. "And secondly, do you think I am proud of you, Keroshan?” 

      He raised an eyebrow.

      “Yes. Earlier I was... when you stood up to the Princess and made the right choices... I was very proud of you. But I don’t feel that way anymore, Keroshan. You have disappointed me.” I said. “You chose the wrong side.”

      I expected him to yell and argue with me. But he didn’t. Instead, he looked away.

      And from that, I knew that he knew I was right.

      “Good.” I said. “This is the Keroshan that is my son. Now fix what you have broken, Kero... before it can no longer be fixed.”

      I took a step back and then Kero looked at me.

      “What about you?” He asked.

      I gave him a questioning look.

      “When are you going to fix what you have broken?”

      I frowned. I should have expected this sooner or later.

      His glare returned. “You talk like you’re the most righteous man in Raakshya.”

      I frowned. “You don’t know the truth, Keroshan.”

      He was taken aback by that. “Then tell me the truth, god damn it! How much longer do you expect to keep us waiting? Mom-”

      “Now isn’t the time... I don’t have time.”

      “Why not?” He yelled.

      “Because Darius has gotten to me.” I said.

      I saw the confused looks on everyones faces and I sighed. “Darius has been spending the last while trying to weaken me... and in the past few months he’s succeeded.”

      That shocked Keroshan.

      “He has drained me of a large portion of my strength and right now I need to regain it.” I turned around and tried to leave.

      But Keroshan didn’t let me. “Don’t you dare!” He growled. “You really can’t spare five minutes to tell me why the hell you left us?”

      “Five minutes will never be long enough-”

      “I don’t care how long it will take you.” He said, angrily. “But right now is your chance to prove to my sister and I that you truly care about us.”

      I closed my eyes tightly. I was hoping to leave before he said something like this. But he had caught me.

      “If you care about us you will stay back and tell us the truth. If you don’t... you can leave right now... and I never want to see your face again.”

      I took a deep breath and sighed when Katelyn ran over to her brothers side, nodding her head and agreeing with what he had just said.

      I sighed again.

    How come I felt that fighting Darius in my current state would be easier then facing my children after so many years?