Koda;

Something about the way Zethar said he is leaving doesn’t sit right with me.

I can see that this goes way beyond the letter.

We all receive summons from the capital from time to time. Be it about illness, politics, or obligations... Nothing is new. And nothing is ever enough to move Zethar unless he wants to.

That’s exactly the problem. Zethar wants to leave.

I saw it in the way he stood there. Calm... detached, and composed. As if nothing in this place has weight enough to hold him back. As if leaving costs him nothing.

If I didn’t know my brother any better, I would have fallen for that front. But I know him. I know him enough to know that the letter is just an excuse to leave.

I want to understand why.

Nagari is his home. He has every right to leave if he wants to, but I need to be sure he isn’t leaving with some sort of toxicity in his heart, and staring at him in that hall... I could tell that there was some hurt in his heart.

I just need to see him to know if I’m right or wrong.

I had searched his room, but he wasn’t there. So... I choose to search the only place I suspect he’d be at this late at night.

High places.

Zethar has always liked heights. Even as a child, he climbed things he shouldn’t have, stood where no one else dared to, and proudly balanced himself on edges that would make any reasonable person step back.

I stop when I see him, and a quiet sigh escapes me.

Of course.

My younger brother is currently sitting on the narrow stone railing of one of the highest balconies in this castle. He has one leg hanging over the drop, and the other bent loosely. The wind dances around him, tugging at his clothes and threading through his hair like it is trying to drag him off.

He doesn’t move, though. He’s completely still. Like his body is here, but his mind is miles away.

He’s just sitting there comfortably, like the fall below means nothing.

I stop a few steps behind him and let my gaze drop briefly to the ground that’s dangerously far beneath us.

One wrong shift would be all it takes to end both of our lives.

"You’ve always treated your life carelessly," I say carefully, taking care not to startle him, even though I know he could already sense me.

He opens his eyes, but doesn’t turn to look at me. So, I step closer.

"Aren’t you afraid you might fall?" I ask in sincere curiosity, and there is a pause on his end. Like, he is deciding whether I am worth answering.

Then he glances back at me, and I find that usual, nonchalant look on his face.

"Falling only matters if you plan to hold on." He replies with the usual calmness in his voice, and I hold his gaze.

What does he mean by that??

He tilts his head slightly, with the corner of his lips lifting as he looks at me.

"If you’re too afraid to join me, there’s no problem, brother." He says as he makes to get off, and I raise a brow.

"I can come down." He adds with a quiet laugh as he stands up on the dangerously thin railing, and I scoff.

Is that a challenge?

I ignore the tease and step forward instead.

If he wants to sit on the edge of a blade, then I will sit there with him.

I climb onto the railing and settle myself beside him.

The stone is narrower than it looks from below. The wind is sharper. And the ground? It seems closer than it has any right to be.

Zethar goes still when I look at him, and I smile at the surprise on his face.

Then that surprise slips away... replaced with something quieter. Something that almost looks like approval.

"Challenge accepted," I say with a shrug, and he smirks as he settles back down beside me.

We sit there for a moment, side by side, suspended between sky and ground, existing in peaceful silence.

But then I break it.

"I know why you’re leaving," I say softly, and he stays silent at first.

Then he speaks without looking at me.

"I told you all. I received a letter—" He begins, and I smile at him.

"We all received letters growing up," I say.

"Summons. Orders. Excuses..." I add as I turn my head fully to watch him now.

"You always found a way to ignore those letters or summons, no matter how important they were. You only move when you want to, Zethar." I continue, and I’m met with silence.

He doesn’t deny it. That’s good. I need him to understand that I’m not just his older brother by title.

I know him more than he might know.

"When we were first sent to the capital..." I begin, turning away from him and staring at the vast night sky that spreads out before us.

"...We were not family yet. Not really. We were just boys thrown into the same place, expected to become something... Even though we didn’t quite know how." I speak as I think back to when we were younger.

How strange it was for all of us... from our different backgrounds... and different views on life, to accept that we were... brothers.

And how I, as the eldest, had to learn that I was responsible for all four of them.

"I paid attention as you all grew. Much longer than you may think." I confess as I look back at him.

Zethar’s gaze stays forward, but I know he is listening.

"You especially were an interesting puzzle to understand..." I add, and that makes him shift, just slightly.

"You don’t like needing anyone," I go on, and I see him look at me from the corner of his eyes.

"You still don’t," I add, and this time he turns to me. Like I’m nearing a door he doesn’t want me to open.

He sighs and looks away again. Then, finally, he speaks.

"You’re reading too much into this." He says dismissively, and I tilt my head as I watch him.