Aethelos: The Bastard of Light

The next morning arrived like a hangover that refused to leave. · Eli sat at the kitchen table, forcing down breakfast, when his eyes locked onto the newspaper lying open in front of him. The headline screamed in thick black letters: · TERRORIST ATTACK IN THE FOREST – TWO VINDICARI GUARDS KILLED, ONE DECAPITATED · His blood turned to ice. The memory slammed into him like a fist to the gut — the forest, the smell of blood, Lygar’s blade slicing through a Vindicari’s neck, the head hitting the dirt with a wet thud. Yana standing right there beside him. · He shoved the plate away so hard it scraped across the table. Didn’t even look at his mother. Just stood up, grabbed the newspaper, and stormed out. · Behind him her voice called, “Eli? Where the hell are you going?” · He didn’t answer. · He ran the whole way to the meeting point. When he saw Yana waiting, something ugly and panicked exploded in his chest. He shoved the newspaper in her face. · “What the fuck is this, Yana?!” · She glanced at the headline, barely interested. · “Oh… that. Don’t worry about it. It’s normal.” · Eli’s face went white, then red. · “Don’t fucking worry about it? They’re calling it a terrorist attack. We’re being accused of murdering Vindicari guards. One of them had his fucking head cut off!” · Yana shrugged. · “Eli, calm down. The kingdom lies in the news all the time. It’s propaganda. Stop overreacting.” · He stepped closer, voice dropping into something ugly. · “You already knew Lygar, didn’t you? You two are part of that movement. Admit it.” · Yana’s eyes widened, genuine shock flashing across her face. · “What the hell are you talking about? I don’t—” · “Don’t play dumb with me!” Eli snarled. “You and that Noxian psychopath killed those guards. And now I’m a fucking accomplice!” · The slap came so fast he didn’t even see her hand move. · Her open palm cracked across his cheek with enough force to snap his head sideways. The sting was sharp, hot, and humiliating. His skin burned. His eyes watered. · Yana’s voice rose into a furious scream. · “Accomplice?! You’re the one defending those pure-blood bastards like they’re saints! When the fuck are you going to understand that just because someone has Vindicari blood doesn’t mean they’re good people?! You’re a goddamn idiot!” · She shoved him hard in the chest. · “I was the one who got attacked and almost kidnapped in that forest! And the only thing you can think about is those dead Vindicari dogs?! Are you fucking serious right now?!” · Eli opened his mouth, but she cut him off with another shove. · “Shut the fuck up! I’m not finished!” · Her eyes were wet with rage, voice cracking. · “You think it’s easy for us? Being looked at like we’re dirt just because we’re not pure Light? And you… you with your pathetic Vindicari inferiority complex! Grow the fuck up, Eli! After everything we went through together — after we saved your half-breed ass — you still look at me and Lygar like we’re the enemy?!” · She leaned in close, so close he could feel her breath on his face, voice low and venomous. · “We saved your fucking life, you ungrateful mixed-blood prick. And this is how you thank us?” · Yana spun on her heel, shoulders shaking. · Eli’s voice came out broken. · “Yana… wait… you have to understand—” · She didn’t even look back. · “I don’t want to hear it. Leave me the fuck alone.” · She walked away without another word. · Eli stood there in the middle of the street, newspaper still crumpled in his fist, cheek throbbing where she’d hit him. The rage drained out of him all at once, leaving only a cold, sick feeling in his gut. · He didn’t go to the academy. · He turned around and walked home with his head down, skipped the first day, and locked himself in his room. · The newspaper stayed on the floor where he dropped it, the word DECAPITATED staring up at him like an accusation.