Zain watched her in silence for a moment.
Then spoke, voice low.
"…I guess we do have something in common."
Velra raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"I killed my own father too."
She blinked, surprised.
"You? But… you're a commoner."
"I thought your kind lived in harmony, holding hands, eating cheap food together or something."
Zain laughed. "Yeah, right."
He leaned back, arms crossed.
"Troubled families don't care about rank."
He looked away for a moment.
"Ours started falling apart after my mother died."
"She was the only warmth in that house."
He paused for a moment, sighing.
"After she was gone, he… snapped."
"Drank too much. Spoke even less."
"Every time the bottle emptied, his fists didn't."
Velra's expression shifted, slightly more serious.
"…You and your sister?"
Zain nodded.
"Every night. Bruises that wouldn't fade."
He glanced back at her.
"So the moment I awakened my first ability..."
"I wrapped my hand around his throat and crushed it."
Velra stared at him.
