Keith

"Are you not happy here?" My father asked me as I stood in front of him. He was sitting in his throne, a leather armchair today, with a tight expression. He smelled like grass.

I frowned. "Is this about the Trials?" I had made up my mind days ago, deciding that, to make things right between Lance and me, I needed to regain my heart. I didn't understand why Dad was so opposed to the idea.

"You can't answer a question with a question." He sounded tired.

"Yes, I'm happy here. It's my home."

"Then why do you insist on leaving?"

I shook my head. "I never said anything about leaving. I'd still be a devil, your son."

Father sighed and stood up, his lips pressed together in a thin line. "Devils don't have beating hearts, boy. My son is undead. If you take those Trials, you'll become semi-mortal. You won't be able to stay down here for long without dying."

"How long would I have?" I challenged.

"A week, maybe, until you'd fade away completely. You'd have to live in the Midworld."

I bit my lip. The decision had been made and it was sound and solid, but my father kept bringing up more and more obstacles, throwing things in my way to try and sway me.

"I will find a home in the Midworld, then, and visit as often as I can."

My father shook his head. "Your life will become shorter. A couple thousand years, at the most."

"Mortals only live 80. I can live my life well with a few thousand."

My father turned away from me. His shoulders were hunched. "Why do you want to leave me, my boy?" His shoulders shook but I refused to believe he was crying. My father emotional because of me? Unheard of. Impossible.

"I want to live my life as someone who can love. I want to love my friends, my family, myself. Dad, I want to love you."

"You can't love me," he shot back, "I cannot love."

"I never said you had to," I said gently. I knew I could take the Trials alone. But I wanted my father with me, supporting me. "If I die in there, I want you to know that I loved you. Or at least I wanted to." I turned to leave but paused. As I'd expected, I felt Dad's hand on my shoulder. I didn't turn.

"I am not Missus. I couldn't care less about love and I can't understand for the life of me why you crave it. I will not stand in your way if this is what you truly want, but I will not encourage it. Keith, you were born as a Prince of Darkness and all things otherwise tragic. That is all you will ever be in my eyes- my son and my heir. By... renouncing this role, you renounce me and your home."

"I would never- could never renounce you, Father. This is my home and you will always be a part of it. But you have to understand that my heart is up there." I raised my eyes to the cavernous ceiling above us. "I just hope that Lance will still have it."

"He will."

I wasn't sure if my father knew that for a fact, and I had a sneaking suspicion that he'd interrogated Lance, but I trusted him. I had to.

...

"It's not going to be easy, I'll tell you that. You're going to want to die if you don't end up actually killing yourself. But you just have to focus on yourself and nothing else. You'll make it."

Kuron was placing two circular patches to my temples, yellow eyes focused. Shiro stood slightly behind him, looking at me nervously. I knew that, between the two of them, Shiro was considerably more anxious about the outcome.

It wasn't like Kuron wasn't worried about me, his hands were shaking too much to convince me that he was confident in me, but Shiro was insightful and wise, and I knew that he was doubtful.

Of course, I was just as nervous. I knew I didn't have the strongest mind or heart, but I was determined. I had something to live for- I wouldn't throw it away because my own mind dictated it to be so.

The three of us were standing in the room where the prophecy was and I could see the podium in my peripheral vision. I recited the lines in my head, boring them into my memory.

  Born unto you, a boy of night

Born unto Her, a boy of light

Lance and I.

  Together they grow, together they fight

Years from now, souls to unite

That was our meeting, and then our trip together.

  A bridge to form, a bond of bright

From the nest, to both take flight

That was my leaving the Underworld. Did it mean that Lance would leave the Upperworld too?

  Thrice from your home, three pairs to unite

The ancient battle ends for hearts to rewrite

The Twins and I- three of us in love with angels. And the next line was me regaining my heart.

  Be cautious now, Man of Plight

Parting be your downfall- silence your spite

I knew that it was directed at my father, the 'Man of Plight', and how he needed to accept my departure.

Though you will mourn, their love is requite

Again, Lance and I. Would I love him after this? I wanted to.

  So do not resist, with brawn or might

You will lose your sons to the sounds of light.

And those last two lines were meant for my father, telling him that... that what? That it was hopeless? That we'd leave him no matter what?

He wasn't in the room with us- he'd said his goodbye in the Throne Room and I'd accepted it. I knew that it was the best that he could do. I could feel his aura, though, snaking through the Underworld like smoke, creeping under doors and through the tunnels of our home.

It smelled like loss and hurt and revenge and it broke my heart with every breath, letting it enter my throat and curl around my lungs, but I knew that this was what I was meant to do. Fate was bullshit, destiny a mere tale to make people feel better about themselves, but the rightness of this could only be explained by those phenomenons.

I was born to be the bridge, to unite the Upper- and Underworld, to love what was forbidden to me. And finally, I was ready to step forward and take what was mine.

"Are you ready?" Kuron asked, a deep, hard question in his eyes that he didn't voice. I knew that I wasn't just doing this for myself. I was doing this for my brothers- if I could pass this test, then it meant that they could too.

And if my brothers could love, the wound that had caused a rift between their guides and their hearts would close and the Twins could finally be happy. My father was a different story. If I survived this, I swore to myself that I would do anything to make sure that he would be happy, to visit and to show him that I cared about him and I always would.

"I am," I said firmly. Ready as I'd ever be, I guessed. Kuron looked like he wanted to hug me, his eyes a mess of emotions that I knew he'd never be able to say, but he stuck with a hand on my shoulder instead, and a hand on my heart.

"Let's get this thing up and running," he chuckled dryly, eyes flicking from my chest to my face.

I offered him a sincere smile in return. Kuron turned to the podium and ran his hand over it, fingers picking up a bit of dust. "Take care of my little brother, enchantress." His voice was thick and he only spared me one more look before turning away and hurrying outside.

I looked at Shiro. His dark eyes were trained on me with an odd expression. "This is what you want, right?"

I nodded.

"You'll do great, then. I know you will."

"I hope so."

"Well, I know so." He stepped forward and pulled me to his chest in a hug and I felt my throat close up. I would miss being his full brother. "Patience yields focus, Keith," he muttered as he pulled back, then turned away and walked out of the room.

The stone door slid shut behind him.

I inhaled deeply, then stepped up to the podium. I looked down at the prophecy and mustered every ounce of courage and strength I had. I closed my eyes.

"Are you ready, Prince of Darkness?" A thin, reedy voice whispered in my ear. She sounded skeptical and judgemental.

"Yes."

"Then you may proceed."

I opened my eyes.