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“Are you going to come here every day?” Armani grumbled, despite the fact that it had been weeks since the last time I’d been at their house.

“Only because you’re such a charming host,” I grinned. “I feel so welcomed.”

“You are welcomed,” Micah smiled.

Armani rolled his eyes. “After spending a day at the beck and call of the elites, seeing you is not very comforting.”

“Well, I’m not an elite,” I reminded him.

“Not yet, is what you mean,” he sighed, collapsing on the couch beside Micah.

His arm was bruised and his palms were all scratched up. “This is none of your business,” he murmured after he saw me looking. He got up and stalked off to his room.

“He still hates me.”

“He doesn’t hate you,” Micah said softly. “He’s just worried because he doesn’t know if you’ll turn out like the rest of them.”

“Micah, you know I’ll never do anything to hurt you and Armani, right?”

I was a bit scared to hear his answer, but his pure blue-green eyes reassured me that he trusted me completely.

“Of course I do, Elizabeth.”

His eyes were the same as his brother’s, but where Armani’s were cold and distrustful, Micah’s were full of pure trust and honesty. The juxtaposition amazed me and made me sad at the same time. If Micah had to endure what Armani did, would his eyes stay the same? Or would they slowly morph into a chasm of hate that I wouldn’t recognize? That thought scared me.

Armani came back into the room a few minutes later, still making it clear that I was only there because Micah wanted me there.

“Stop being so grouchy, Armani,” Micah sighed.

“Oh please forgive me for worrying when you’re being so carefree around the prince’s soulmate, Micah.”

Micah rolled his eyes at that and grinned at me. “Did you decide to go to the festival?” he asked me. “The Gold Sun Festival.”

“The Solar Gold Festival,” I giggled. “And yes, I was convinced to go. You and Armani should come too.”

“The Solar Gold Festival?” Armani murmured from his place beside Micah. “It’s already been twelve years, huh.”

“Can we go?” Micah asked excitedly.

“Micah…” Armani’s eyes softened. “I don’t know about that.”

Micah sighed, his enthusiasm fading like wisps of smoke. I didn’t want to see him sad.

“C’mon, Armani,” I implored. “Let’s go together.”

“If you’re suggesting I go with you and the elites, it’s a hard pass from me.”

“But my other friends will be there too. Micah knows them. You wouldn’t have to be around the other guys at all… not that they’d do anything to you.”

“You say they wouldn’t, but I know of one Beta that hangs out with the prince who hates us almost as much as I hate him.”

That must be Jun.

“But still,” I insisted. “You two can go together instead. There’ll be so many people, you probably won’t even encounter the… the nobles.”

“Yeah,” Micah agreed, his eyes beaming with optimism. “Please, what if we never get another chance to go again?”

Armani sighed, rubbing his jaw in contemplation, his resolve crumbling away because of his brother.

“Fine,” he sighed, brushing his hand through the air. “We’ll go. But we can’t go too far from the palace.”

Micah grinned his million watt grin. “Thank you!”

“Do you think there’ll be more festivals in the summer?” he asked and Armani groaned.

“Thanks for filling his head with festivals.”

I laughed at that. “No problem.”

“I want to go to the beach too,” Micah continued. “And to an amusement park. I read about that in a book. It sounds like fun.”

“I’m sure it is,” Armani answered softly.

“And then in August, it’ll be your birthday,” he said, grinning at Armani. He stuck his tongue out. “You’ll be old.”

“I feel old,” Armani joked, but I could tell he was being serious.

Micah smiled back and then yawned. “I feel tired now.”

“It’s all the excitement. You got so worked up. It’s late, go get some rest.”

“But then I won’t get to spend time with Elizabeth.”

“I’ll come again,” I offered.

“By all means, move in,” Armani grumbled and I chuckled and ruffled Micah’s hair.

“Good night.”

“Good night, Elizabeth.” He smiled. “G’Night, Armani.”

He got up to go to his room and then paused by Armani. “I’m sorry if I’m asking for too much,” he said softly.

I could see Armani’s eyes soften in the pale light. “Don’t worry about it. For you, I’d do anything.”

He smiled and then went to his room. Armani sighed as he watched his brother leave.

“You’re a good brother,” I murmured.

“Your validation means the world to me,” he groused, but his voice wasn’t hostile.

I wondered what it would be like to lock him and CaVaughn in a room together. They’d probably sarcasm each other to death.

“I’m being serious,” I said and he frowned.

“I just… I just want him to be happy. I want him to have the things that I couldn’t, you know?” he sighed. “You probably don’t.”

“Hey, don’t be so quick to judge,” I frowned. “I do know. It’s not the same, but there are people who I want to be happy too. Lately it’s been impossible to try to please everyone at the same time.”

Armani was silent at that. “Hmm.”

His eyebrows furrowed. “How long do you plan to entertain yourself with my brother?”

“What?” I asked, recoiling from the abruptness of his question.

“You heard me,” Armani sighed. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it. You see, Micah’s all I have left and I’m trying my damn best to shield him from all this… mess.”

In the failing, flickering light of the bulb, his eyes looked more green than blue. They were sincere, they were honest. They looked like Micah’s and for a split second, it was not Armani who sat beside me, but a child with dark hair and shining eyes who had hopes and dreams and a future.

“You’re going to be the queen,” he continued. “And whether you’d like to admit it or not, Micah will just be another nameless, faceless servant to you. Another dispensable Omega.” He forced the words out through gritted teeth. His face clouded with fury.

“Are you going to forget about him when he trusts you so much? The way he looks at you, it genuinely hurts me,” he said, clutching his heart. “Because I’ve seen so many people change. People who were nice, just like you. People who wanted to help, just like you. How long is it going to take before you throw him away like everyone else? If you have a heart, spare him the pain and just leave now. At the end of the day, we only have each other.”

I stared at him, pinned into place by the frostiness of his words. I could feel it. All the hurt and anger that was eating away at him. He had to be strong for Micah’s sake. He wanted his brother to have the childhood that he lost. To make the memories that he didn’t get a chance to.

He thought I would hurt him. That hurt me.

I wouldn’t hurt Micah, but he was speaking the truth. He didn’t know if I would or not.

“I get it,” I whispered softly, but I knew he heard me. “I get what you mean. I know you’re hurting and I won’t pretend to understand the pain you’re feeling.” I blinked back the tears that misted over my eyes. “Do you remember back when I told you that the kingdom will change? I meant it, but looking back, I wonder if I was just trying to convince myself. I didn’t want to be queen. Even now, I’m not sure what I want and it’s frightening.

“But I do know that I want to help you and everyone else in this kingdom so, so much. I want to make this a better place for Micah and for the kids who can only get a taste of freedom in their dreams. I want Crysauralia to change, and I assure you, I will never hurt Micah. It’s not much, but you have my word. I promise.”

“A promise is a comfort to a fool,” Armani sighed. “And don’t start crying or they’ll think I did something to you.” He sighed again. “I must be a fool for wanting to believe you.”

“What do you want most, Armani?”

“To be free. For my brother to be free. For all the Omegas in the kingdom to be free. I want to see it happen before I die. I want to see this mess change.”

“Me too.”

“I wanted to be a pilot,” he chuckled. “My dream was to make money, go back to school and then travel the world with my brother. I thought that if I worked hard enough, the debt would be paid off in no time. Turns out interest accumulates like a damn pest. I’ve come to see the reality of it all. It turns out to earn money, you first need to have money,” he sighed. “If Micah trusts you this much, then you’re probably a half-way decent person at least,” he said with a ghost of a smile.

“Your validation means the world to me,” I smiled.

“An Omega validating a queen, now that’s something you don’t hear everyday.”

“But I’m not a queen. I’m an ordinary girl with the aspirations of a queen.”

“But unlike most of us, you have the chance to turn your aspirations into a reality. What kind of queen would you want to be? What’s stopping you?”

I thought about it long and hard as we sat together in still silence.

What was holding me back?

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