"Take a seat, Lucien. We need to talk about your brother,

" Rowan told the child.

The redhead glanced at Syryn then sat on the chair vacated by Enkansh.

(I don't like the look on Rowan's face. He's about to give us bad news, I can tell.)

It's obvious.

"Lucien, what I'm about to tell you shouldn't alarm you because it's not permanent,

" Rowan said to the boy.

Red nodded once. His arms were crossed.

"Syryn has lost his memories.

"

"What? Which memories?

"

(Oh no! He doesn't remember us! I knew something was strange about Syryn.)

Calm the ** down, Luci.

"Mostly everything,

" Syryn replied.

"I only remember events from the point I was kidnapped by mermen. That was just after I left home, I guess.

"

(How can I calm down when Syryn doesn't know who we are?!)

Rowan said it's not permanent. Were you not listening?!

"First of all, you're gonna tell me all about the kidnapping story. But later,

" Red replied.

"Now about your memory loss, how do you know it's not permanent?

"

"Good question,

" Rowan said as he looked at Syryn.

"Syryn says that the person who took his memories has promised to give them back.

"

The way Rowan said that made it sound like Syryn was being naive. He couldn't blame the blond though because the Sage hadn't given them any reason to believe that he would return the memories. It was just blind faith on Syryn's part.

Red's piercing stare at Syryn made him feel like the redhead was cutting him open.

"Who is this person?

" He asked the mage.

"Well, it's a long story.

"

"Then make it short, Syryn. We don't have much time before the others return.

"

The older brother was taken back by the younger brother's sassy tone. Rowan had warned him about it but experiencing Red was different from knowing what he was like.

"I've got a being inside here,

" Syryn pointed to his forehead.

"He calls himself the Sage. He took my memories because of reasons. Anyway, he kind of saved my life.

"

"Tell me more about his reason for giving you memory loss,

" Red said as he raised his brows.

"My memories are incomplete. He will complete them. That's the reason.

"

Rowan, who had been looking out the door while listening to Syryn, turned back to look at the mage. He hadn't been given explicit reasons for the memories being taken. Now that he knew what was going on, the blond was even more curious about the identity of this Sage. Syryn's memories had been tampered with by someone whose powers were beyond the realm of their understanding. This said a lot about the Sage. The blond reassessed his opinion about the being and increased the level of threat it could present to them if his intentions weren't conducive to Syryn's well being.

Red was abnormally solemn. His eyes were narrowed in thought as he went over the facts presented before him.

(How do we know that the guy inside Syryn isn't lying?)

We don't. We find out when it's too late.

(Let's not be so pessimistic about it. Look at how you turned out! Maybe the Sage guy is Syryn's Red.)

Nope. He isn't. Anyway, it's better to be pessimistic and right than optimistic and disappointed.

(Or pessimistic and wrong. Optimistic and... What is the antonym for disappointed?)

"Syryn, I hope he's not pulling a fast one over you,

" Red said to the mage instead of replying to Luci's question.

Syryn shrugged.

"Okay, so why aren't you telling the others?

" Red asked looking between Syryn and Rowan.

"We'll let them know,

" Rowan replied.

"I just wanted to tell you two privately because of Luci's age and sensitivity.

"

Red smirked at the blond.

"Oh, Rowan, aren't you such a caring brother-in-law?

"

His sweet tone set the blond's teeth on edge but Rowan smiled kindly at the boy. He wasn't going to let Red know that the needling had affected him.

"Anything else you wanna tell us?

" Red asked, disappointed by Rowan's lukewarm response.

"No. That's it,

" Syryn replied. But at the same time, Rowan said -

"Yes, there's one other thing.

"

The anti mage took Syryn's hand in his and held it up to the redhead so they could properly look at the gold band on his finger.

"Engaged,

" Rowan informed the little boy in a doting manner.

"From now on, you may continue to call me brother in law. Or uncle Rowan if that's what you prefer. Honestly, I like being called uncle because-

"

"No!

" Red replied, looking disgusted. And then he saw the smile in Rowan's eyes and knew that he had been played. It was the anti mage's rebuttal to Red's attempt at disturbing him.

Well, well, well, Rowan wants to play a game of chicken.

(What's that?)

Watch and understand, Luci. We're going to act out and say cringey things so play along when you're in control.

(Okay!)

"But I think you're right, uncle Rowan,

" Red said shyly. He jumped off his chair and approached the blond.

"I think I can get used to calling you my uncle since we're family now. Do you know what that means?

"

"No, tell me.

"

Red stood before Rowan like an obedient child.

"It means we should have bonding time together, uncle Rowan.

"

Syryn wasn't sure what was going on but he was feeling very uncomfortable. Rowan, with his pasted-on smile, patted the redhead on his shoulder.

"What a lovely idea, Lucien. What do you have in mind?

"

"Hmmm, let's prepare dinner together for the whole family. What do you say?

"

(Yaaay! That's a great idea, Red!)

"I say yes. Uncle Rowan isn't a great cook so I look forward to learning from my little brother in law.

"

It was a terrible thing to say. How could he be uncle and brother-in-law at the same time?! It was ridiculous.

Ugh! Shut up, Luci. You're cringey.

(But it's your idea.)

We're pretending to be cringey, remember?

(We've already started?!)

...

"Did you hear that, big brother? Uncle Rowan and I will cook dinner tonight! I'm so excited!

" Red's eyes were starry but he was dead inside. The cringe was real and he was taking just as much damage as he was dishing.

Syryn was a confused man. He wasn't sure if this was par for course in his family or if Rowan and Lucien were playing a joke on him. He looked between the two. Rowan's smile seemed a bit forced but the anti mage's reactions to most things included a smile so Syryn couldn't tell if Rowan was acting because he wanted to indulge Lucien or if he was acting because they were messing with him. Red on the other hand appeared sincere.

"I'm leaving,

" a confused Syryn finally said to the boy.

"Have fun cooking you two.

" It wasn't even remotely close to dinner time yet and Syryn didn't know where his room was. All he knew was that he needed to leave the kitchen and the two people playing house.

Rowan and Lucien were left alone once Syryn had escaped the kitchen. The blond's hair stood on end when Red turned away from the door and smiled innocently at him. He should have exited with Syryn - was his first thought when he realised he was trapped with the little demonic princeling.

"Uncle Rowan, it's just the two of us now,

" Red said in a soft voice.. It sounded like a threat to Rowan's ears.

"Should we go over the menu for tonight's dinner prep?

"