Palmer stirred. His vision, still hazy, slowly cleared until the first thing he saw was the familiar sheen of black-streaked silver hair cascading around a delicate face.
He realized his head was cradled in someone's lap, the embrace both comforting and tender. It was Lilith.
He blinked again, taking in the concerned faces surrounding him... every one of them watching anxiously, waiting for him to wake.
"Any later than this," Lilith said, forcing a smile through her teary eyes, "and we'd have declared you dead."
Fenris squinted. "Wait, you weren't joking when you said that earlier?"
"She's clearly joking, dolt... Take a hint," Ivy snapped, dropping a knuckle hard on his head.
"Oww!" Fenris yelped, recoiling.
Without warning, Lilith grabbed Palmer and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder. Her tears came without restraint, soaking through his clothes as she sobbed uncontrollably.
Palmer smiled softly, one hand rising to gently stroke her hair. "You haven't changed... ever so quick to tears."
"Whose fault do you think that is?" she whispered between sniffles.
"Haha... sorry, sorry," he murmured, patting her head gently, the warmth of her embrace grounding him.
After several minutes, the group filled him in on everything that had happened.
Or at least, Fenris tried. It took Elijah and Valen stepping in to clean up the chaos of his gibberish.
"So... that's what happened, huh?" Palmer finally said, a heavy sadness crossing his face.
The memories came back to him, especially that final moment before he blacked out. He remembered standing before the entity...
"please, save him," he had said.
And then... Blackout.
Elijah looked down, unease tightening his chest. Guilt settled in his throat like a stone.
"I know what you're thinking, Elias," he said softly. "It's not your fault everything happened. Back then... I just needed someone to blame."
He clenched his fists.
"I blamed you for going out that day. If you hadn't... maybe Dad wouldn't have chased after you. Maybe he wouldn't have left us. Maybe Lilith wouldn't have cried for years, waiting for her big brother to come home." His voice cracked. "And maybe I wouldn't have had to make her to feed on humans."
Palmer smiled faintly. "You act like I'm clean. You think I didn't feed on humans too? How do you think I survived all these years?"
"Have you seen Lilith feed?" Elijah replied, cracking a smirk. "She would drain an entire town of blood to satisfy her hunger."
The room turned to Lilith at once.
She grinned and threw up a peace sign. "Yours truly."
Fenris instantly sprang back, somehow producing garlic, a cross, and even sprinkling salt over his shoulders.
"I've tasted your kind before, I still curse the day I made that decision." Lilith barked at him.
"Hey, one can never be too careful!" he protested.
Elijah looked back to Palmer, his expression sobering.
"I've always wanted to ask you," he said. "That thing from before… I felt its presence that day everything went to hell. It happened right after your usual pain started acting up. Has it... always been the cause of that pain?"
Palmer nodded slowly.
"His presence has been growing stronger inside me ever since the village. Ever since that day, he comes out whenever or however..."
He paused.
"But this time... I actually got to speak with him before I blacked out."
"So you asked him to save Valen," Elijah said.
Palmer nodded again.
"That explains how it," Elijah said, eyes narrowing.
Lilith spoke next, her voice low. "That also explains she wants him back..."
Palmer frowned.
"What do you mean by 'she'?"
Elijah's expression hardened.
"After dad left with you, the villagers found us. Tortured us. I could take the beating... I deserved it for letting my guard down. But what I couldn't take was what they did to Lilith."
"I saw it..." Palmer whispered, his voice hoarse. "When I got back to the village. I felt it."
"I felt like I was dying," Elijah continued. "Then she came. Our mother. I've never felt rage that strong before. It was like... death itself had taken form. She tore through the village. No one was spared."
His voice trembled. "She took us back home, cared for us like we were everything. Until suddenly it was like we stopped existing. She was obsessed, with you. She said I wasn't the one she wanted. It was always you."
Lilith nodded slowly. "Dad must not have known who she meant. So he took all of us when he ran."
"There's something about you she desperately wants, Elias..." Elijah said. "But I don't know why."
"That doesn't sound good," Sarah muttered, arms folded. "Things just keep getting worse."
"You don't get to say that unless you've been tortured by Valen," Fenris huffed.
"Why do you sound proud of that?" Sarah asked, eyes narrowing.
"Let's go, Lilith," Elijah said suddenly, standing and grabbing the change of clothes Sarah had brought for Palmer.
Valen turned to him. "What are you going to do now?"
"Seems like there's a lot about history we don't know. I'm going to start piecing it together. From Mom... to everything else."
He glanced sideways at Valen. "Besides, I still don't know how you healed so fast after I touched you. That rematch is coming."
Lilith leaned down, resting her forehead on Palmer's. "I'll be back, Elias."
He looked up at her.
She had grown stunning — beautiful in a way that made his chest tighten.
But deep down, she was still the little sister who always clung to his clothes.
"Aww, so cute... for someone who was looking so vicious hours ago," Ivy teased. "Show your real face."
"Huh? This is my real face," Lilith barked. "And it's a face only my brother gets to see. Be grateful you witnessed such divine beauty."
"I don't think so cutesy!"
The two began bickering instantly. Elijah sighed, grabbed Lilith by the collar, and started walking out.
But he paused at the door.
"Oh, by the way, Elias..." He looked over his shoulder. "You ever heard of an evasive silver-haired noble vampire who's been saving humans from supernaturals?"
Palmer blinked. "...Nope. Been kinda busy worrying about other things. Why?"
Elijah smiled knowingly.
"He's not part of any vampire noble family we know of. And he's only ever seen saving humans. Odd for a noble vampire right?"
Palmer's eyes widened. "...Dad? That's not possible, he was human."
"Just a possibility," Elijah said, turning away. "But I'll look into it. Till then..." He glanced back one last time. "Stay out of trouble, little brother."
He turned to Sarah and the others.
"Thank you, except the skinwalker, for taking care of my brother,"
"Hey!" Fenris barked
" It's because of you all he's still himself... unlike me."
Sarah smiled warmly. "Even if he hadn't met us, I think Palmer would still be Palmer."
"You never cease to amaze me," Elijah whispered before walking out
As their silhouettes vanished beyond the doorway, silence returned to the room — soft, fragile, and heavy with memories. Palmer sat quietly, Lilith's warmth still lingering on his shoulder, Elijah's words echoing in his heart. For the first time in centuries, he felt whole and broken all at once.