Smoke ||Book Two||

Chapter Three

There he was, back at the old house that had once belonged to Arienne. This dream always started this way. The world slowly turned around him as he carried Cassandra's body to the horses and rode alongside King David and the grand wizard, Deletrear. Their brief conversations blurred together, something more like gibberish or a language he didn't understand.

The ride back to Luxtene always seemed to take forever, just as it had in real life. That ride had been the longest Nix had ever been on, and he wasn't quite sure why. His chest felt like a bottle that had been filled too high with a cork that was about to blow. The same day he had realized what he had felt the entire time was love had been the same day his first true love slipped out of his fingers.

The walls of Luxtene and the stares of the citizens brought very little comfort to Nix. He completely shut them out as they rode straight to the castle. The dream moved quickly, throwing context or an order completely away.

"Stay here, Nix. Don't leave. Live here beside Deletrear and I. We could use you on our side. You have a home with us."

Long ago, Nix had declined that offer. He had chosen a life all on his own instead, but still visited. Had he not done that, he wouldn't have found his sister and mother, but perhaps he wouldn't have dealt with all these emotions all the time. A lifetime of being forced to keep himself contained and in control was hard to undo overnight.

But would what have happened if Nix had accepted? He saw his hand be placed into David's as they shook. "Very well. I can't promise I'll be any good at what I do, but I'll try. I'll devote myself and my loyalty to Luxtene."

He felt like a traitor, even in his dreams. Nix had always grown up hearing about the power and beauty Phaepyr held, and now he had become their enemy. Thankfully, his dream barely touched on that subject and he was able to move on past that.

The dream skipped into the future and Nix assumed it was around ten years, the same amount of time that had currently passed since that day. He saw himself in the mirror, standing proudly as he wore the Luxtene colors across his chest. He was a soldier, the second right hand to David alongside Deletrear. Together, they were a perfect trio.

David had the power, Deletrear had the magic, and Nix had the strength.

He was more clean shaven in this dream, with his hair still somewhat long but tied back away from his face like how Deletrear wore his. His eyes that had been so used to looking sunken in were bright and joyful. Wrinkles of time were beginning to appear on his face, but the smile lines outpowered those.

Would he have really been happier if he had accepted David's offer?

The locket of Cassandra still was worn across his neck, but it wasn't as worn. It still looked new, the silver coating still in place despite the efforts of time.

"Are you ready, Phoenix?" Deletrear's voice called from a part of the room that Nix couldn't see. He only saw himself grin as he adjusted the sword upon his belt.

"Absolutely. I've been craving his head for so long. Let's do this."

Side by side, the two walked out of the room and disappeared into the castle, but the dream didn't follow. Instead, it lingered in the now empty room and focused on the mirror with no one to reflect. The man that had just been standing in front of it had been powerful in more ways than one. He had fire in his spirit, rather than in his hands. While his heart still had old wounds, they had all long scarred over and were untouchable.

Nix wondered what his own heart looked like, knowing exactly how it felt. Was all this greatness really everything he had given up? And for what? Selfish reasons? Fear of trusting in someone else? Fear of loving another person, only to lose them again?