Son of Fire

Chapter One Hundred and Nineteen

Josh couldn't sleep all that well. It probably didn't help that he had slept for a long time before after his stint with the werewolf. But it was also what was coming.

It wouldn't be long until he would really find out how this war will go. The battle of Arcadia will be many things, but Josh knew it will be proof of they can win against his father or not.

Auradon was different. It was over a bridge from the Isle, where they all knew the country. They knew where to strike, and had the advantage of teleportation to get them there. But Arcadia was a full on invasion. Most of the advantages they had in Auradon now gone, Hell Josh didn't even have his powers anymore. So he knew he wasn't going to be as effective.

Sure, Harry and Sarah are also powered individuals they didn't have before, but Josh was a lot more powerful than the two, Harry has just gotten his powers in the recent months, and Sarah had a lot of trauma that inhibited her use of her powers.

The only good thing? George was their prisoner. So both sides had lost their Sons of Fire. Josh wasn't overly fond of the nickname, but he had grown used to it. And it brought him some degree of comfort that George wouldn't be in this fight.

Josh found himself on the deck of the ship, the night was without a single cloud. The stars above mapped above him, a guide to where he needed to be. It felt almost peaceful, something Josh still couldn't get use too. Even the cold nip in the air somehow made him feel at peace.

"I knew you'd be like me." Beca calls from the ledge of the ship, her dusky hair somehow seemed more majestic with the moonlight reflected from it. Josh hadn't quite noticed before how beautiful Beca was. Her usual angry demeanour was not there tonight, her face almost looked kind. "Can't sleep?" She asks softly.

"Nope. But that's nothing new. I don't sleep all that much." Josh answers as he walks over to her, resting his arm on the ledge.

"Yeah, I feel that." Beca chuckles. "But, I can think of worse nights to be hit with insomnia." Her eyes float up to the night sky, taking in the beauty of it all, the cascade of stars fallen upon the horizon.

"Yeah, the barrier does a lot for Auradon, but it takes all this away." Josh admits.

"I remember dreaming of stars." Beca states. "I had heard about them, but on the Isle we could never see them. Only the darkness in the sky. In the Orphanage, I'd lay in my bed, my eyes locked on the ceiling above, and I'd imagine my own stars. Make my own constellations. I thought they'd be bigger, that the light from them was brighter."

"Are you disappointed?" Josh questions, bringing his eyes onto her.

"It's not what I expected, but it's still so beautiful." Beca smiles warmly. It is probably the only time Josh had ever seen this kind of smile from Beca.

"You'll find that it's the smaller things in life that bring you meaning." Josh smiles. "You'd think it would be power, gold and all that other stuff. But it's the small things. The stars, a certain flower, a certain person."

"Mal?" Beca asks and Josh chuckles and shakes his head.

"Not entirely. I love Mal, but the one person who brought my life meaning was Audrey. She was the one who taught me about love. About loyalty, about sacrifice. Every good part of me comes back to Audrey."

"I wish I could find that." Beca admitted as she lowered her eyes. "Someone who could show me the little things."

"You will, Beca. When you're as damaged as we are, you forgo any attachments like that. But that one person will break it all down, and show you everything you've missed."

"That's what this Ben guy was to Mal, right?" Beca asked and Josh nodded solemnly.

"Yes, he was the one who made Mal believe in love. Which is what drives her. She is the reason we are fighting, and that tracks back to Ben."