The Forgotten Light

64. Darksen

Full moon, midnight sharp.

Darksen woke up hearing the voice of that Aeternal girl from Sedona. He rubbed his face with his hands. It was just a dream. A reminder that there was important work to be done.

He felt better, although his left arm seemed to be dead. When he moved his fingers, they worked very reluctantly. That damn bird had attacked him so suddenly that he had no chance of avoiding the dart aimed at him. He had been more focused on Argenti attacking him from everywhere, and hadn't expected that a bigger threat might be coming from the air.

It was still night, and he was a bit surprised at how quickly the ormitys mitigated the effects of the poison. Feeling his mouth dry, he crawled out of bed and walked over to a table on which stood a carafe of water and a glass.

Outside, the wind blew away the clouds and moonlight came through the window, illuminating Darksen. He furrowed his eyebrows and raised his gaze from above the glass, not stopping to fill it.

High in the night sky was a full moon.

He heard the water overflow from the glass, but suddenly he couldn't move. He realized that he had slept for the entire day, and that in a moment it would strike midnight.

Full moon, midnight sharp.

He should start opening the portal to Sedona in no time. Raysun's daughter should be ready by now.

"Fuck." With a bang, he set the empty carafe down on the table, looking around the dark room. Where was she?

He quickly put on a black shirt, checked his closet, looked out the window to the courtyard, and looked in the bathroom. There was no sign of her anywhere.

His heart was beating like crazy, as it slowly came to him what was happening.

His dream had just begun to come true.

He had been through this several times before, so he knew exactly where she was, who was holding her and what they were going to do.

What he didn't know was how it would all end.

He cursed under his breath. He should have taken advantage of Argenti's attack and the chaos, and opened the tunnel to Sedona.

He ran out of the chamber and rushed down the stairs to the coronation hall. A powerful feeling of déjà vu accompanied him, but no wonder, since he had dreamed of this moment so many times. He literally ran through the dream, once again trying to prevent what was about to happen.

The door of the largest hall in the castle stood open, as if everyone was already waiting for him. He slowed his step, calmed his breathing, raised his chin high.

Thandor sat on a platform, behind him Invicta Noctis stood in a row, and Invicta Nix stood along the aisle. When Darksen stepped inside, a white-haired guard closed the door behind him. The Prince walked between the Beings, trying not to glance in the direction of Isan, who was holding the girl, as he had dozens of times in his dreams, to end her life next.

His subconscious has been warning him. He knew that eventually something would happen that would make his father change his mind and decide to get rid of the girl after all.

He clenched his fists, sinking his fingernails deep into his skin, drawing blood. The pain he felt finally dispelled the last hope that maybe he was still dreaming.

No more illusions - that was happening for real.

Fairlight was about to die, no matter what he would do.

He knew that he wouldn't be able to open the passage, that the Sedona boy wouldn't be able to come for her in time.

Unless he played it out right this time and was a little late with opening the portal.

No more mistakes - her life was at stake.

He already knew one hundred percent that this time it wasn't the dream that had been plaguing him since the events in the arena, preparing him for this very moment. Everything depended on him now, he had to know how to act, what to say, what to do. He had already tried silence, taking the blame, admitting, denying, faking indignation, feigning indifference...

It didn't matter what he had done or not done. The girl's life had ended in some gruesome way every time.

And now he had one last chance to change her fate.

He took a deep breath. He had probably never felt such hatred before. He loathed what he was about to do.

He had already almost won her trust. Now, if she was to survive, he had to ruin it all.

It's a good thing that trust is easier to lose than to earn, because in order for her to get out of this, she had to believe that from the very beginning he had been her greatest enemy, the worst bastard she had ever dealt with.

He breathed out the air he was holding in his lungs and sent her his darkest look, grinning predatorily.

He was the devil who had deceived her like no one before. "I see that the lost girl has been found."