Threads of Fate

Chapter 31 ~ Fragments of the Puzzle

    The dream showed him faces, two familiar, one partially, and one not. The golden Prince and the dark beauty that would be his Queen. He saw the same gentleness they had shown the Human boy within their features, but this time reflected at the child in Tissaia's arms. A baby whose head was capped with ebony hair, and had eyes a blue as pale as his father's.

    Then they melted away, being replaced by the second two faces. The same child now grown, his features elegant and angular, almost a reflection of his mother, but a closer replica of his uncle. And the female beside him shone with an ethereal radiance like he had seen only once, when Drenusha herself appeared to him.

    Her hair flowed in golden caramel waves, her eyes a frosty gray. Her features were softly rounded in some areas and angled in others. At her back were feathered wings that seemed to be made of pure light. And upon her sternum was inked the same brand as his own, a moon eclipsing a blazing sun. The mark of the Phoenix.

    "You must find it before Astaroth," Drenusha's voice whispered in his ear, "or this future will never come to pass, and Asterria will cease to be."

•༻☽☾༺•

    Kaius woke to an aching and trembling body, and found himself choking on blood that was dripping down his throat. Talarion was on top of him, holding his legs and arms down with his own. His eyes swam with fear and guilt as they met his. Cautiously, Talarion released him and shifted aside.

    Kaius still had no breath to speak with. It was his turn to close his eyes as Talarion touched his fingers to his jaw and silver magic sparked. His touch trailed to the corner of Kaius's mouth, knitting torn flesh back together.

    "What did I do?" Kaius rasped when he could summon his voice again.

    "You ripped the corner of your mouth with your nails. I couldn't pin you down fast enough."

    "Did I wake the others?"

    "No. I shielded the area after you fell asleep, since you said you didn't want anyone else around." Talarion's head dropped into his palm and he massaged his temples. "Gods, Kai. We can't keep doing this.  "

    Kaius closed his eyes once more as tears welled up within them. "What is wrong with me?" His voice broke mid sentence, and Talarion's arms were around him immediately. Kaius returned his embrace, clutching the fabric of his shirt as if it were a lifeline keeping them tethered.

    "Nothing is wrong with you," Talarion assured him. "I don't know what this is, but it's not you. It's not your fault." Kaius shuddered against him and a small grunt of pain slipped between his teeth. "What is it? Did I miss something? Are you hurt anywhere else?"

    Kaius released him with one arm and the other drifted to his sternum. He rubbed the tattoo marked there as he answered. "My scars," he admitted. "The old ones, from the Blood Fae who killed my parents. They're all burning. My ear too."

    They had every time he woke up from a vision, though he'd never told the Twins when they were compiling a list of his side effects. Partially because the pain had faded so quickly the first few times that he'd forgotten about it, and then because it sounded so absurd.

    Talarion went rigid against him, but all he asked was, "What did you see?"

    "I saw Azael and Tissaia, and...I think their son. I saw them holding him when he was a baby, and then I saw him as an adult, with another female. He looked almost exactly like you and Tissaia, except his hair was shorter and he had Azael's eyes. But the female looked like a winged goddess. And she had my same marking. She was a Phoenix."