*Ciana*
It was a long dream.
Fire. Smoke. Howls of desperation.
It was a battlefield.
They said he was the ruthless Alpha of all, a cold-hearted monster who only knew how to destroy, and the thousands of bodies under were the proof.
They told that only eternal darkness was left in him, and I wouldn’t sense hope in the air.
And there he was, standing on top of the pile of corpses, coated in blood.
His body was as still as a statue; his face was emotionless, almost no different than those of the dead on the ground below him.
Then he saw .
I watched light gather in his dark eyes and life seed to return to him. Slowly, his lips parted into a stunning smile that outshined the starry night sky.
He reached out his hand. “Co to ,” he whispered.
My legs moved toward him as if they had a will of their own.
Even though they told that every step I took was one step closer to my own eternal death.
“But they were lying to you!” a crisp child’s voice said.
As I walked toward him, I suddenly noticed that I wasn’t alone. There was a tiny little girl holding my hand. She had my hair, but a pair of beautiful sparkling dark eyes.
Her cheeks were round and rosy, a wide smile on her face. She wore a little yellow sundress and matching jelly sandals. Her hair was tied up in pigtails with little butterfly barrettes.
Light and warmth radiated off of her like she was a little sun, dispelling the gloominess around .
I took her hand, and we walked to the man ahead of us.
He was waiting there patiently, watching us. With every step we took to get closer to him, the smile on his face grew bigger.
Without hesitation, I placed my hand in his, feeling my life leaving my body in exchange for the precious mories of our past.
Yes, I rembered who he was.
The Dark King Theo.
My love.
Then I heard the little angel next to say, “Mommy, let’s go ho.”
***
*Theo*
I leaned against the windowsill and looked out at the palace as it stretched out around . With a bourbon glass in one hand, I swirled the amber liquid around, hearing the ice cubes clinking against the glass.
Taking a sip, I looked at the broken lapel pin that I clung to in my other hand. The person who gave it to ant more than anything else in the world. But it was broken. It broke from saving my life.
The sun was setting over the palace, making the entire sky look like it was on fire and the whole world seed to be made of pure, liquid gold.
As beautiful as it was, it didn’t brighten my day. The only person who could do that was not here with , and I didn’t know whether she ever would again.
When I woke up three months ago, Jake told that her father had taken her to the Realm of Light to get help, and I hadn’t heard anything about her ever since.
It was like she had been gone from my world completely.
Well, literally, it was the case.
I’d been pretty out of it when they’d taken her away but Jake had filled in.
Alpha Soren seed to be confident that he could persuade the White Queen to help Ciana. She could be physically healed and have her mories restored. Supposedly, she’d be blessed again so that she’d regain her immunity to my touch.
All sounded so promising except for no one knew when they would return.
I wondered how she was. Did she rember yet? If she did, was she missing like I missed her?
How was the baby? Had anyone even told her she was pregnant yet? After so much ti, it wasn’t like they could hide it from her. The baby would be growing and moving.
Would I ever get to et my own child?
How much longer would this take?
Thirty days, thirty months, or thirty years? After all, Soren himself hadn’t been able to find a path to go to his ho world for almost twenty years.
I missed Ciana. My heart ached for her. I wanted her in my arms where she was safe and loved.
My fingers tingled at the mory of her warm skin under my touch. I refused to think I’d never get to feel her again.
She would return. I had faith in her.
Sighing, I took another sip of bourbon and turned away from the open window. As much as I missed her and wanted to know what was going on, there was not much I could do right this mont.
As much as I wanted to go chasing after Ciana and check on her, for the ti being, I had to first focus on what was needed for the country.
I played with the lapel pin as I finished off my bourbon. Even now, it was the only piece of her that I could hold onto.
“There he is,” Jake said, coming into my room.
“I thought my work was all caught up. Did I miss anything?”
“Nope,” Jake smirked. “but you have soone’s howork to check up on.”
I tucked the pin into my front pocket, keeping it close to my heart like before. I almost forgot that it was report day today.
Jake and I went to Alexander’s room.
As a prince, and current heir to the throne, he had certain responsibilities that were important for his education and growth. He was learning the history of our kingdom along with military strategies, economics, leadership and combat skills.
“Uncle Theo!” Alexander jumped out from his chair, but then he thought of sothing and bowed with a serious expression, “Greetings, Your Majesty.”
Okay, it seed that he also added etiquette to his curriculum.
“Greetings, Your Highness.” I cleared my throat. It was a bit odd to be so formal, but I figured I needed to set a good example, especially if that was what he currently had been working on. “Today is report day. Let’s see how your studies are going.”
Three of Alexander’s tutors were with and my nephew.
“Prince Alexander is incredibly smart and continues to excel,” one tutor told .
“He has mastered self-defense and has progressed well in his attacks as well,” his combat instructor said.
I nodded and looked over the report card they’d put together for .
“Looking good. Pretty soon, I’ll have to quiz you on your fighting skills myself.”
He grinned at .
“His Highness has been working very hard. One might say too hard. He is still a young, growing boy and needs to get his rest,” another of his tutors suggested.
“Is that true?” I asked, arching an eyebrow at my nephew.
Alexander crossed his arms. “I still have much to improve before I can match you, Uncle Theo.”
“You have a few years to do so. You have ti, kid.”
“But I want to be able to help you as soon as I can.”
“And you will. For now, be patient with yourself, focusing on building a solid foundation. Your ti will co,” I reminded him.
Although he didn’t fight back this ti, I could tell he still wasn’t convinced.
Nodding to the tutors, I dismissed them so that Alexander and I could talk privately. I tossed his report card aside and knelt down in front of him.
“I know I can help you,” he insisted.
“I know that too. But you don’t need to rush this. I missed out on a lot growing up. While you have your royal responsibilities, I want you to have your childhood, too.”
“I’m very grown up already,” Alexander reminded . “There’s not much you can do to change that.”
I grinned at him and ruffled his hair. He made think of Ciana again.
She and Alexander were alike. Independent, determined, and always wanted to share my burden.
I stood up, patting his shoulder. “When the ti cos, I will appreciate your help.”
“Uncle Theo, I miss Ciana,” Alexander lowered his head.
“Where did that co from?” Had he read my mind?
Alexander shrugged. “I think about her a lot. When she is in the palace, everyone is way happier. I miss her.”
I let out a long sigh. “You and both.”
“Do you know when she’ll be back?” he asked, looking up at with big, hopeful eyes.
I shook my head.
“Is she ever coming back?” he asked, revising his question.
“I wish I could tell you she was. But honestly, I don’t know.” I stood up and looked out the window again. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a pretty long day and I’m quite tired.”
Alexander nodded like an adult. “Uncle Theo, you carry on. I need to get ready to go to bed soon. A well-rested mind is required to be physically and ntally prepared for high intensity study and training.”
“Kiddo, who taught you all that?”
“Ciana!” he bead.
I sighed again.
After bidding Alexander good night. The breeze was pleasantly refreshing, and I allowed myself to wander around the garden aimlessly until I encountered Perceval slithering around.
“What are you doing here?”
He flicked his forked tongue at , his beautiful scale shimring in the moonlight. Perceval waved his head back and forth at like he was trying to tell sothing.
“You know that Ciana is the one who reads into your antics, Perceval, not .” I wagged a finger at him. Normally, it was my animals that followed , not the other way around.
Perceval slicked his tongue at again and rose up off the ground.
“Alright, I’ll follow you.” I gave in. It wasn’t like I had much to do for the rest of the night anyway.
Delighted, Perceval turned and slithered away from . I followed after him, wondering what made go along with my snake. Perhaps, I did so out of so desire to feel closer to Ciana.
Perceval led out into the gardens and toward the enclosure where I kept my animals. With every step, my heart beat faster and lighter.
Was he taking to the pavilion?
That was our spot, and Ciana.
I couldn’t explain why my heart was galloping in my chest. I felt as giddy as a school girl, a little pep in my step as I got closer. Excitent and adrenaline coursed through .
Perceval slithered in the grass but I couldn’t wait. I walked faster and then broke into a run.
Like a man possessed, my body acted without directing it. It was like my heart and fate were all guiding at once.
I ran to the pavilion. No one was on the first floor and without even pausing, I ran to the stairs and bolted to the second floor.
My heart nearly burst from my chest when I saw her warm, sunny smile beaming at . The sun might have set, but it didn’t matter, she was the only light I needed in my life. She’d been wandering through my dreams for months.
Now, she was as radiant as ever, glowing so brightly.
Ciana bit her lower lip and looked down, her hands resting on a slightly swollen, pregnant belly. That was my child growing inside of her.
My breath caught in my throat. She looked more beautiful than ever, outshining the rising moon behind her.
Every day and every night I had longed to see her again.
She t my eyes and gave a sultry smile.
“What took you so long, Your Majesty? You should know better than to keep a woman waiting,” she asked playfully.
“The dreamberry is ripe again.” She plucked it off the stem and held it to her lips, kissing it.
“If I eat this one, will you kiss again?”
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