As they lay on the bed, Kael was sure Syvia's intentions were pure, just comfort, nothing more.
Why would she have any other intentions anyway? Sylvia was… well, she was supposed to be the closest thing to a mother he had. Right?
But they shared no blood. No real family bond, not by birth.
She was only trying to comfort him. That was all.
Still, with her so close, her warmth pressed against his side, Kael was just glad she couldn't see the way his body betrayed him.
He didn't blame her. Not even a little.If anything, he blamed himself, for the thoughts he didn't quite understand, and the feelings that didn't know where to belong.
"Aunt Sylvia…" Mira walked in, her voice soft. "Will you prepare supper, or should I?"
"Give me a few minutes," Sylvia replied gently.
Mira nodded and walked out of the room, without sparing Kael a look. She was still angry at him.
Kael and Sylvia stayed like that for a few quiet minutes. Kael was even getting too comfortable before Sylvia gave him a soft smile and stood to go prepare dinner.
Kael flopped back onto his bed. "Fucking brick bed," he muttered, shifting to find a softer, less punishing spot on the bed. No luck.
The damn thing might as well have been carved from a mountain. It didn't even come close to how comfortable it felt resting against Sylvia's body, soft, warm, alive. Yeah… this bed had nothing on that.
Not that he had the right to complain. If it weren't for Sylvia, he wouldn't even have this bed, or a roof over his head, for that matter.
But they were poor. One would say, dirt poor. One of his biggest dreams was to change that. To give Sylvia and Mira the life they deserved. Sylvia had given up everything so he and Mira could grow up in one piece.
Kael never knew his parents. From what he heard, they died in a burning house, and he was fortunate enough to survive.
Mira's mother had been one of the king's guard knights. She'd died on the frontlines when Mira was still a toddler.
And her father? An assassin. He was never home, always chasing contracts. And his job was too dangerous to allow him to raise a child. So, his sister Sylvia took Mira in, just like she had with Kael.
Over the years, Kael and Mira had grown inseparable. They'd fought, laughed, cried, but they always had each other's backs. If something ever happened to one of them, the other wouldn't survive the grief.
Kael, dinner's ready," Mira said as she walked into his room.
"Goddess, knock, you uncultured menace—!"
"Why? What are you afraid of?" Mira smirked, arms crossed as she leaned on the doorframe. "Afraid I might catch you doing something indecent while imagining our beloved Sylvia holding you a little too close?"
Kael threw a pillow at her. "Shut it. That's not even funny."
"Oh, come on," she teased, dodging the pillow. "You looked like a puppy getting cuddled by his owner. I almost took a picture, if I could afford one of those picture crystal things."
Kael groaned, dragging himself off the bed. "Yeah, well…."
"Relax. I think it's sweet. Sylvia's always been good at that… making us feel safe, even when the world's falling apart."
Kael could not argue with that. Sylvia was the best. They were lucky.
Mira grinned and for a second she just looked at him, watching him.
Kael noticed that. He blinked confusedly. "What? Do I have something on my face?" He questioned. "Wait… am I forgiven?"
Her smile faded into a scowl. "I'm still mad at you!" she snapped, then turned on her heel and overdramatically stormed out of the room.
Kael followed her out, the sound of wooden bowls clinking and the smell of boiled herbs hitting him in the face as they entered the small kitchen. It wasn't much. A table with three chipped plates. A single lamp casting a golden hue. Sylvia smiled tiredly as she stirred the pot.
"There you two are," she said. "Sit. Eat."
Dinner passed quietly.
Mira and Sylvia talked about the town's upcoming festival, some merchant selling imported wine, and the baker's runaway daughter. Kael barely heard any of it. His thoughts were elsewhere.
He excused himself early and went to bed.
Arriving in his room, he threw himself on the bed, but he regretted it immediately, because it was not a soft bed and his body hurt from the impact.
Laying down, he tossed. Turned. The bed was still a damn rock. But eventually, exhaustion won, and his mind drifted.
__
Inside an elegant room, with deep pink drapes and golden trim lining the windows. The fire in the hearth crackled softly, casting flickering light across the walls.
A sword hung above the mantle, long and dark, its surface engraved with faint, eerie, ancient symbols.
In the center of the room, stood a man and woman. The woman was beautiful and dressed in a purple nightgown, while the man was rigid, tense, his eyes filled with fury.
The couple were arguing about something.
"God, how many times do I have to tell you, he's not normal!" the man shouted, pacing across the room. His voice was thunderous, angry. "That child… he's not mine. He's a demon." He pointed across the room, to a crib in the corner.
A baby lay inside, small, still, and silent. Its eyes were closed, looking peaceful and innocent.
"How dare you!" the woman cried, her voice sharp with fury and pain. "That is your son. Our son!"
The man snorted disdainfully. "That thing," the man growled, pointing at the crib, "was never meant to be born. There's something wrong with him. You saw it too."
The mother moved protectively in front of the crib, her body shaking. "He is not a thing!"
The father almost shoved her out of the way as he walked past her. He stood over the crib, glaring at the little one.
"Let me take him, and Leave him,..." he hesitated, almost as if he felt bad. ".... In the forest. The priest has suggested that we leave him in the forest, and let fate decide what happens to him. And I agree with them. He's not staying here, not in this house, not with us."
The father picked his baby up, ready to leave with him, and drop him off in the woods.
Seeing that, the mother rushed to stop him. "Stop, he's just a baby!" she screamed in fury, but that fury was replaced by sadness when she imagined the horrors that would happen to the baby, if he was left in the woods. All alone, and surrounded by whatever danger resides there.
She started sobbing. "My baby! Please, don't do it."
The father ignored her and started to walk to the door. Unable to let him leave, the mother attempted to snatch the baby out of his hands, however she underestimated her own strength, she managed to snatch him from the husband, only to accidentally drop him to the floor.
She immediately picked him up, to see if he was okay. The baby did not cry,he just stared at his mother, not with creepy eyes but sweetly.
The mother chucked with relief, through her tears, kissing his cheek. "You're okay… You're okay…"
The father however, was still adamant.
He stepped forward, about to take the baby away from the mother, when he felt something strange. He turned and noticed the dark sword on the wall emanating smoke.
Black tendrils seeped from it, curling through the air, and then suddenly ignited. Flames burst from the blade.
The fire leapt, consuming the curtains, the walls, everything.
Screams filled the room. Then the whole house. Everyone was burning, including servants and family members.
Not long after, there was fire everywhere. Somehow , the whole village was burning. Cries filled as people burned alive.
Where did the fire that burned the whole village come from? No one knew.
Flames, danced along the walls, crackling with a hunger that devoured everything in sight. Smoke choked the air. Screams echoed.
Kael stood in the middle of the burning house, wooden beams collapsing around him. However even though everything was burning around him, for some strange reason, he was not burning, not even his clothes.
The least he could feel was some heat on his skin, but he didn't mov. His legs were locked in place. "God, what is…"
Just then, a voice screamed, piercing his eardrums.
"Help me!" a voice cried out. It was Mira's voice. "Kael, help! Please!"
Panicking, Kael turned to see her.
She was pinned beneath a charred beam, reaching for him, her eyes wide with fear. Behind her, the fire roared louder. It looked like a living beast with a hundred mouths.
After much effort and will power, he managed to move and ran to her. He reached out to help, but his hands passed through her like smoke. And then she disappeared from his sight.
"Kael!" Another voice called out. It was Sylvia's. Her figure appeared in the fire, holding Mira's hand. She looked at him with calm, distant eyes… then stepped backward into the blaze with Mira still in her arms.
"No! Wait!"
He tried to chase them, but his feet hit something solid. He looked down, his sword was on the ground. It rose up on its own and floated in the air, a darkness enveloped it.
Not grasping what was happening, Karl stepped away from the sword. But the walls caved in. The roof collapsed.
And then, nothing.
Kael jolted upright in bed, heart racing, drenched in sweat. The room was dark, quiet. The only sound was his own breathing.
He remembered the dream. No, the dreams. It had started in that strange room with the baby… and then became something else entirely.
What kind of dream was that?
A warning?
A memory?
Or something far stranger?