The Lonely Warrior Queen

{Chapter 77}

Catheline's POV:

The room seemed strange. But it was mine. Ours. I felt something heavy in my arms.

"He is so little..."

That voice was familiar, but it took me a while to learn who it was. I noticed that we were alone in that strange room. Everything was bright, brighter than the stars. They were touched with a faint glow.

Suddenly, a small hand brushed against my cheek. It was gentle as a feather. I quickly looked at my arms to see a small face, looking back at me. Then, a small smile spread on his lips. It was as if he knew who I was.

"Cayden..." I mumbled. I caressed his cheek with my knuckles as I began smiling myself.

Was I in a dream?

"Our first child, Cathy," I heard my husband's voice.

Only at that moment, I realized that he was right beside me as I rested on his chest. He had his arm around my back and I assumed that he too, was watching our son.

"Yes..." I gushed, as I swayed the little bundle slightly. "He is so little and adorable..."

Cayden. Our little one.

But...

Isn't he dead?

My smile dropped at that odd thought but I shook it away. After all, I was holding my child in my arms, right? He was with me and I was with him. He was not gone. He was alive. He was real.

"This still feels like a dream..." I heard my husband's voice again. There, he moved his arm to hold our child's little hand. But when I saw it, I froze.

Blood.

Blood was on his hands.

Terror crept under my skin as I slowly turned to look at my husband. I could feel something wet drip on my neck. When I glanced at it, I gasped.

It was blood again.

I pulled away to look at Xander but he was not there. My breath caught up in my windpipe, not allowing me to speak. Before I knew it, I was gasping for my life. Xander. Where was he? Where did he go?

I looked back at my child but all I saw was a small body, in the shade of deep purple. His eyes were closed and his little mouth was slightly opened. He felt heavier now, heavier than a stone.

"Cayden!?" I shouted while shaking him. No response. "No! HELP! MY CHILD IS DYING!"

Before I could finish my next sentence, I felt his weight decrease. But his little face began crumbling, into dust. I kept on screaming, crying, and doing whatever I could to keep my child. But he kept on turning to dust. Into nothing.

'I can never have the chance to call you mother...'

"No....No, please..."

Soon, there was only an empty cloth in my hands.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
.................................................................

"Shhh, it was only a nightmare..."

Xander kept me close to his arms but that did not reassure me. My tears clouded my vision but I could tell that we were not the only ones in the room.

"Our baby..." I kept on muttering. "Our baby..."

"Gabriel, she is not calming down!" I heard him shout over his shoulder.

It must have been late at night, but I never felt this awake. I was afraid to even close my eyes, scared that I might see my child turn to dust again. That was something I would never like to see again.