Moonlight {Moonlit Trilogy Reboot}

Chapter Twenty Nine: What Must Be Reclaimed

Igneous glanced at the campfire and then back at the mountain range near them. Nearly everyone, except for the Enderknights, Quartz, Shale, Holly and Kaius, and the K'arthen army's Magnorites, were asleep and splayed out by the fire. He pulled out a map and traced his fingers along the path back to the Knights of Ardonia's base. They were only a few days away now, in between Hydraphel and the Heart of Ardonia.

He glanced over at the other Enderknights and remembered his power over them. Pulling out the Enderblade and glancing at his oddly noble reflection, he set himself back to his thoughts. It still seemed absurd that the End had chosen him. Asterion or Ceris would have made a better leader. Igneous didn't want to have to bark orders or lead charges into battle. His lips curled down into a tight frown and he remembered what the End had told him. Now, he wished he had inquired more as to why it had chosen him. Perhaps if he wondered enough...

"Igneous? Are you alright?" He heard Everett pipe up. Igneous put the sword away, fearing his reflection would distract him again.

"Honestly? I don't know." Igneous said quietly and defeatedly. Everett hung his head back. "What's keeping you awake?"

"Shouldn't you be--oh, yeah, you're a Magnorite." Everett tapped his chin and Igneous raised an eyebrow. Everett almost fell onto his back as he realized Igneous was still waiting for an answer. "The war ahead. Can you believe what we're about to do? I mean, look at the size of the army K'arthen gave us." He waved one hand at the sleeping army humans and their Magnorite counterparts who stood guard.

"Isn't this what we've been training for, Everett?" Igneous' words felt hollow, as if something else had possessed him. Everett furrowed his brow, an unfamiliar expression of discontent spreading across his face. Igneous had never seen Everett so serious before, he seemed to be possessed with a childlike wonder at everything all the time. But now, he looked almost like his brother, his expression similar to Ceris' when he spoke an order.

"So? This is war! We don't know the training that the other side went through." Everett waved his hands up and his expression melted into a more familiar fear. Igneous felt Everett's fear starting to infect him, he had been this way before. He wanted to shake it off him but he knew it would be no use. A small part of him still wanted to run away, to become a nomad again.

"I know that we don't... That's-- that's why I'm scared of-- that's why I don't think I'm a good enough lea-- Enderknight. Well, it's not the only reason, but... But I think you understand." Igneous heaved slightly. "I'm sorry, this probably isn't what you wanted from me..." These words prompted Everett to sigh softly.

He glanced back at Obsidian, who was sleeping next to the other dragons. Igneous felt almost envious, wishing he could sleep like that. He glanced over at Holly and Kaius and wondered what kept them awake. Everett waved a hand in front of his face.

"Do you ever feel like you were a mistake?" He spoke when Igneous looked back at him. Igneous grimaced slightly. He expected some kind of slight frustration at himself losing focus but Everett had only asked a simple question. Maybe Igneous was so used to his mind telling him that he would fail at being their King that he had assumed Everett was pissed at him.

"Always. I always do." Igneous pulled the crown from his head and felt the urge to toss it aside. There was never a day that he didn't wish that someone else was the Ruler. "I mean, look at me, I'd make a terrible King! I bet you would be better, you've-- you had so much more training. Youweren't the reason Abbigail died."

Everett put one hand on the crown and looked into Igneous' eyes. "But you will make a good King. Did you not see how well your plan to take down Cedrer went? Or the times you've shown us kindness?"