Because I Love You✔️

Chapter 161: Premonition

"Tell me, Zelphira," he said slowly, "you could not see where Adariel was in your visions, even when you tried to trigger them manually. Can certain magics obstruct your Sight?"

"Well, yes, of course," she whispered, staring at him with unblinking eyes, "but it is usually only the most powerful of dark magics that cause such a problem."

"Have you Seen anything that's already happened with our nephews?" Vordt demanded. "Do you know the full extent of why I came rushing back so soon?!"

"Yes, I do," she said, nodding. "You have come to seek my aid as a ruler for Nimika."

"But why do we need it?"

He had his answer when she paused, looking somewhat puzzled. 

"I..." she murmured, blinking, "I don't know. I didn't See the reason for it. How strange."

"I thought so. There are times when you only see parts of the future," he growled. "Zelphira, listen to me. During our short time away, we managed to rescue Adariel, but there are now two highly dangerous assassins after the Rochard girl's life, and one of them is our own brother." 

Zelphira jerked away.

"What?!" she shrieked. "That cannot be so! He would never! You know this to be wrong!"

"And yet his scent is all over that gown, and Ella herself recognized him," he spat. "The Faeries of Nimika, like Adariel, have been kidnapped by King Osric... he's been subjugating our brethren and weakening them so he can bring the south to ruins, just like the west." 

Zelphira's knees shook, but she remained on her feet.

"That is impossible," she said a little more calmly, eyes visibly shaken. "This must be the work of some strange magic. I saw him die, Vordt... I felt him die, I watched through his eyes as he was crushed beneath burning rubble, as he was burned alive. I witnessed everything. And when he passed on, our Mark was severed, as was the Mark he shared with our sire and mother." 

"He is alive, Zelphira!" Vordt spit. "Do not take my words as something idle. He. Is. Alive."

She swallowed, then looked at the dress she'd dropped before picking it up again. She brought it to her nose, closing her eyes as she inhaled. and everything was still as she stood there.

Then...

"Fine," she shakily whispered. "As you wish. I will confront the council. Tonight. You must go."

"I don't want you relying on your visions anymore," he shot back. "Act on your heart, Big Sister."

"What?" she squeaked, staring at him with her ears drawn back. "A-are you jesting?" 

"No, I am not," he growled. "Act on your heart, not your visions. Act the way you should have been doing and protect the people you know harm will befall if you do nothing, say nothing, and merely watch. I'll not let you sit idly and watch as Xaphile's heart is shattered like mine was!"

Her eyes looked stricken and she snapped her mouth shut.

But it was true.

He'd never said it forthright until now, but he did, in fact, partially blame her for his pain.

He knew that she regretted it, and he knew how much their family being torn apart had wounded her, and he knew that she blamed herself, but he couldn't help but feel like she deserved it. She could have warned him, or stopped their brother, but she hadn't.

She'd merely sat back and watched Olagrell break him.

"Vordt," she said softly, mouth trembling. "I..."

"Don't," he muttered, lifting a hand and glaring at her. "No matter what you say, it's too late to take back what was done to me, and my heart can never be fixed. Xaphile, on the other hand, needs both of us. You are the high queen, and none, not even the Oracles, may defy you if you command something to be done."

"But I cannot--"

"Do it," he roared, making her flinch. "I've had enough of this! We've already been blind to the world outside for too long, Zelphira! And if you choose to sit here and do nothing again while our kind are ravaged by the filth and darkness of mortal hands, I will act in your place!"

When he turned and tried to storm away again, she lunged and caught his arm.

"Wait," she whispered, squeezing it. "You need rest or you might fall ill. I can sense your exhaustion from the efforts you took to arrive here. Rest will help you."

"I'll be fine, I've sustained worse in the past," he said gruffly, trying to tug away and failing. "I don't need rest. Not when our nephews might be at the mercy of trained murderers."

"Don't be a fool," she hissed, stepping between him and his exit. "You are not leaving yet. I need to think, and you need to calm yourself before you go anywhere. I understand why you are wroth with anger, but hear my words: rest here and calm yourself."

He glared at her, eyes frigid, but instead of saying anything more... he walked a few feet away from her and lay down in a patch of moss next to the river, letting his wings cover his body like a warm, soft blanket. Zelphira sat down beside him and forced him to use her knees as a pillow.

For over an hour, he lay there restlessly, feeling her claws combing through his hair. 

He didn't sleep.

Instead, he listened to the animals around him, thinking about his nephews.

Wondering when he'd grown as morbidly attached to them as he was.

But then, Zelphira stiffened and her fingers clenched in his hair.

He jerked, then turned his head, glaring at her, but instead of looking at him... she was staring off into space with a look that said she was far from this glade. Far from him. She was having a vision of something, of that he was sure... but when she blinked, she gasped.

She leapt to her feet, startling him and making him right himself. 

"Go," she said, eyes large and mouth trembling. "Go! Go! GO!"

He stared at her.

"Go where?" he asked slowly. "Zelphira, what did you see?!"

"RETURN TO OUR NEPHEWS!" she cried, clenching her fists. "SOMETHING VERY DANGEROUS IS GOING TO HAPPEN AND YOU NEED TO BE THERE! GO, VORDT, GO!"

He felt his stomach turn to ice.

Her eyes were frenzied.

"Make sure to talk to the council," he muttered, turning and taking off into a sprint. "Talk to them, Zelphira! Inform them about what's going on!"

"JUST HURRY!" she screeched after him, long hair drifting in the wind. "DON'T STOP FLYING! THERE'S A CHANCE THAT YOU'LL BE TOO LATE ALREADY!"

His heart plummeted as he took to the sky, wondering what was going to happen.

He had never before seen her lose her composure in such a manner. 

He cast a quick glance behind him after he was aloft to see her running towards the city capital at top speed, leaping and bounding like a nimble white deer. The canopies obscured whatever else he could have seen, but when he faced forward, it was just in time to crash into someone.

With a grunt, he and the stranger slammed into a tree branch.

He blinked, shaking his head clear, and looked down to see the body of a somewhat familiar blonde boy peering up at him. 

"Oh," the boy said softly. "The Nameless King. Hello."

Vordt narrowed his eyes, remembering this boy as the one who'd been sitting with Xaphile in the library a few days before leaving Gwyradyll hollow. 

"You are Kesh Sysh," he said slowly. "Second son of Ark Sysh, yes?"  

"Yes," Kesh said with a slow, perplexed blink. "That is my name."

"I see," Vordt said, leaning close to his face. "Tell me, youngling, would you be willing to aid me with a matter of the utmost importance?"