The Wielder and the Source

Chapter 14

Aldeheid ground his teeth together. "I never wanted to be you."

His likeness snorted. "Are you so sure about that? You always aspired to greatness, and it always stayed just out of your reach. Because of your weakness. You refused to do what needed to be done. To reach out and grasp what was yours. To be who you were meant to be."

"I never wanted to live that kind of life. Where everyone feared me. Where I manipulated and controlled everyone for my own personal gain. I never wanted to be like..." Aldeheid refused to even say his name. "Like him."

His likeness circled him, eyes raking over his form. "And so you choose to live your life being a burden unto others. What have you ever done for anyone except leech off of their kindness? No wonder Mellidius couldn't care less for you anymore."

"That's not true!" Aldeheid sounded as though he were trying to convince himself.

"Then why didn't Mellidius take you with him? Why did he leave you behind to be shunned and ridiculed?" His likeness narrow his eyes. "You don't deserve what you have. You would've never been anything without the people surrounding you. Kitaya? You don't deserve her."

Aldeheid threw his fist at his likeness, but it disappeared in a cloud of smoke before his blow connected. Ragged, rasping breaths hissed from between his lips and sweat beaded on his forehead. "Nylarah?"

"Angel eyes." The voice that reached him was weak and raspy.

"Kitten?"

She was lying on the floor near the center of the room, and his heart shriveled at the sight of her limp form. The last time he'd seen her like that, she'd been struck down by a monolith.

Aldeheid rushed to her side, kneeling to check over her. "Kitten." No visible bumps or gashes marred her skin, but her breathing was shallow and labored. "What happened?"

"Too much," she said, looking up at him with hooded, glassy eyes. "I thought I could handle it. But you took too much."

"No. No, Kitaya, not you too. Not..." Aldeheid took her wrist between his hands, her skin cold and clammy against his palms. His breath caught in his throat, and stayed there until it ignited into an agonizing fire that spread down to his chest. The thump of her pulse faded, growing weaker until it stopped.

It's not real. Tears clouded his vision and his body shook all over. It's not real.

Aldeheid dropped Kitaya's wrist and pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. He needed to get out of here, out of this nightmare. "Nylarah! Ny—"

Something touched his arm, and he almost jumped out of his skin.

Kitaya's body was gone, and a little girl stood before him. Her blonde curls were just as he remembered, and she stared at him with doe-like, blue eyes.

"Wenry..." Aldeheid's heart ached just looking at her.

"Why didn't we go back, Al? I wanted to go back." She ducked her head, but he could still see the tears running down her face.

He wanted to say something, tell her he'd done his best. That he was sorry about what happened to her. But the words died in his throat, buried by his guilt and shame.

"You told me everything was going to be alright. That we would find a new home and play as much Tactica as we wanted." She swiped at her tears, crying in earnest.

"Wenry, I—"

"No!" She shoved him, her eyes glinting with white-hot fury. "You lied! You're a liar!"