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Not knowing what else to say, I nodded, and pulled away enough to kiss her lips. I needed the relief only she could offer, and knew she also needed it from me. My lips brushed her cheeks, and I walked her to bed, but I didn’t slip back in with her.
“Don’t leave…” she begged, caressing my chest and kissing me once more, but I didn’t trust myself to stay.
My mind felt hazy, disconnected, like this wasn’t my reality, not in that moment. The experience shook me, and I needed to step away… or at least I thought that was the reason.
“I’m fine now, I promise,” I lied, and kissed her deeply. “I must go back to my room before the morning arrives.”
Searching my gaze for a few more minutes, Evie finally nodded. With one last brush of my lips against hers, I pulled on my pants, gripped my shirt, boots and armor against my chest, and left the room.
The instant I entered the hallway, I realized the nightmare wasn’t what had messed with my reality. Something else had gotten a hold of me. As I took the stairs, my thoughts became increasingly hazy, the floor tilted beneath my feet, and I was forced to drag myself along the wall with each step. Heart thundering, I felt the strong pull of magic over me. It softly called my name with an entrancing melody, demanding my obedience, and it was like nothing I had ever felt.
Falling prey to its spell, I stumbled inside my room, catching the sight of my bed only for it to be erased by darkness. The clanging noise of my arm shield and boots hitting the floor danced in the air when my body fell to the ground too, and I lost consciousness.
My eyes snapped open abruptly, my mind now crisp and clear, but I wasn’t in my room anymore. I wasn’t even in the hidden kingdom.
A peaceful lakeshore extended before me when I sat up. The majestic mountains that surrounded it reflected on crystalline waters, as though they floated on the lake. I was still in Caelisium, and it was night there too, with millions of stars glimmering across the sky. I could even feel a soft and comforting breeze grazing my body.
“Braxton…”
The soft call came again, its enchanting melody engulfing my soul—no longer distorted by the haze of magic that had brought me here. Wherever “here” was. I immediately stood, my pulse racing in my veins as I spun around, searching for the origin of the voice.
I knew that voice.
Everything stilled when I found her—my frantic breathing, my racing pulse, the thunderous beating of my heart… With a swirling kaleidoscope of golden monarch butterflies, my mom appeared across from me.
No flames. No screams. No sickness. Just her, smiling at me like she did when I was a boy, before our lives got destroyed by madness. She looked beautiful in her white dress, chocolate brown hair willowing in the wind, and utter peace shining through her grey eyes.
“My beautiful baby boy…” The love and emotion engulfing that simple statement, tore through me.
“Mom…” My voice echoed in the lake, and I realized that wherever this place was, it wasn’t real. Not in any way that counted. Was I still dreaming?
“It’s real enough…” she answered, somehow hearing my thoughts, and walked closer. Her hands extended, asking me to take the last steps towards her. “Trust me,” Mom whispered.
Not fully understanding what she meant, I glanced at her outstretched hands… not consciously at least. An instinct still pushed me to her, and with every step, the fear of finding only a void when I reached her constricted my chest. Stopping a couple of feet away, I gazed at her silent gesture, but when I searched her kind eyes, I understood she needed me to do this.
Halting my breath, I took her hands, and the warmth of her skin engulfed my fingers instantly. The breath returned to me. I could actually feel her.
Laughing with joy, she pulled me into her embrace, squeezing the life out of me like she used to do. “I knew I hadn’t raised a coward.”
Laughter escaped me too with her words, and my arms fiercely wrapped around her torso, soaking in every second. “How is this possible?” I stammered, smelling the scent of her flowery perfume. My hand plunged into her hair, curling a strand around my finger to feel its thickness. I pulled away to look into her eyes, eager hands cradling her cheeks. “I thought I would never see you again.”
Sadness dimmed the joy that shone in her, but she shook her head, as though that was the silliest thing she had ever heard. “There are many forms of existing.”
Blocking the doubts and heartache wanting to destroy this moment between us, I nodded. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine, Braxton, and so is your father,” Mom assured, pulling my hands down from her face to hold them between us.
“Is he here too?” Hope rushed through me and I glanced around us, frantically searching for him along the shore, but Mom’s touch brought my attention back to her.
“You can’t see him, baby… I’m sorry.” Heartbreak awoke in her gaze with the confession, and I nodded resignedly. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” The smile returned to my lips. “I love this world, Mom. I love the Dragons. I love—”
“Evie…” she finished for me, a knowing smirk curving her lips. “Yes, you do. As you should.”
“How do you—?” I stopped. “So it’s true our loved ones can see us after—” I paused again, unsure of what word to use. Ascended? Passed? Left? I didn’t want to acknowledge she was dead, not now. Not here, where I could see her, touch her, feel her.
“It’s okay, son.” She rubbed my chest soothingly, knowing my struggle.
