“Now, for your own good Amias, drink the cleansing potion.” Grandmother’s stare makes my body shudder. Her blue eyes never seemed so cold and dull before.It’s like staring into a harsh tundra. Unfriendly, deadly and empty.
I narrow my eyes at her to counter the shiver going up my spine, before I slowly raise my goblet. My strained body aches at the gesture but I ignore it. I did what I could to save Ignatia and convince Grandmother.
I guess this is it.
In my head, I'm immersed in my memories of Ignatia. I remember first meeting her in that alleyway, and her smart mouth. I remember how she saved my life back in the mall. Her outrage when I told her how I felt about dreamscreechers. How she changed me after. I remember her soft lips on my own and how her eyes lit up like a comforting camp fire. How her words make me forget the world and only see her.
She burns bright amidst a dark world of degradation and violence.
I'd like to think I'll miss her, but I won't. The man that drinks this potion won't be the same one that wakes up. The one that wakes won't know the misunderstandings that plague thekingdom. Hate will eat at his soul and he will wonder how he became so pathetic that he fell in love with the enemy.
I will be erased.
But at least the people will remember.
They will remember me.
“This is for you… my flame…” I say before bringing the goblet to my lips. This is it.
I gulp down the potion as I savor the image of her fiery eyes and her contagious laughter. That's all I wish to see one last time before I forget her, but the mere memory of it will have to suffice.
No other image I’d rather have replay in my mind.
I take the final sip, and weakness already overtakes my body. The memory of Ignatia is swallowed by darkness when my legs buckle. Within seconds my feet slip from under me and I succumb to a black abyss.
Chapter 64
Ignatia
Amias collapsed on the stage.
My heart jerks at the image on the TV, begging to go to him after his speech, but it wouldn't do anything for either of us.
I'm too late.
Godusa's silhouette disappeared when I was on the hill. I was close enough to see the dot of him on the stage, but not close enough to get to him on time. I kept running towards it when I picked up the sound of a TV inside of theRoyal Baron the side of the road nearby. There, I witnessed him falling to the ground.
Clearly this bar isn't made for someone like me and it's near the castle for a reason. The bar stools of rose gold and golden marble counter with candle light screamed expensive. Amare flowers hang from above and decorated the shelves of alcohol.
The TV hangs above the bar stools, which I stare at from the outside window.
My body trembles, watching Amias' wrist twitch as Amara walks over to him. She doesn't sit him up or touch him in any way. She only stares at her work with her lips tugged in an unserious pout and her eyes drooling with fluid.
What kind ofGift of Loveis she?
There is no sign of love as her eyes glow red and she mumbles something that even the subtitles couldn't pick up.This goes on for a minute, as if unemotionally casting a spell on Amias. Suddenly the glow fades and she speaks louder for everyone to hear.
“It's terrible how he’s succumbed to such horrors,” Amara sighs, her voice loud enough for the crowd. Her gaze is fixated on Amias. “You see how dreamscreechers can affect their victims. The assault and manipulation he has been through must have been torturous and traumatizing for him to be like this.”
I clench my fists. This pathetic piece of shit!
“Once Amias awakens, he will have a true chance to set himself free,” Amara announces, finally looking back at the crowd, and walks over to him. “He will have forgotten all the damage the dreamscreecher has done. And to ensure this situation never happens, he will kill the dreamscreecher that abused him.”
People cheer in the crowd while my teeth stab my tongue. Of course. Just as they did to Lydia - forcing her to kill the person she loved.
I walk away from the bar, my nails digging into my palm. There's a throbbing between my brows. My head tightens like my skull’s about to burst. There's the tang of blood in my mouth as I keep going towards the woods, prepared to face my enemy.
I could've had a chance if that bitch didn't attack me. Everything would've been fine if she never came along.
