summer solstice revelry farewell.
She pushed the door to their bedchamber open and found her King still in his royal robes lying in the middle of the bed on top of the duvet.
He is only sleeping , Hope made her tell herself. She crossed the room and stood over him. His body lay motionless. As still as death.
Fae are immortal. We don’t die. We live for thousands upon thousands of years. He is an Asteroth. He is invincible,” Hope made her lie to herself.
When she spotted the silver colored chalice with the ancient markings etched into it she could no longer deny the truth her soul already knew. That is when she broke. Her soul splintered at the sight of her heart lying unnaturally still on the bed with the cup of un-making beside him.
He wouldn’t do it. He promised you forever, Hope screamed in denial inside her head.
Hope was wrong. She should have never listened to it.
A river of tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she struggled for air. The excruciating pain that radiated outward from her chest made it hard to breathe. It was too much to bear. The boy on the bed was her life, her heart and her reason for existing. She couldn’t go on without him. She did not want to go on without him. He promised her forever then robbed her of it in the same expanse of time. She was furious at his selfishness and his deception. If he were conscious she would rage and yell and scream and hurl herself at him in outrage. But she couldn’t do any of those things. The boy she loved more than life itself lay in their chamber in a state more final than death for a fae. His very essence, his essential self had been un-made. It could never be reborn or imbued with life again. It could never make its way back to hers in this eternity or the next.
As she looked down upon him through vision clouded by tears she loathed him for leaving her as much as she loved him. In an impulsive act born out of rage and hurt and a broken heart she did the last thing she knew he would ever want her to do. If he could make selfish decisions with so little regard for her then so could she. She picked up the chalice and drank the last drops of the golden liquid that remained behind. Then she laid on the bed beside the boy she loved. She placed her head on his chest and waited to be un-made. A fresh wave of tears leaked down her face as she did. They weren’t for herself. She wasn’t afraid of ceasing to exist for all of eternity. They were the result of the loss of love and hope and a forever of happiness ripping her heart from her chest.
The image of the pair lying on the bed abruptly changed. The guy morphed into Zander and the girl became me. A hole appeared in Zander's chest and an identical self inflicted one appeared in mine. The surroundings faded and we were no longer in the bedchamber in the South Tower. The space around us was clouded in shadows and muted grays. Then the vision just as abruptly disappeared leaving me with a nagging sense of foreboding .
I blinked as the vision faded and I returned to the reality of the High Palace in Pleith and the Prince who stood before me. I pondered why my sight was blurred until I felt the wet moisture stinging my eyes and realized I was crying. Zander stepped closer to me and gently wiped my tears away before I could.
“I am sorry.” Whispers of recognition and regret glinted back at me in his eyes when I looked up into them.
“For what? I should be apologizing to you,”
I asked genuinely confused.
For the first time since we met he looked unsure of himself. “I don't know. I just felt the need to say it. You know considering...”
My eyes widened in surprise. “You saw it too?”
“Yes, and it is not the first time I've had visions of the pair. Ever since we returned to Pleith betrothed they have made sporadic appearances during my waking and sleeping hours.
“Me too. They're so like us but not.”
Zander let out an unsteady laugh. “At least I know I’m not going mad now if it’s