[Regardless of how things end with Zonari, Luca winds up on the ground. His head aches from where it strikes a stone, his vision swims and then everything goes dark. For a blissful moment, Luca simply isn’t. It’s a reprieve from his stinging, smoldering arms, never mind the horrid ache within his chest.
And then the flood begins.
He sees the council, both new and old faces in seats he never wanted to take. And in the midst of their meeting, he sees the sharp-toothed grin of the one person Luca never would have wanted to come across again. Alexei he had called himself once. Alazon was the title he had been bestowed. The youngest emissary to be anointed by the Cataegan Queen, her precious scout. River, as he playfully named himself.
Whatever his name or title, it didn’t matter. What did was the fact that he had come to Renova. It was far too close to Luca’s own arrival to be a coincidence. He had followed the Phoenix.
The rush doesn’t stop there. They’re thrown together, no doubt by Alazon’s own machinations. Luca tries to twist his planning to his own benefit, tricking River into killing him by the river late one evening. He succeeded only in invoking his sibling’s wrath, and exposing his secret to her. A promise made, one to keep fighting, to give her a chance to save him.
No one lifted a finger he had shot back at Zahliya. What a fool he was.
And what a fool he continued to be. With each brushed elbow, Luca and River grew closer. As the festival they planned together came to fruition, they would share a dance. Luca would feel some locked away part of his heart begin to bloom.
Only to be shattered.
A dead guard, killed by the same poison that had brought down Cyrus. A warning, it had felt like. And despite both Luca and Kiera’s promises to not investigate, they had. How could they not, when they were both so terrified of the memory. And though his affections had been burgeoning, it was not enough to prevent him from being suspicious of River. Not that he was without his own strange behavior, but those answers would avail themselves soon enough.
Luca, just as he had today, succumbed to his rage. Suspecting the worst in River, he attacked. His efforts were discovered, and though River made no effort to implicate him, the truth would soon ripple outward. He was arrested for the assault, dragging Kiera down in a fury as she tried to defend him. Though a Cataegan ambassador would soon claim the reports were false, the truth was still out there. And River was now missing.
But not for long. River would return, only to reveal to Luca that, like his sister, was a dhampir. Though the Leviathan’s blessing had absolved him of whatever influence the Butterfly might have had, he was still a slave to his thirst. As an apology, Luca offered his blood first, and then his body.
That night, though, they would come under attack. All part of the plan, River had explained. He lured out the killers, and would proudly display them the next day. He was, of course, quick to drag Luca back to bed. Some things were not in his playbook.
It should have been peaceful after that. But as Luca grew more familiar with River’s bed, danger loomed. And one morning, the dam would break. Word of Luca’s attack on River had gotten back to Cataega. Another emissary had been dispatched, Meretrix.
Though River would try to assure Luca that it would be okay, Luca began to lose sleep. Nightmares would plague him, all of them ending with a woman standing over him. She hair the same as his, and stared at him with the eyes he always found in the mirror. He would wake before she killed him, but the dreams would haunt him even into the day.
And one day, he lost control.
The Phoenix broke for the southern border, preferring the company of bloodsuckers than the emissary it seemed to fear. Later, he would be told that Kiera knocked him out, and was forced to seek River’s help. When he arrived, he would carry Luca back.
Luca was just beginning to wake when the Emissary arrived. They were trapped in the middle of the woods, and all the woman seemed to want was Luca. Both Kiera and River were easily warded off, with the emissary successfully reaching Luca. Though she had changed, though her hair was a sickly white and her eyes a haunted grey, he recognzed her. It was the woman who had haunted his dreams.Though she weighed killing him outright, she instead gave him a command.
“Kill it.” And with her words came memory. The path to the Phoenix.
He would fall unconscious again. When he woke, he felt the compulsion of the Emissary within his mind. He marched toward the Phoenix’s lair fearlessly, with her single command keeping the Phoenix from altering his path. Kiera and River, with no other choice, flanked him.
With River’s own watery weapon in hand, he would face the Beast that had tormented him for so long. And he would bring it down, absorbing its power in the process.
The last memory that plays is a simple one, at the gates leaving Aerea. River offered a fond farewell, called back home. He promised to find Luca again, to challenge him now that he was a Beast in his own right.
As the two turned to go for a drink, as the dream began to end, something strange crossed over Kiera’s face.
2/?
And then the flood begins.
He sees the council, both new and old faces in seats he never wanted to take. And in the midst of their meeting, he sees the sharp-toothed grin of the one person Luca never would have wanted to come across again. Alexei he had called himself once. Alazon was the title he had been bestowed. The youngest emissary to be anointed by the Cataegan Queen, her precious scout. River, as he playfully named himself.
Whatever his name or title, it didn’t matter. What did was the fact that he had come to Renova. It was far too close to Luca’s own arrival to be a coincidence. He had followed the Phoenix.
The rush doesn’t stop there. They’re thrown together, no doubt by Alazon’s own machinations. Luca tries to twist his planning to his own benefit, tricking River into killing him by the river late one evening. He succeeded only in invoking his sibling’s wrath, and exposing his secret to her. A promise made, one to keep fighting, to give her a chance to save him.
No one lifted a finger he had shot back at Zahliya. What a fool he was.
And what a fool he continued to be. With each brushed elbow, Luca and River grew closer. As the festival they planned together came to fruition, they would share a dance. Luca would feel some locked away part of his heart begin to bloom.
Only to be shattered.
A dead guard, killed by the same poison that had brought down Cyrus. A warning, it had felt like. And despite both Luca and Kiera’s promises to not investigate, they had. How could they not, when they were both so terrified of the memory. And though his affections had been burgeoning, it was not enough to prevent him from being suspicious of River. Not that he was without his own strange behavior, but those answers would avail themselves soon enough.
Luca, just as he had today, succumbed to his rage. Suspecting the worst in River, he attacked. His efforts were discovered, and though River made no effort to implicate him, the truth would soon ripple outward. He was arrested for the assault, dragging Kiera down in a fury as she tried to defend him. Though a Cataegan ambassador would soon claim the reports were false, the truth was still out there. And River was now missing.
But not for long. River would return, only to reveal to Luca that, like his sister, was a dhampir. Though the Leviathan’s blessing had absolved him of whatever influence the Butterfly might have had, he was still a slave to his thirst. As an apology, Luca offered his blood first, and then his body.
That night, though, they would come under attack. All part of the plan, River had explained. He lured out the killers, and would proudly display them the next day. He was, of course, quick to drag Luca back to bed. Some things were not in his playbook.
It should have been peaceful after that. But as Luca grew more familiar with River’s bed, danger loomed. And one morning, the dam would break. Word of Luca’s attack on River had gotten back to Cataega. Another emissary had been dispatched, Meretrix.
Though River would try to assure Luca that it would be okay, Luca began to lose sleep. Nightmares would plague him, all of them ending with a woman standing over him. She hair the same as his, and stared at him with the eyes he always found in the mirror. He would wake before she killed him, but the dreams would haunt him even into the day.
And one day, he lost control.
The Phoenix broke for the southern border, preferring the company of bloodsuckers than the emissary it seemed to fear. Later, he would be told that Kiera knocked him out, and was forced to seek River’s help. When he arrived, he would carry Luca back.
Luca was just beginning to wake when the Emissary arrived. They were trapped in the middle of the woods, and all the woman seemed to want was Luca. Both Kiera and River were easily warded off, with the emissary successfully reaching Luca. Though she had changed, though her hair was a sickly white and her eyes a haunted grey, he recognzed her. It was the woman who had haunted his dreams.Though she weighed killing him outright, she instead gave him a command.
“Kill it.” And with her words came memory. The path to the Phoenix.
He would fall unconscious again. When he woke, he felt the compulsion of the Emissary within his mind. He marched toward the Phoenix’s lair fearlessly, with her single command keeping the Phoenix from altering his path. Kiera and River, with no other choice, flanked him.
With River’s own watery weapon in hand, he would face the Beast that had tormented him for so long. And he would bring it down, absorbing its power in the process.
The last memory that plays is a simple one, at the gates leaving Aerea. River offered a fond farewell, called back home. He promised to find Luca again, to challenge him now that he was a Beast in his own right.
As the two turned to go for a drink, as the dream began to end, something strange crossed over Kiera’s face.
And then the dream began to shift.]