“Here I stand, foot in hand, staring at my wall. I’m not quite right at all.”- “All the Madmen” David Bowie

The rush through him after the powers coursed into him was exhilarating. His wife did not seem to object to his excitement and energy. They slept in the main chambers where his father’s room had been when he was alive. His wife slept soundly while he rose from the bed. He glimpsed his reflection in the vase for the Datha blàuo. He could have sworn for a second it had been his mother. He shook his head and went to the bathroom. He checked his reflection out of curiosity, and he chuckled to himself when he was sure nothing was wrong. It was just his eyes playing tricks on him. He leaned on the counter and stared into his reflection, looking deep into his eyes. The tingling surge of power was nearly settled. His fingers twitched slightly with the urge to explore his new powers. He hadn’t even had time to figure out what powers he had gained from the Fyre line. His mother hadn’t been the heir and hadn’t taken in the powers of the dagger, though, so he wouldn’t have gained the full line.

“You know, your father wasn’t the original heir, either.” His mother’s voice spoke within his mind. Was he recalling it, or was that something new?

“But he still took in the power from the line. You didn’t.” He said to his reflection. His mother’s face appeared over his for a fraction of a second. He jumped back, nearly stumbling in the process.

“Everything alright in there?” His wife called sleepily.

“I’m fine Mo Chách” He called out to her as he returned to the bedroom. “Just thinking too hard and seeing things that aren’t there.” He crawled into the bed beside her and pulled her close. Her cool body against his had become his favorite sensation. She was from the Dark Kingdom, her powers based in ice. He rested his forehead against hers, locking into her green eyes. He twirled a lock of her red and black hair through his fingers as he settled against her. “I thought I saw my mother, but it was my face.” He admitted.

“You do have her eyes.” His wife said and kissed him softly. “I like them better on you, though.”

He smiled and returned the kiss eagerly. The kiss deepened, her body pressing against his. Her legs wrapped around him, and he wasted no time diving into her, forgetting everything else. She was everything. His lips trailed along her body as he moved his way to hers.

“I remember when your father had that much virility.” His mother’s voice spoke within his head again after they had finished making love.

He closed his eyes and settled onto the bed. His wife curled up beside him, and he retreated into his mind. His mother sat on the couch across the room in the sitting area.

“About time you face me.” She sneered to him.

“I was hoping father would have done something to you in all honesty.” He admitted.

“Well, he has been hiding like a coward since I arrived.” She frowned.

“It’s only been a few hours. Maybe he’s still working on something.” He shrugged.

“Nothing could be worse than what you did.” She said sadly. “Finndo’s torture I could endure. It was knowing I had brought that side in you out that broke me.”

“Every dark impulse I have ever had started because of you.” He said.

“You needed to be strong. The world is cruel.” She said firmly.

“You were the cruelest.” He spat furiously.

“Your father was far crueler to me. He used you to trap me in the marriage and control me.”

“You pushed me away for as long as I can remember.” He sneered, “You slashed my face because I wanted to practice my glamour when you wanted to rant about how people didn’t respect you. What kind of love is that?” He asked her, motioning towards the scar that covered half of his face.”

“You still never learned your lesson from that. You relied even more heavily on your glamour to hide it.”

“I wouldn’t have to if you hadn’t sliced my face.” He gritted his teeth.

“You had plenty of warning.” She shrugged. “It’s not my fault you didn’t listen.”

“And that is why I murdered you.” He groaned.

“And put me directly into your brain. You turned out to be a real genius.” She smirked. “I am going to make your life a living hell. Enjoy your memories.”

She vanished, and he found himself lost in the darkness. He tried to wake up but couldn’t make himself. He was trapped in this journey through the memories.

At first the only thing he could see was the throne room of the Fyre Kingdom’s flooring. Pain of every sort coursed through him before he heard his own voice

“Tell all you know that order has returned, and I will not tolerate any, and I mean ANY threats to my claim.” He’d exclaimed before grabbing the sword. He knew what happened next. He would remember that moment for the rest of eternity. This was one of his cherished memories. In his memories though, he was on the other side of things. Now he was the victim. Now he could feel the injuries he had given to his mother. He could feel her fear and sadness, even a small sense of relief washed over before the blade connected and severed his head from its body. The last thought of his mother had been of love and concern for him as her dying eyes fixed on him. Everything faded, and he felt himself falling into nothingness. There was a connection to something that he recognized but felt different than he knew. It was faded with everything else and became his own connection as he found himself standing in the throne room as himself. He gasped for air, clutching his chest and throat, his hands exploring up to make sure it was all intact. His mother stood before him now, not as she had when she had died, but as he remembered her long before anything had gone sour between them. She looked like she had when he had loved her.

“Hello Son.” Her voice as saccharin as her smile.

“You have a…. Connection.” He stated, still reeling from the memory, and trying to piece everything together. “Like I do, but… it’s different.” He stated distantly, lost in his thoughts.

“Yes.” She nodded slowly. “You have your own connection through me, but it was a small enough tether that you didn’t seem to notice before. You’ll learn about that in time.” She gave a patient nod and gestured toward the throne. “Take a seat.” She said in the same sweet tone she had spoken with when he’d been a child. He sat without thinking, and she placed an arm around his shoulder. “I forgive you Son.” She said to him. “I know that I took things out on you when you were growing. I saw a lot of your father in you, but it’s the parts of me in you that I hated. I couldn’t stand the thought of you having what I couldn’t.”

“What do you mean?” He asked, confused.

“You are an extension of me. I created you from myself. I see so much of myself in you that it scares me sometimes.”

“I don’t think that’s true….”

“Because you don’t want to see it. You won’t let yourself.” She moved behind him fully, one hand on his shoulder, the other on his chest. Before he could react, he found himself falling into a new memory.

“Is that why you used our son to get me back into your chambers?” She muttered, a seductive tone to her voice. Her fingers moved along his lips, his eyes closing. He could feel his Father’s submission to her. His neck now fully exposed to her, he knew what would come next. A panic grew in him as he tried desperately to cry out or change something, anything. He’d always wished to be in this moment, to stop it, but he’d never been able to. Something always blocked his attempts. Even now the scene played on, and he was a trapped and silent witness to the murder he had always sought to avoid thinking about yet thought of every day for the last three hundred years.

“I am sorry for that...” he whispered while in his mind he screamed, trying anything and everything to stop the scene from playing out the way he knew it would. “I was desperate for you to return. I was young and weak. I made mistakes.” His father’s voice continued despite everything.

“Oh Finndo...” she breathed, leaning down so her lips brushed against his. She smiled as her hand brushed against the cold silver hilt. Her hand clutched his chin at the same moment she grasped the Tâuer Ddraichen Dognal. “I’ll never forgive you.” Her voice was icy as the blade sunk into his chest. Cuthda leaned back, his eyes remaining on her as everything faded to nothing. She stroked his cheek gently, her smile growing as she raised the blade, and stabbed into him once more. He cried out in rage, tears forming. Each time the blade went in, his hatred for his mother grew deeper. She smiled, all empathy from her final thoughts faded as her smiling face faded to emptiness.

He found himself in his father’s office, sitting in the same chair his father had been. His hand clutched his heart mindlessly as he sorted through the emotions and thoughts the memory had drawn up.

“Hello, Tadgh.” His father said with a smile. “It’s good to finally see you again.”

“Father…” he breathed, almost choking on the word.

“Your mother was always a lot to handle. Her relentlessness here is no surprise.” His father took a seat across the desk from him. This room was a perfect recreation of his father’s office.

“Where am I?” he asked.

“Your mind.” His father said with a smile. “I hadn’t gotten a chance to explain the way the dagger works when I was alive, because you refused to take on the role you were meant to and start your training. And you went straight for your mother after you took in the dagger’s power.” His father added. Ba’al Rolled his eyes at the chastising about his training.

“I inherit the powers from the previous rulers.” He said as he took a seat across from his father.

“There’s a little more to it.” His father pulled out a bottle of rum and two glasses, pouring one for each of them. “See, you don’t just inherit our powers. You inherit us. Once you pass away, you will join us, and we will be transferred to your son.”

“I don’t have a son…” he said as he reached for one of the glasses.

“Yet,” his father raised his glass with a smirk. “I know you sensed that your wife is pregnant. “

“I thought I was imagining that…” he breathed, taking a large drink from his glass. It still burned in his throat and chest as if he were really drinking it.

“No, not imagining it. We all felt it.”

“So, it’s all the previous rulers from the line then? Not just you and mother?”

“Correct,” his father nodded and took a drink of his own before refreshing the glasses. “We were stuck in the dagger for a long time, so most are still settling in and adjusting to your chaotic brain.” He flashed a smile and continued. “Usually, when the transfer of power goes smoothly, the line is only in the dagger for a small amount of time before they settle into the new ruler’s mind. Then we are transferred into the new ruler and create an environment that they are familiar and comfortable in.”

“So, you chose your office. Where you died.” He scoffed.

“It seemed fitting.” He shrugged, and tilted his glass, Ba’al took a drink of his own, and found himself falling into another memory.

He sipped from the same glass in the same office, but it was different. He had fallen into his grandfather’s memories. He’d never met the man before, he’d died before Ba’al was even born. He’d been poisoned. He looked to the glass of the body playing out the memory for him. This must be the drink that poisoned him. He let the memory play out before him, listening as the two men spoke. The man would be Sharhuptean Melvyn Mägimountain.

“I won’t let you go through with it Eion.” Melvyn said sternly.

“I’ve already sent the order.” The King shrugged and took another drink. There was a metallic undertone, and something else that seemed out of place that Ba’al noticed, but his grandfather didn’t register.

“And I canceled it.” The Sharhuptean replied flatly.

“You can’t do that. I’m the King, and my orders are above yours. An Heir for an heir is a perfectly reasonable payment.”

“Not when the Capitol steps in. The Adviser is the one that supported my order. The wars have gone far enough already. They don’t want anymore.” Melvyn’s tone remained perfectly steady, intimidating when he rose and took the glass from the King to set on the table gently. The King had begun coughing, his throat closing. Melvyn locked eyes with him as everything faded to black. “Hail the Queen of all, protect the balance at all costs.” Melvyn said softly before everything vanished and the King passed.

Ba’al grasped at his throat once he found himself in the chair as himself, his grandfather the one kneeling before him in Melvyn’s place.

“Did the Queen have you killed?” Ba’al managed to gasp out.

“I believe so.” His grandfather nodded, and stood before him.

“You just wanted what was owed to you.” He said thoughtfully.

“Yes. I only wanted what was fair, no one can blame me for that.”

“I certainly don’t.” His grandfather gave a small smirk as he moved to Ba’al’s side, and took his hand. He fell into a new memory.

He fell into a woman, the last Queen before his mother had stolen the throne. She had died an old woman in her bed. A man stood to her side, holding her hand, but he couldn’t recall the man’s face even as he was looking at it. All memories he tried to recall from the Queen were fuzzy, and unreadable. He felt a strong connection to the man, almost like that open connection he’d found himself tied to his whole life. Was this man the one he was connected to somehow? He managed to grasp the word “Father” from her mind but couldn’t remember anything about this Queen’s Father. The lessons had only focused on the members of his line that had ruled. Spouses never mattered, especially the men that hadn’t ruled. On the Queen’s other side was a younger version of his grandfather. She squeezed the hand of each man, and Ba’al’s thoughts returned to those final moments of his grandfather and what they had revealed. The Mystery of the other man sneaking into the back of his mind and wormed its way into everything else he had learned. There seemed to be much more things he never really knew than he had thought.

The further back you go, the less you know.

The thought came from the back of his mind, but he wasn’t entirely sure if it was his thought, Her’s or something else entirely.

The Dognal was set in her lap, her father preparing the ceremony to pass the throne to her son.

Her death was peaceful, everything fading to black once the ceremony was begun.

He found himself in an empty room, a younger version of his great grandmother Ember had been her name. She was a beautiful woman with ash blonde hair and deep grey eyes.

“Who was your father?” He asked, the need to know growing more intense by the moment.

“His name is Aedus. He went to sleep shortly after I died. You have made an impact on him. You will meet him soon enough.” She smiled softly. She seemed a small and gentle woman, but something about her eyes told him how ruthless she could be when needed. He’d learned enough in his lessons about her to know that she was not one to be messed with.

“How can I have made an impact if I’ve never met the man?” He asked calmly.

“Because you have known him your entire life whether you knew it or not.” She smiled sweetly.

“Is he what I felt when I was in the dungeons?” He asked as it dawned on him what she was saying.

“You will find out soon enough.” She smiled and stood before him, placing her hand on his chest, and pushing him. He fell back into the next memory, the next death of his ancestors.

She was falling, talons wrapping around her stopped her from hitting the ground. The wind was knocked out of her, but she felt safe in the grasp of the talons. There was a wound in her thigh bleeding fast, the talon warmed around her, the heat giving her the strength she needed to heal the wound. She rested in the grip of the talons, feeling safe for the moment. Her mind raced to think on everything that had happened in the last few moments. She’d been shot with something, but she couldn’t tell what exactly. The talons shifted to the arms of her husband as he took his Sidhe form and landed them safely to the ground. His lips brushed against Her’s, the soft breath warm and rejuvenating as he whispered her name. Their connection was strong enough that she knew whatever had been on the arrow would kill her.

“Make sure Ember grows strong and rules fair.” She said softly, feeling his lips curve into a smile as he held her tight. She could feel his strength barely contained in the much smaller form he had taken for her. “It’s only goodbye for the physical world; you’re stuck with me for all of eternity now. You ready for that?” She teased him with a strained smile. He chuckled a half sob and shook his head.

“I’ve known for all of my existence, but that doesn’t mean I am ready for it to come so soon.”

“We knew our time would be brief in the bigger picture. She reassured him, his hold still firm and all consuming. He always consumed every bit of her when they were close, the connection bonding them beyond any other she had known. She gave in to the pull of fate that was drawing her and became a part of the bigger picture.

Ba’al stood in the field, the Queen whose death he’d just experienced stood before him. There were no words to define the deep and confusing mix of thoughts and emotions that tangled and blended together.

“I have never felt anything that powerful before.” He finally managed to choke out the words.

“The connection has become diluted over time. Your own connection will deepen and combine with your own love with time.” She smiled.

“What was he?”

“Is, actually. You will learn when the time is right. It’s close, but you still have a journey ahead of you.” She replied patiently.

“What do you mean is?” He asked.

“You will find out when you reach the beginning.” Her tone growing less patient with each question he asked. She stepped forward, eyes locking on his as she grabbed his shoulders, and pulled him towards her. He fell into the next memory without further information.

There was a flash of movement, and the painful piercing of teeth consumed his focus. Confusion ran through the dying King’s mind, but the observer inside knew the exact moment he was becoming witness to. Bryni Vulcan, the fourth King of the Fyre Kingdom that was the first unfortunate soul in the realm to meet a vampire firsthand. He felt the body’s blood draining, the fire inside growing to faint embers. The King felt only confusion and no fear; his eyes locked on a dark form just hidden from his line of sight that approached faster than his attacker had moved. The body fell to the ground, the commotion of a shuffle seeming to happen around him, but he was too weak to look. Everything faded from sight, the sounds and everything else soon followed.

Ba’al found himself on the ground outside of the portal into the human world, the one he had protected on the other side for years, possibly centuries. He couldn’t recall right now. Everything was coming in too quickly and jumbling together. Memories of all the rulers he had viewed the final moments of danced in a dizzying whirlwind of chaos. He couldn’t even recall who he was for a moment.

“You’re intimately familiar with the creature that murdered me.” The King stated. Ba’al groaned and looked to the man.

“I’ve met a few over the years. They are all over the human world.”

“Your wife- “

“Is not a vampire. She is something else. A hybrid if you want to think of it that way. She is from the dark lands, the land of nightmares. Her father was not a Sidhe, but he was not a normal vampire.”

“She drinks your blood.” The King replied with disdain.

“And sometimes I drink hers. We like it a little rough, there is nothing wrong with that.”

“Savages.” The King scoffed.

“No wonder you died so easily.” Ba’al laughed. “You’re a moron.” The King sneered, and grabbed his shoulders, shoving him into the next memory before he could react.

He was pushed to his knees in the open field, the binding symbol carved into the ground around the sacred space. The blood of previous rulers sacrificed had been absorbed into the earth. Kano Shore was sacrificed for the water Kingdom. Fisk Elio sacrificed for Sky, Forest Clay was the most recent layer of blood that had filled the engraved symbol. He was the final of the elemental rulers that would be sacrificed. Behind him would be the Queen and the Ddraichen.

“I, Fyren Vestra, fourth ruler of the Fyre Kingdom offer my life and blood to seal this bind and contain the evil within for all of eternity.” He said proudly as the Ddraichen stepped behind him, the blade of the Fyre Kingdom’s dognal pressed against his throat. He looked up into the Ddraichen’s eyes, the blade so sharp he hardly felt his skin part as it slid across his throat. He leaned forward, letting the blood pour into the symbol beneath him. Everything faded and the scene changed.

The King stood across the symbol now, Ba’al standing where the King had fallen.

“What did you guys hide?” He asked, his tone tensing as he restrained his anger.

“Something that was worth the sacrifice.” The King replied calmly.

“That didn’t answer my question.” He growled the words through gritted teeth.

“I don’t think it’s something you would understand. There is a lot that was hidden after our sacrifices sealed the binding. The Ddraichen have become a myth to you, but as you could see, they were very real. Belenus’ successor is the one you are familiar with.”

“Belenus was the one that slit your throat right?” He asked, the possibility of finally getting answers suppressing his anger, and raising his curiosity.

“Correct.” The King nodded.

“And he and the other Ddraichen were sacrificed behind you?”

“Along with the Queen, that is correct.”

“Why don’t I know about this?”

“Technically you do now.” The King Corrected, earning a glare from Ba’al. The King only smiled in response, and approached him by walking around the symbol without breaking eye contact.

“You’re going to send me off now without telling me anything else aren’t you?” He asked a little unsteadily, stepping back slightly. The King nodded slowly and kept approaching, speeding up as he neared. He attacked like an animal, knocking him to the ground and into the next memory.

Sharp teeth tore skin, ripping large holes that spouted blood from the Queen as the animal attacked.

“Why would the Earth King send a rabid Chinchilla!?!?” someone cried out as the blood loss continued, everything beginning to fade.

The first Queen of Fyre stood before Ba’al in the throne room of the Fyre Kingdom’s castle.

“I’ve always been a little confused about your death.” He wondered aloud.

“It was part of the attacks that led to my son’s sacrifice. I witnessed everything that happened through his eyes, just as I have witnessed the events leading to you standing here now.”

“What was the evil they buried?” He asked.

“Something from another realm that broke into ours. We didn’t understand anything because they wanted to keep us in the dark. They buried their secrets and….” The Queen blurted everything out but faded away before she could finish her rant.

“Why are you hiding things from me?” He yelled into the void that had formed around him.

“You are not ready.” A female voice spoke to him.

“I’m more than ready.” He groaned.

“You’re eager, not ready.” A man’s voice replied with annoyance.

“And who are the two of you anyway?”

“We’re your protectors.” The woman said.

“Both of you?”

“Being a descendant of the Earth line connected you to me.” The female voice replied.

“And being a direct descendant of mine, I have been connected to you even stronger than my sister. Taking on your mother’s connection as well as your own strengthened the bond.”

“Your descendant? Aedus?”

“Correct.” Aedus replied.

“You have a sister; she must be the Earth Ddraichen.” He thought out loud.

“Rasheeda.” The woman replied. “Our other siblings are not woken yet, and we do not wish them to be, so you will not remember any of this.”

“What do you mean I won’t remember?” He asked.

“Exactly what she said, now continue through your journey while we repair the damage done.” Aedus said, Ba’al finding himself forced back and dropping into the next memory. Everything that had happened in the void grew fuzzy as he fell.

He fell into the final memory of the second King of the Realm. Agni Kenna was the eldest son of Conleth. He couldn’t recall many stories about him as a King, only that he took over when Conleth had been killed. The only other thing he remembered was that he died having sex. Ba’al sat back in the king’s mind, and watched the memory play out. The woman was someone he didn’t know but was beautiful and a joy to watch. The Pleasure quickly changed to pain though as the death he knew was coming had begun. Soon enough the King sat on the opposite end of the bed and the woman had vanished.

“I think out of all the deaths I have gone though, yours is my absolute favorite.” Ba’al grinned at Agni.

“It was much better than the others I witnessed after my own I will admit.” Agni grinned back.

“What can you tell me about the Ddraichen?” He asked bluntly, hoping he would retain some of the things he could learn before he was pushed through to the next and possibly final death.

“They like their secrets.” Agni sighed. “Anything I tell you will be wiped from your mind if they do not want you to know it.”

“So, you’re just not going to tell me anything at all?”

“I only dealt with Belenus personally, I only watched Aedus with the others.”

“What can you tell me about Belenus then?” He urged.

“I know that he protected us the best he could.”

“Your father, you, and your daughter are possibly the shortest reigns of the entire Kingdom. I don’t think he did that great of a job.”

“Times were rough in the early days. We had a lot against us.”

“You died having sex. Your daughter was murdered by a rabid Chinchilla that was accidentally sent to her by the Earth King. Those aren’t really deaths that happen when stuff is against you.”

“There was nothing accidental about my daughter’s death. They claimed it was just unlucky and pushed that idea. Those creatures caused it.”

“What creatures?”

“The ones they buried. The ones that escaped the realm of death.” Agni waved his hand dismissively.

“So that’s the evil they buried…” He said, everything fading as he found himself falling into the next memory.

Conleth was the first of all elemental rulers to die, the shortest reign of any Fyre King. He wasn’t the shortest Reign of all, that unfortunate title belonged to Kano Shore, apparently the first of the rulers to be sacrificed for reasons he still didn’t fully understand. When he fell into Conleth’s final memory, he found himself in the meeting room of the rulers. He’d not been in the room himself yet, but Conleth was familiar enough with it that he knew where he was. Baer Alder, the first King of Earth sat to his left, Lonán Azure, the first King of Sky was directly across from him. Reynard Brooke, first King of Water sat to his right. The conversation seemed to be growing heated as Reynard and Lonán discussed the incident Ba’al knew started the war between Sky and Water.

“You drowned and salted half of my lands. There is no way anything will ever grow there now, and I demand you do something to either repair the damage you have done, or compensate my Kingdom in some way.” Lonán shouted, leaning across the table as he did. Conleth’s body grew tense, sensing the anger was growing to dangerous levels.

“I think now would be a wonderful time to step back and consider continuing on this line of discussion.” Conleth said calmly.

“The time for words is over.” Baer replied with a feral sneer. There was no time to react before Lonán was lunging across the table to Reynard. Conleth jumped between the two men, hoping to intervene the fight. He saw the flash of the blade too late. It penetrated easily between his ribs, piercing his heart. Everything went black as the other rulers stared in shock.

Ba’al sat across the table, hand on his chest as Conleth appeared across the table from him.

“You were killed by the Sky King in defense of the Water King.” He stated.

“Which is why they are our greatest ally.” Conleth nodded. “Your Uncle later died for the Sky Kingdom, and I urged your grandfather to take vengeance.”

“Which got him killed by the Queen.” Ba’al replied.

“An unforseen consequence I’m afraid.” Conleth shrugged.

“Yes, the shortest ruling King’s advice being the cause of the murder of the Longest Reigning King. Who couldn’t have seen that ending badly.” Ba’al groaned.

“I sense sarcasm in the comment.” Conleth frowned.

“You’re a smart one then.”

“You are definitely part Ddraichen.” Conleth groaned and waved his hands. Ba’al was pushed into the next memory.

“We were created in the space between nothing, and everything.” Aedus’ voice echoed in the nothingness he found himself in.

“Are you finally going to answer my questions?” He demanded.

“A few.” Aedus said. The memories that had grown fuzzy outside of the void had returned to him as if they never left.

“Where’s your sister? I think I like talking to her better.”

“You’re my problem, not Her’s. She will be busy enough with your Earth line.”

“It’s just me and Aeval.” He replied with surprise.

“For now.” Aedus seemed amused by this. “Would you like to see?” He asked.

Before Ba’al could respond, a flood of memories and thoughts from a thousand different lives filled his mind, overlapping and chaotic. His hands clasped his head, pressing the heels of his hands to his temples in an attempt to keep his mind from the explosion he almost wanted to come. So many thoughts and memories wove together and tangled. Lives with women he had never known, yet had a version of a life with, children never born, but existed in the chaos. His eyes closed, trying to make some semblance of sense in the chaos. Finally, he found his center in one glorious moment that had settled everything.

Rayne was across from him in the darkness. He smiled as the sight of her silenced all.

He wasn’t looking for love when he met her, but he knew instantly that he wanted her in his life. They started as friends, nothing physical even though they had met at a gathering in the Dark Kingdom. They spoke often, growing close as other women complicated things. They almost parted, she was ready to walk away when he knew that he wanted to be with her. He cupped her face with both hands, the fear of losing her consuming him as he held her. His breath caught in his throat as their eyes met. He stepped closer, his heart racing against her cold chest. Her face tilted up, his lips brushing lightly against hers.

“I choose you.” He exhaled the words against her lips as he leaned in to kiss her firmly. His fingers curled and tangled in her dark hair as he deepened the kiss, all the passion and desire for her put into that kiss. She was his world, his everything, and he never wanted to lose her. She clung to him, returning the kiss with equal passion, and he knew she was the other half of him, his missing piece.

This was his favorite memory, the moment he knew she was the one, that she was his Queen. They didn’t leave the bedroom for a week, and were married soon after. He’d made the decision to kill his mother and take the Kingdom when he realized that he wanted to start a family, and his mother would always be a threat if he had. He’d been the last of the Fyre line. That had been the main thing keeping her from killing him for the last three centuries. Now that his Queen was carrying his child, he was no longer alone.

His eyes opened, and he found himself in the game room of an asylum. A long hall of doors loomed in the distance, containing the other rulers that he had traveled the memories of. He explored the empty hospital, the layout of it reminding him of the one he had burned down in Paris the night he’d saved Diana in Paris.

“Ba’al!” Aidan’s voice tore through all else. “Wake up!” He felt a slap across his face, but still could not tear himself way from the asylum. He knew Aidan was shaking him, but his body seemed to not be his own. “I’m sorry….” Aidan said with a heavy sadness that made him worry. The Piercing in his stomach was what finally managed to wake him. Aidan muttered words Ba’al couldn’t focus on but felt the weight that had been pinning him down and holding him in the dream state lift almost immediately. He gasped, eyes opening fully to see the glowing pommel of the dagger, green to brown, red, then orange. Aidan healed the wound and Ba’al looked around the room. He was standing naked in the middle of the court in the Capitol.

“What… happened?” He stammered, rubbing his eyes and looking around. There were civilians staring at him, Aidan sheathed the dagger and handed him a robe.

“Quite a bit actually. We need to get you back home. Rayne is worried about you.” Aidan smiled to him, and wrapped his arm around Ba’al’s shoulder, sifting them back to the Fyre Kingdom, and into his chambers where his wife waited for his return.