chapter 19
882 Words
---
Chapter Nineteen: The Dream-Walk Duel
Darkness had no shape here.
Only movement.
Like liquid smoke pulling through the bones of the world.
In this place, time did not matter. Power wasn’t worn like a crown.
It echoed.
It remembered.
And on this night, the realm between wakefulness and slumber opened its gate not for Seraphina, but for three Alphas.
Alfred.
Almond.
Richard.
Each man, from separate corners of the manor, fell into unnatural sleep—called by a force older than prophecy, summoned by the soul of a rival not yet reborn into flesh.
---
Almond felt it first.
He stood beneath the River Tree — but it wasn’t rooted in earth.
It floated in a sky of stars and water, endless and silent.
He moved toward it, whispering old runes, but the tree didn’t respond.
Then came the cold.
A presence. Not wind. Not shadow.
A pull in the chest.
Then a voice:
> “You read the stars, seer. But you never dared ask them why they dimmed the day I was sealed.”
Almond turned slowly.
Theseus stepped from the mist, his silver eyes aglow with unspoken memories.
He wasn’t angry.
He wasn’t cruel.
He was disappointed.
> “You are gentle,” Theseus said, circling him, “and yet you stood by while the Moon turned a girl into a relic. You wrapped her in calm, in prophecy, in patience… and caged her soul without a single bar.”
Almond swallowed. “You know nothing of what she’s endured.”
“I know more than you ever will. I bled for her freedom before she was born.”
Their eyes locked.
“I do not hate you, Almond. You love her softly. But softness is not truth. And she will outgrow your silence.”
---
Richard fell next.
His dream was fire.
Wolves. Blood. Battlefields.
He was back in the war—the one he’d never left behind.
Sword in hand.
Teeth bared.
And then—stillness.
A man stepped between the flames, untouched.
Tall. Ancient. Barefoot on scorched earth.
> “You fight everything, even the parts of her that scare you.”
Richard growled. “You’re not real.”
Theseus didn’t flinch.
> “You think passion is enough? You burn for her, yes—but you would scorch her wings if she ever chose to fly away from you.”
Richard lunged.
Sword raised.
But it passed through smoke.
Theseus appeared behind him. No blade. No fury. Just truth.
> “You love her wildly. But love is not ownership, Alpha. She is not a prize to be won. She is a force to be honored.”
Richard staggered back.
> “One day, she will burn brighter than your rage. And what will you do then?”
---
Alfred’s realm was cold.
A room of mirrors.
Infinite reflections of himself, each perfectly composed.
Until one shattered.
Then another.
Then another.
Until all that was left was one mirror — cracked down the middle.
And behind him, a voice:
> “You trust only control.”
Alfred turned slowly. “So you’re the fourth.”
Theseus stepped forward, not smiling. “No. I am the first that was denied.”
Their eyes locked.
Neither flinched.
Alfred’s jaw was tight. “She needs stability. You offer chaos.”
“I offer truth.”
Alfred scoffed. “She’s not ready for it.”
“You mean you’re not ready to lose her.”
The mirror behind Alfred splintered.
His breath hitched—only for a second.
> “You do not fear me,” Theseus said quietly. “You fear what she becomes when she no longer needs your protection.”
And for a moment…
Alfred said nothing.
---
Now they stood together.
The three Alphas.
The single forgotten soul.
The Dream-Walk no longer held illusions.
Only truth.
And in its center, the figure of Seraphina — glowing softly, her spirit caught in silent light.
Not moving.
Not speaking.
Just watching.
Theseus turned slowly to face them all.
No power play.
No threats.
Just final words.
> “You are not my enemies. But you are not her future unless you learn to stop fearing her fire.”
> “She does not belong to you.”
> “She belongs to herself.”
---
Richard growled. “You think she’ll choose you?”
Theseus stepped forward.
> “I think... she will remember what it feels like to be whole.”
Almond looked at Seraphina’s image. “And if she chooses differently?”
Theseus smiled—softly. Sadly.
> “Then I will return to ash. I came to give her freedom. Not another cage.”
---
Alfred's voice cut the silence. “Why show yourself now?”
> “Because she’s ready.”
And then—
Theseus turned.
Walked into the mist.
His last words echoed across the realm:
> “You call her Luna.
I call her Sovereign.”
---
The dream broke.
The Alphas awoke—
—each in a cold sweat.
Each with the same truth ringing in their ears.
And Seraphina, in her tower, opened her eyes at the same time.
She didn’t know where she’d been.
But she knew they had seen him now.
And everything would change.
---
- Writer
