Chapter 18: Closer
Around the time, Silas retired for the night. A brief look of concern washed over the Forgotten One’s face once he felt Calista’s body uncontrollably trembling. After he felt her trembling, he looked up at her face to see it distorted in agony.
For some reason, he called out to her in a soft, concerned voice within the darkness, “Dove, is everything alright? Are you feeling unwell, or are you in pain?”
As soon as he said those words, Calista couldn’t stop herself from rolling over toward him. She soon felt the warmth of his skin against hers. Then, she realized she was in the Forgotten One’s arms. Without thinking, she nuzzled her face into his firm chest while she sobbed loudly.
“You’re starting to worry me, Dove,” The Forgotten One said when he didn’t receive a single response from her except for the sound of her sobbing. If he were being honest, he wouldn’t think someone like her was capable of crying this hard, given how strong she was when he first met her.
For some reason, The Forgotten One couldn’t help but think that she reminded him of himself from the past, which caused him to unconsciously reach out to gently rub the back of her head to offer her some form of comfort.
He looked down at her with compassionate eyes. “If you don’t tell me soon, then I’ll think that you’re in a much worse condition than I originally suspected,” he said softly.
“I just had a horrible nightmare. It’s really nothing to worry about,” Calista managed to choke out even though she knew in her heart that it was no ordinary nightmare.
It was as if she were being shown fragments of Kalias's memories through his eyes, which he wanted her to be aware of. But how was that possible? Calista wasn’t so sure about it, but she assumed it was because of the bond they shared because of the heart he had crafted for her using his powers.
Not only did Calista's nightmare force her to witness Kalias's murder, but it also made her relive a memory from her past. It transported her back to when she was very sick as a child, and Kalias took pity on her.
Calista witnessed everything that had unfolded during Kalias's murder as if she were a mere spectator, unable to influence the outcome. Further, she came to realize that Silas, Klive, and Marcus were the ones who took part in carrying out such a savage act.
It all made sense. The stabbing pain that she felt earlier in her chest in her bedroom in Ralayna's castle and the nightmare she just had was because she was experiencing the same pain that Kalias was when he was being killed.
The Forgotten One broke the silence while Calista was lost in her thoughts. "You say it's no big deal, but I can clearly tell that it is. Nightmares are unpleasant occurrences for humans. But something tells me that this nightmare was more personal by how you’re acting," The Forgotten One said, not believing it was just a mere nightmare.
"What was your nightmare about? You can tell me about it?” he said softly. For some strange reason, he felt like he wouldn’t be able to sleep until she told him about it.
The Forgotten One clenched his jaw when a thought suddenly crossed his mind. Why would a human go running out into the middle of the night in a raging storm? This was the reason she ended up crossing paths with him.
He thought back to that day when he was sitting alone in the darkness of the hole he was imprisoned in. He remembered crying out in frustration and burying his face in his knees.
There was a brief moment of silence between them before The Forgotten One asked her seriously, "Dove, may I ask you something?”
"It all depends on the type of question you're interested in asking me," Calista responded in a low voice.
The Forgotten One then proceeded to ask her a serious question while unconsciously clenching his fists in anger, "Dove, answer me honestly. Did someone wrong you somehow, causing you to run away from them to escape? If that's the case, tell me exactly who, and I'll be sure I make it my mission to make them instantly regret it.”
Calista was slightly taken aback. She wasn't expecting him to ask her such a question, which only ended up causing her to struggle to answer him. She was still trying to process it all herself.
Now that she knew Silas, Marcus, and Klive were responsible for the death of Kalias, it would mean that Tristan was right. Silas had to be stopped before he brought everything to ruin. That would mean that Silas, the person she held so dear to her, would have to be overthrown, but at what cost?
“It's just…I think I would rather talk about this at some other time. I would prefer to just stay like this for a while longer,” Calista said softly, still bathing in his warmth, which oddly seemed to relax her nerves.
“And here I thought that you were a sassy dove before,” he said, with a grin on his lips.
“Don’t push your luck,” Calista grumbled.
“But, I was serious about what I said before. You really have nothing to worry about now that I'm by your side," The Forgotten One said with a smug grin.
“Where did that come from? It's starting to sound like you care about me again. Thanks for caring enough to ask me if I was alright. I'm also sorry for being so hard on you earlier,” Calista said to him warmly as a small smile crept up on her lips.
The Forgotten One stalled for a moment since he hadn’t expected to hear her genuinely thank him. It felt odd to him. He hadn't been praised in ages by a human since they all blamed him for the mistakes he made.
He accidentally stammered on the first few words of his sentience, “Sorry, I don’t think I heard you correctly. Can you say that again?”
“I’m not repeating what I said since I know that you heard me loud and clear. You’re just pretending that you didn’t,” Calista scolded him before a faint blush dusted her cheeks.
Hearing her say that filled him with a sudden happiness that he wasn’t expecting. He couldn't help but allow a small smile to form on his face as a fuzzy and warm feeling filled his chest.
Calista stayed silent since she knew by his lack of an answer that she was indeed correct in her previous assumption that he had heard her just fine. Besides, the last thing she wanted to do was boost his already high ego, even if she truly appreciated everything he had done for her so far. His next statement proved her assumption correct.
“That’s unfortunate. I would’ve liked to hear it again. Too bad my sweet little Dove won’t repeat it to me,” the Forgotten One said in a playful tone.
"Also, you’re welcome, Dove,” he said in a tone filled with a certain warmth that caused the blush on Calista’s cheeks to darken.
"Goodnight," Calista grumbled while she turned her head to try and hide her blush from him. She then closed her eyes while a blanket of warmth emanated from their embrace. However, before falling asleep, a hard-to-swallow realization hit her, causing her to gulp.
Calista then shuttered as it finally dawned on her. So that means that the blood that Silas was covered in when I had bumped into him earlier while disguised as a guard was definitely Kalias's, she thought to herself.
As soon as Calista shut her eyes, there was one harsh reality that she couldn't ignore, and it kept nagging away at her. She knew that the only reason why she had been able to live for as long as she had was because of the heart that Kalias made for her. Even though the heart within her chest was infused with Kalias's divine energy, such power came with its limits.
The heart that Kalias had crafted for her had to be refilled with his power before the end of each passing year, similar to a vase that needed to be replenished with water. She intended to make every moment of her life count and save everything.
Calista then sighed as sadness filled her heart while she thought to herself. Now that Kalias is gone, I only have a few more months to live before the year's up and I die.
There was nothing more anyone could do for her since Kalias was the only god capable of saving her, and now he was gone. Despite her fear of such a painful realization, she was glad the Forgotten One was there with her. With the warmth that radiated from him, it was easy to forget the predetermined path that fate had laid out for her, even if it only was for a moment.
At the crack of dawn, The Forgotten One felt Calista shift beside him. He turned his head to look over at her and asked, "Dove, are you awake? Did you sleep well? And how much of a comfy pillow was I?” he teased her while a grin danced along his lips.
“You’re an uncomfortable pillow, and I would rather rest a little bit more. But I am feeling better,” she groggily murmured, keeping her eyes shut because she wasn’t in the mood for his teasing.
“That’s cold, Dove. But I’m glad you’re feeling better. I'll be right back. Don't worry; I won't be gone for long. Sleep for as long as you wish. You're pretty much safe here; nothing will sneak past me. I'll be watching from afar, so you have nothing to worry about," he teasingly said while putting his pants on.
“Since when are you in such a hurry? Especially this early in the morning,” Calista said, sounding disappointed without her realization. Calista was starting to enjoy the warmth from The Forgotten One's body, but she didn't want to admit that she still wanted him next to her and didn't want him to leave her side just yet.
"Aww, you have truly touched my heart, Dove~. By the sound of it, it seems almost as if you're already going to miss me," he said before softly chuckling.
“I’ll be just fine without you,” Calista grumbled, not wanting to admit the truth.
“Sure you will, and I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise,” he said, amused, before he hurried left.
Once he was out of the cave, his smile turned into a frown when he realized something. He didn’t understand why he was being so friendly to a human. Trusting a human never ended up well, especially for a god like him.
Once he was gone, Calista was left alone in her thoughts. Hmm, I really wonder what he's up to and what he means by surprise? she thought before she drifted back to sleep for a little while longer.
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