Zain had fished a spare matress out of the storage room for Nyx to sleep on. They were holed up in his bedroom after doing the dishes, both tired from the day’s events. Tomorrow he would look for more clues in Elrick’s book on what to do with Nyx’s condition.

“Nyx, can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Nyx replied from the makeshift bed on the floor, flexing his now exposed wings. Zain was mesmerized by them, but then remembered he still had to ask his question before the man could catch him staring.

“What was Silver Garden like?”

Nyx rolled on his side, now facing Zain. He could see the alicorn’s eyes gloss over, lost in memories.

“Silver Garden was my home, a true home for hybrid children like me. Relationships between residents of Heaven and Hell rarely happen, and when they do happen, in almost all cases the children born from those relationships are abandoned.

Fed up with how people treated those abandoned kids, Zaphir, a man born from a demon and a fairy, created the Silver Garden as a refuge for us hybrids.

I came to the Garden when I was five, in human years,” Nyx clarified, “It was the prettiest place I’ve ever seen. The grass was always green, the sky always blue and the roses were always this magical silver color, almost as if they were made of the most delicate metal.

There were houses, schools, shops… We had everything. Zaphir took me under his wing, the man felt like a true father to me, unlike my real one.”

“Was your mother there too?”

The winged unicorn shook his head, his dark-colored locks bouncing around. “My mother was fortunate enough to pass as a proper angel. Only once a month she sneaked out to sate her succubus urges and then returned back to Heaven. With a spell she managed to hide her pregnancies from the other angels. This went on for years, until...”

Nyx didn’t continue, as a pained expression on his face appeared.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

The alicorn nodded.

“Anyway, Zaphir was like a father to me. He taught me everything he knew about my heritage, so I wouldn’t be left wondering who exactly I was. The only thing he didn’t know was that I was partly incubus. Those urges only came to light on my eighteenth human birthday, three months after being summoned here.”

“That must have been rough.”

Being abandoned for who you were at such a young age, Zain couldn’t help but feel sad for the man next to him.

Nyx shrugged. “It is what it is.”

The two laid in silence for a short while, listening to the soft ticking of snow hitting the window.

“Hey, you were talking about human years, does that mean your actual age is different?”

The dark-haired alicorn grinned up at Zain. “You noticed! Yes, my actual age is different from that of humans. Next week I turn fifty, which converts to twentyfive in your world.”

“You’re younger than me then!” The redhead exclaimed, “Or wait, you’re actually older. Huh?”

Nyx giggled, enjoying the confused expression on the other’s face.

“You’re a funny guy, Zain.”

The redhead blushed at the compliment, and then mumbled something along the line of getting sleepy. “Let’s sleep for now, okay? I bet you’re just as tired as I am.”

The dark-haired alicorn nodded. “Sleep well, Zain.”

“Sweet dreams, Nyx.”

# # # #

Zain dreamed about Nyx. About his pretty silver horn surrounded by luscious dark blue locks, his soft-looking wings that just seemed to soak up all light… And ofcourse those fascinating black eyes of his. The alicorn truly deserved to be called the Prince of Midnight.

They were standing in a field of glittering silver, with the moon above them a thin crescent, and when he looked closer, he could make out the shape of roses. Thousands of roses surrounded them, it was a magical sight.

“I’m so glad to be home again,” Nyx spoke, with a dreamy look on his face, “Thank you, Zain, for making my wish come true.”

Then the scene changed. He was no longer in the garden, but back home. Only, it wasn’t quite his home. The couch was different, the kitchen table was different and photos of people he didn’t know were framed and hung on the wall.

“Nyx! Nyx! Hold on! I’ll get you through this, okay?” A man’s voice Zain didn’t recognize called out.

The alicorn came storming out of the kitchen, his eyes glowing an eerily red. He looked maybe only a few years younger, and even when his face was contorted in pain, he still looked beautiful.

“Don’t come any closer, Elrick! I-I… I’m afraid I’ll hurt you! I can’t!”

Nyx didn’t seem to notice Zain and headed for the frontdoor. He tried opening it, but it was locked. The alicorn whipped his head around, with a furious, almost animalistic expression on his face.

“Elrick! Elrick! Open the door, for fuck’s sake! I need to leave!”

“And then what?” Elrick appeared from the kitchen. He was tall, taller than Nyx, and wore his long, dark hair in a ponytail, “What if you hurt anyone in town, hm? I rather you hurt me than them, Nyx.”

Before Zain could see what would happen next, everything disappeared. It took only a few seconds for the redhead to wake up, hearing Nyx sobbing on the floor.

“Nyx! What happened?” Zain threw off his duvet and rushed over.

“I had a dream, Zain, a very bad dream,” The alicorn hiccuped, while rubbing his eyes to make the tears stop.

Zain sat down and hugged him, rubbing his back to get him to calm down. “What was it about?”

Nyx tried to steady his breath, with the occasional hiccup in-between. “My first night as an incubus.”

Only then Zain realized those dreams were Nyx’s.