SURVIVE (THRIVE: Book Two)

Chapter 38- Can You Hear Me?

Warning: Severe Trauma

I've never seen this before, but my mother told me about when it happened during the final battle. Suddenly, Malakai's Gate becomes dusted with flower petals all blowing softly on the breeze. The violet eclipse remains in the sky as our Gate's blend together, creating something of great beauty.

"Holy shit..." Kai states as he lets go of my hands, watching the petals blow past us.

"Okay, I um... didn't realize that that would happen," I state as I pull my hair away from my face.

"No, no, it's okay," he says as he stares up at the sky.

"Well, anyway..." I sigh as I begin to walk forward, opening a portal to a memory that I wish I didn't have.

"What the hell?" I ask as I look around, clearly seeing a room in the compound before the fire. Every time I have dreamt of this, it has been completely dark.

"We have a better sense of these things than you'd think, our spirits draw in our surroundings when our eyes can't necessarily see," Kai explains as he begins to step forward, then suddenly freezes as he sees Sona and Iker, as well as my mother lying unconscious on the ground. At that moment, I realize one undeniable fact; Kai has never seen his father before this very moment.

"Is that him?" Kai asks nervously as he stares forward.

"Yes," I state as we begin to watch what's about to happen.

"Damnit, I thought I felt the presence of another soul earlier, but now I know for sure." Iker grunts angrily as he stands up and stomps across the room "That bastard defiled her, and now she is going to be forced to suffer because of it."

"My lord?" Sona asks as she turns back to him, confused.

"If anyone should ever bring forth a new soul with her, it should be me, not him. His arrogance and idiocy will spread through her like a virus, and there is only one way to cure it before it's too late," he explains, suddenly sounding sure of himself as he comes back to kneel beside her unconscious body.

"Master, before you make a defined decision, I think you need to consider what would happen if the child was lost directly after her incarceration here." Sona begins cautiously "She would only blame you now, and there would be no turning back from that. I can assure you that I am not above helping take care of this, but you know that fire can be extremely unpredictable if too much fuel has been fed to it." she explains.

"Then what do you expect me to do, Sona? Sit back and watch this ruin her life?" he shouts angrily as I see him begin to clench his fists.

"No, I am merely suggesting that you hold off for a while longer." she explains "That way, she won't place the blame on you." Suddenly, everything goes quiet for a moment while he seems to think about her suggestion.

"An interesting thought." he suddenly sounds crooked and sure of himself "But I can't wait indefinitely, I don't know what chance fate will give me again."

"Then what would you suggest?" Sona sounds worried.

"Luckily, I have studied a few curses that take a few months to fully take hold. That way, even if I'm not around, she'll still be safe from this curse," he explains twistedly as he gently places his hands on her, on me.

"Won't a loss that close to term be risky on her life too?" Sona asks nervously.

"That's not a problem, I'll make sure it won't physically damage her." he mentions "I hate to destroy something that may have shared in her beauty, but I can't take the risk. If she is ever supposed to create a new life, it should be with me."