When Sebastian opened his eyes, he knew he was dreaming.

That didn't make what he saw any less real.

He stood in the eye of a raging battle. Smoke, ash, and death hung in the air, the scent thick and putrid, its scalding fingers tightening around the magician's neck with a vise-like grip. He staggered through the crowd, forced to inhale the metallic smell of blood and magic exploding around him.

Bodies were everywhere. Some donned Shade robes, others covered in the silver uniforms of the Eldai. It didn't matter what they wore, though. They all met the same fate. Dead, slain by their own kind.

Sebastian's head was spinning. Everything around him was either blurry, covered by fog, or so grotesque he couldn't bear to look at it. He heard dragons screeching overhead, blasts of fire pouring from the sky. Had he not known any better, he would've thought it was the apocalypse. But with what was causing the destruction, it might as well have been.

He wiped the sweat dripping down his soot-covered face with a trembling hand. Eldai and battlemages from House Brynjir raced past him, heading for the massive beast rampaging through the cobblestone road they stood on. A few bodies flew backward, sailing past him like comets.

He couldn't move even if he wanted to. His eyes were wide, muscles stiff with terror. He'd never seen anything like this before.

This fight, this battle... The prophecy foretold this. He'd been dreading what it would look like for weeks. House Brynjir's artifact had given him a glimpse of the future back in Hodvekt, but never did he think it would turn out like this. This was madness.

As he stood in the eye of the hurricane of death and destruction, a deep, sinister laugh echoed around him. It started in his ears before spreading around him like vibrations emanating from the earth's core. Soon, the booming voice was all around him, taunting and teasing him. Tears welled in his dark eyes.

"This is your fault," the voice told him.

He didn't want to believe it. All those lives lost, all this chaos... It couldn't be his fault. But then he thought back to Hodvekt and Thania. Two of the world's most prominent and powerful casters were snuffed out like flames in a blizzard. He brough the Order of the Black Lotus right to their doorsteps and they, along with countless others, died fighting for him. They died protecting him.

They gave their lives for him.

He couldn't help but feel he didn't deserve it. Their sacrifice, their valor. Never in a million years would he ever be able to repay them.

A million dark thoughts plagued his mind. He bit down on his lip, hard enough to draw blood. It was the only way to keep himself from hyperventilating. He pressed his hands to his ears, sunk to his knees, and closed his eyes.

"No...no, this isn't happening. This is just a nightmare."

"A nightmare, yes. But real all the same."

He tried blocking out the voice, but his efforts were futile. He couldn't even hear the fires burning around him or the screams piercing the thick, hazy air. All he knew was the voice. That evil, wretched voice. There was no body, no mouth, but he knew who it belonged to.

The god of chaos. The herald of death. The ruler of the underworld.

Mauvorin.

"The Order will rip you apart."

Sebastian's entire body quaked.

"Darkness will swallow you. Soon, you will return to me."

Hot tears spilled down Sebastian's cheeks. The fog around him faded, revealing the crumbling buildings of the Eldenarian Palace. Everything was on fire. Towers toppled as dragon's careened through them; slabs of stone and glass rained from the heavens. He saw werewolves pouncing on magicians, ripping through their clothes with fangs and claws. He saw the undead army rampaging through the streets.

He saw his father at the heart of it all, hovering above the carnage like a dark god.

Sebastian scowled. Lifting his chin, he glared at the man.

"No," he said, voice barely above a whisper. He clenched his fists. "I won't let this happen.'"

"You cannot stop it, child."

"I can," he argued. "And I will." Conjuring up his vayrir, he launched it at his father. The black dagger raced toward the man's chest. Instead of piercing his flesh, it went straight through him as if he were a ghost. Then he vanished into wisps of black smoke.

The ground shook.

Everything around Sebastian began to do the same. Buildings faded and melted into shadows. The screams melded with the sound of the wind. Within seconds, there was no sound at all. Darkness devoured everything in sight until Sebastian found himself floating in a black void.

That's when he realized he'd done this before. When he was struck by Zoe's poison arrow during the siege of Thania, Mauvorin spoke to him. He showed him things, hoping to fill his mind with corrupted thoughts like the venom filling his veins.

A figured cloaked in black materialized in front of him. He stiffened, preparing to ward off any incarnation of Mauvorin that might've manifested in the darkness. The stranger dropped the hood clouding their features and he nearly cried. Their skin was whiter than polished marble, features more pointed than the sharpest sword. Pale, blue eyes stared back at him. Hair brighter than a burning flame in the dead of night met his gaze. A warm, comforting smile followed. He'd seen that smile many times before, but it had been years since the last time it graced his eyes.

"Mother?" His voice cracked, struggling under the weight of every single emotion he had been suppressing since she disappeared.

"My Little Prince."

More tears sprung in the corners of his eyes. "How? How are you—"

"Never mind that, Sebastian," she told him. Her hand reached for his cheek. He leaned into his touch. Her skin was cold, like frozen metal, but he didn't care. "You can't let him win."

A breath left his lips. "I'm trying, I promise you I am. I just—"

He wasn't sure if he really could stop his father from achieving his quest. He'd never said it out loud before, afraid that speaking it would make it true.

"I need you here," he said, his voice strained.

His mother's smile faltered for a moment. She planted a kiss on his forehead. "I never left you, Sebastian."

The words felt like a shock to his system. A massive swell of hope enveloped him like a wave. He lifted his head, eyes locked with the shimmering woman ahead of him. Then he nodded. She was right. She might not have been with him anymore, but she was always there with him—in his heart, in the memories that lived on in his brain. His father took her away, but she was still there. That would never change.

"I am so proud of you," his mother continued. "What you have done...what you will continue to do... I wish I was there to see it for myself."

Sebastian wiped his eyes.

"Your destiny awaits you on the outside," she said. Grabbing his hand, she squeezed it with her ghostly, semi-translucent fingers. She was beginning to fade. In the background, he heard Mauvorin's voice returning. He focused on her, though. Nothing else mattered, not even the god of death himself.

"I'll find you," he told her. "I promise you I will."

"I don't doubt that." She placed her other hand atop his. "But you have a job to complete."

He nodded. She was right. His father had to be defeated. Something deep in his bones told him it had to be him to deliver the finishing blow. He just hoped when the time came, he'd be able to do it.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Sebastian." Her eyes watered, but no tears fell. "Please...try not to get poisoned again."

He laughed through the tears spilling down his face.

Then, she was gone, leaving him alone in the darkness yet again. Moments later, Mauvorin's voice continued to boom around him. This time, Sebastian paid his words no attention. The deity hadn't won back in Thania, and he wouldn't win now. He'd never win. He'd never win. Not as long as the sun rose over the horizon in the mornings and the moon took its place in the night. Not as long as there was breath in his lungs and vitalae in his veins.

Mauvorin would never win.

The void shook. Thin rays of light broke through the shadows like cracks in a pane of glass.

"What are you doing?" Mauvorin demanded. There was uncertainty in his voice. Confusion. Fear.

Sebastian grinned and ignored the deity's question.

"How are you doing this?!"

More cracks appeared in the dark walls around him. More light was let in. Sebastian basked in the warmth spreading across his skin.

"I will destroy you, boy! You and everything you've ever loved! You are nothing and will always be nothing!"

The dark god had lost control.

"See you soon, Mauvi."

Mauvorin bellowed, the sound reverberating through Sebastian's bones like wind rattling through hanging wind chimes. Sebastian swiped his hand through the air. The dark god's voice ceased, almost like it was never there.

The magician's smile widened.

The dream answered him now.

#

Sebastian's body jolted upright as if he'd been possessed by a demon. With his heart pumping rapidly and his eyes bulging, he sucked in a few ragged breaths. Everything in his line of sight was blurry like a washed-out watercolor painting. Grimacing from the pain rippling through his body, he rubbed his eyes until he could see again.

There wasn't any sign of the manticore. In fact, he wasn't even in the forest again.

Someone had placed him on a stiff cot inside of a dark green tent. Light from outside trickled in through the partially closed flaps ahead of him. There wasn't much else inside the tent aside from the small bed, a crate full of medical supplies, and a chair.

A chair currently being occupied by a worried-looking Imogen.

She sprung up from her seat and rushed over to Sebastian, who was still struggling to regain his bearings. His body was still screaming in agony. Manticore venom was nothing to mess around with. He was lucky it didn't kill him.

"Stop moving, you idiot," she hissed. Rolling her eyes, she pressed his chest down until he was flat against the cot again.

Had his body not felt like it weighed more than a ton of bricks, he would've fought back. But he could barely think straight, let alone overpower her. He wasn't even sure if he could speak yet. After opening and closing his mouth a few times, he figured he'd wait a few more minutes before trying.

"You've gotta stop getting poisoned."

Yeah, no kidding.

Imogen's hand was still on his chest, and it didn't seem like she was planning on moving it any time soon. She gazed down at him with her warm, hazel eyes. They were full of relief and a little bit of something else Sebastian couldn't quite pin down. He watched her bronzed cheeks redden a bit as he stared back at her.

"I thought..." She cleared her throat. "We thought we almost lost you for a second back there."

Sebastian attempted to smile, but he was sure it looked more like a grimace. "It's going to take a lot more than a little manticore venom to kill me."

"You looked like you were dead back there."

"Yeah, well, I'm not."

"I can see that."

Sebastian took another look around the tent. He couldn't see the sun outside, but he caught a glimpse of the sky. Shades of orange and gold were painted across the white clouds. Evening was approaching. His heart dropped.

"How long was I out?"

"A few hours."

He lifted a brow at her. "Have you been waiting here this whole time?"

Moving her hand from his chest, she turned away from him. "It's not like I had a bunch of options for activities. I didn't exactly want to hang out with Dorian—"

"Relax, it was just a question." Sitting up, he took her hand. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"You know..." He rubbed the back of his reddening neck. "For watching over me." He grinned. "And for finishing off that manticore." Blushing, Imogen returned his smile.

The two of them were face-to-face now. Outside, the sun was beginning to set. The beautiful hues shining through the tent illuminated the tiny flecks of green in Imogen's eyes. Her entire figure seemed to glow in the evening light. He hadn't noticed how beautiful she was. That was a lie. He had noticed, but his heart belonged to someone else. At least, it had. Nowadays, he wasn't so sure.

Makaela used to be the only one he saw. She had been the only one he envisioned himself with. But once Imogen entered the picture, his future with the heir of House Lumai grew hazier by the day.

They had been separated for weeks now. He didn't know when he'd see her again.

Would he even see her again?

There was no way to tell. With his asinine quest to unite the magicians and Arkangels, and her journey to Tenzin for whatever reason... They were on different paths. He wasn't sure if they'd converge again.

But Imogen was here. She had never left him. Not once. A halfling ordinaire with ties to the Arkangels. Who would've thought?

House Tenebris, and the Tedorof clan specifically, had unique hate for ordinaires—deeper and more intense than anyone else's. The Shades taught him to loathe them with every fiber of his being. He still did to some extent. Yet, here he was, staring deep into an ordinaire's eyes with his heart fluttering in his chest. He almost laughed at the absurdity of it all.

"What're you staring at?" Imogen furrowed her brows, her full lips puckered in a pout.

"You."

Sebastian kept his gaze on her. He was unsure about a million different things. But not this. His mind was clear when it came to the ordinaire.

His heart was thumping away in his chest now, and it wasn't because it was still fighting off the remaining drops of poison swimming in his blood. Imogen's breath hitched, her lips parting slightly.

He couldn't take his eyes off them.

"Sebastian..." She trailed off, eyelids fluttering. "If you're going to kiss me, just—"

His lips crashed against hers in an instant, extinguishing whatever quippy remark she was about to make. She paused for a moment before kissing him back, her lips parting, inviting him in, as he wrapped his arms around her waist. His hands searched her body, exploring, studying, admiring.

She was soft—so incredibly soft. Her lips, her skin, her hands. It was like an angel was caressing him. He might've been exaggerating, but he didn't care. He had only ever felt like this with Makaela. Yet, something about this was different. Imogen was different. And he liked it that way.

Imogen pressed her hands onto his chest and gently pushed him back onto the cot. He sucked in a breath as she climbed on top of him. In an instant, her knees were on either side of his waist. Soon, her lips were back on his.

They fought for dominance, and he quickly gave up, letting her pepper his mouth with short kisses.

He couldn't get enough of her. He never wanted to.

She broke away from him, chest rising and falling like smoke from a chimney.

He looked up at her in awe, dizzy with desire.

"What took you so long?" was all she said afterward. He simply shrugged; his brain couldn't think of anything clever to say. His head spun like a tornado. He couldn't stop smiling.

Behind them, someone cleared their throat rather obnoxiously.

They both froze.

Standing at the entrance of the tent was Dorian. A rather bemused look covered his face as he watched them, arms folded across his sculpted chest.

Sebastian scowled at the werewolf.

"What do you want?"

"Jocasta called a meeting."

He cursed under his breath.

"I can tell her you're busy—"

"Shut up. We're coming. Just...give us a second."

"Take all the seconds you need." Chuckling, Dorian left the tent. Sebastian wanted nothing more than to blast a hole in his back.

Imogen stood up and smoothed out her shirt. She was still breathing heavy, and her short hair was disheveled. Sebastian was sure he didn't look much different than she did. His head was still spinning, and it took all his self-control to stop from grinning like a madman.

"Took you long enough," she finally said with a sly smile.

He shrugged nonchalantly, hoping she couldn't detect his giddiness.

"Come on." She held her hand out toward him. "Let's go before Dorian starts spreading rumors."

Nodding, he took her hand, and they left the tent. Together.