Speaker 1: The whispering willow's breath still lingered in her lungs Armani
Speaker 1: moved through the palace halls like a ghost. Her footsteps
Speaker 1: barely touched the stone, as if the vision still clung
Speaker 1: to her body, weightless electric. The silence was too loud.
Speaker 1: Every flickering torch seemed to cast Jake's silhouette in the shadows.
Speaker 1: Every whisper of wind through the corridors sounded like his voice.
Speaker 1: She stopped for a moment, pressing her hand to her chest.
Speaker 1: Her heart wasn't the same. It didn't beat, It throbbed
Speaker 1: like it was sinking with some ancient rhythm, like it
Speaker 1: had remembered a song she'd never known. She'd forgotten a
Speaker 1: bond deeper than this lifetime. She approached the door to
Speaker 1: the royal chambers. The wood was warm beneath her fingertips, familiar, safe,
Speaker 1: but safety no longer souono. Her inside was Brandon, her king,
Speaker 1: her husband, the man who had always stood beside her,
Speaker 1: but now her soul stood between two fires. She pushed
Speaker 1: the door open. Brandon looked up from the chair near
Speaker 1: the hearth. The flames lit his profile, strong, regal. His
Speaker 1: eyes softened when he saw her. You're late, he said, gently,
Speaker 1: rising to meet her. She offered a faint smile. I
Speaker 1: needed air. He stepped closer, concern touching his brow. You're pale,
Speaker 1: ARMANI tried to hold herself still as his hands came
Speaker 1: to rest on her arms. The willow it stirred something
Speaker 1: Brandon didn't press. He simply pulled her clothes, pressing her
Speaker 1: against his chest. She felt his heart beat, steady, loyal, known,
Speaker 1: but her own rhythm rebelled. Later, she found herself drawn
Speaker 1: to the balcony, drawn to the stars. The jasmine on
Speaker 1: the breeze curled around her like memories. The sky was vast,
Speaker 1: but she felt even vaster, like she was standing in
Speaker 1: two worlds at once. The memory of Jake crossing the
Speaker 1: wall would not let her go. She could see it again,
Speaker 1: the light bending around him, the way the shadows kissed
Speaker 1: his spine, the wings that look in his eyes when
Speaker 1: he said, because love had to take form, and it
Speaker 1: chose you. Her eyes stung. She whispered into the night,
Speaker 1: not knowing who would hear her. Why do I remember
Speaker 1: you like a dream? I never wanted to wake from
Speaker 1: a soft breeze shifted behind her. She didn't need to turn.
Speaker 1: Did you follow me? No, Jake said, his voice just
Speaker 1: behind her shoulder. The willow told me. She closed her eye.
Speaker 1: You shouldn't be here, and yet I am. She turned then, slowly,
Speaker 1: meeting the crimson flicker in his eyes. Why me, Jake,
Speaker 1: why does this feel older than time? He looked, pained,
Speaker 1: because it is? Her voice trembled. What are we? Fire?
Speaker 1: In two forms? He whispered, two ends of the same flame.
Speaker 1: Her breath caught. You crossed the wall, the wall of light.
Speaker 1: You weren't meant to survive that? Jake stepped closer. I
Speaker 1: didn't cross it to survive. I crossed it for you.
Speaker 1: Silence stretched between them, thick and fragile, and then a
Speaker 1: sound behind them, A door, a step, a presence. Brandon.
Speaker 1: He stood in the doorway, the wind catching his cloak.
Speaker 1: His jewel was set, his eyes storming. You always find
Speaker 1: her alone, he said coldly. Jake didn't flinch, maybe because
Speaker 1: she doesn't feel alone with me? ARMANI turned sharply. Please
Speaker 1: don't do this. Brandon took another step. What are you, Jake?
Speaker 1: A shadow, a specter, a mistake? Jake's voice dropped to
Speaker 1: a growl. What I am? Is the truth she's been denied.
Speaker 1: The air between them sparked. OURMANI stepped between them, hands
Speaker 1: outstretched enough, please you, this isn't what I want. You
Speaker 1: made vows to me, Brandon said, his voice shaking. You're
Speaker 1: my queen, and yet her soul remembers me, Jake said,
Speaker 1: eyes locked on our money. She looked at one, then
Speaker 1: the other. Tears welled in her eyes. Brandon reached for her.
Speaker 1: Your mind, OURMANI, we were chosen, we were blessed. Jake's
Speaker 1: voice softened, almost broken. And what if that blessing came
Speaker 1: from fear, from control? What if her heart was never
Speaker 1: free to choose? Don't speak to me of freedom, Brandon growled.
Speaker 1: OURMANI stepped back from both of them, Her voice cracked.
Speaker 1: I don't know what I feel. Yes you do, Jake whispered.
Speaker 1: Brandon's fists clenched. I've bled for you, ARMANI, I would
Speaker 1: die for you, and I crossed dimensions for you, Jake said,
Speaker 1: I gave up everything. Stop ARMANI shouted, and the balcony
Speaker 1: trembled beneath her cry. Both men froze. She stood in
Speaker 1: the space between them, trembling. Her voice was barely a whisper,
Speaker 1: Now I need time. Neither moved. She turned her back
Speaker 1: faced the stars. Please just go, no response, go, she screamed,
Speaker 1: and her voice echoed into the dark, tearing through the
Speaker 1: silence like a blade, and far beyond the palace walls,
Speaker 1: the veil stirred, the wind changed, the stars blinked. Something
Speaker 1: had been set in motion.