The Traitor by A. Lombardo (i can read with my eyes shut TXT) 📕

unearthed the Agora, the intensity felt faded like a washed-out old painting. And yet, he knew there was great power here.

Before Kai could take another step, he felt a presence, the sense of someone staring at him. Eyes closed, his breathing slowed; he reached out with his sight and gleaned the room. One slow glance around the ancient Agora and his mind came to an archway half-obscured by a mountain of dirt. Her elegant form and brilliant glow lifted the corner of his mouth.

“Rayna, you should be asleep in Hiowind. You need your rest to continue working on restoring the city. Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?” She strolled across the vast stone floor toward the center. “I go where you go, remember.”

A lump formed in his throat, a knot filled with shame; he swallowed his guilt and tried to smile. “I come here to ask Alenga to deliver me from my fate. Lift the burdens from my soul.” His truth washed over him as he spoke. “I will not kill my father. I must fight my destiny.”

He watched Rayna’s decerning eyes trace the moonlight across the floor. “What is your question, Kai?” Her tone toyed with his raw emotions.

“Why me?” he asked as she passed around behind him.

“These are extraordinary times, and your faith demonstrates your worth. The very fact you search for a peaceful resolution proves you can navigate the responsibilities of leadership. I cannot presume to know the path you walk, or Alenga’s will, but you must continue to have faith. Maybe your vision is significant; maybe it’s a warning to stay away because Nola is corrupt and means to use you against Iver. Or maybe it is a metaphor telling you to let go of him before Nola destroys your memories of him.”

Kai turned to face her. “Tell me what to do. If it is my fate to kill my father, and I have no choice, I guess I am a puppet on a string. Do I play out a doomed life, or are there choices I can still make? I refuse to accept my vision, I must save my father, not let him go.” Kai waved his hand at her.

Rayna’s chuckle struck a nerve, but he held his tongue, waiting for her response. “You are no puppet.” She stopped to face him, and her eyes held fast to his. “Every step you’ve taken has been yours and yours alone. Own your choices, Kai.”

“So, my visions, are they real?” Kai grabbed at the various moments of his past. “My dreams predict the future. I saw Drew die, and yet I saved him. The dragon’s breath plant would have killed me, yet you saved me because I told you to research the plant. I have changed many things. Why is this any different?”

The wisdom in Rayna’s eyes surprised him, and he looked at her anew. She took his hand. “Your dreams are a glimpse into the future. Telling me to research that plant fulfilled your vision and my destiny to save you. The men who attacked Port Anahita and tried to kill Drew never changed, but your decision to charge in rather than being frozen in fear saved your friend. What you chose now is still up to you.” She drifted away from him again. “Real or not, the choice is still yours to make. Stay here in Katori or go home to Diu. I support you either way.”

Kai took her hand and said softly, “We should go home.”

There was more to his misery he wanted to share, but he kept it to himself as they made their way back through Alenga’s city. Diu waited for news of their prince’s return, yet he offered only ink on paper as to his well-being. His pending return he left unanswered. A disheartening thought shook his soul; he did not want to return. Yet if he were honest, he did not belong here either? The Katori life demanded secrecy, and like his mother, he must be willing to die for those secrets.

The freedom to live in the open and use his magic without fear required that he live here, in Katori—but no matter how he fought the urge, Diu needed him. His family and friends needed him. He wanted nothing more than to go home and see his father, the man who raised him, called him son, and loved him as his own.

Rayna’s pace slowed, and she pulled Kai into an illuminated arbor made from a dwarf Bodhima tree covered in cosmos vines. She cocked her head to capture Kai’s eyes. “Mind telling me what distracts you still?”

Her beauty left him breathless. The pale pink glow of the cosmos vines kissed her cheeks. Overwhelmed by the desire, Kai pressed his lips to hers. She kissed him back. Then he returned them to the path. “I apologize—not for kissing you, of course.” He glanced down and saw that the blush on her cheeks remained even though the pink hue of the cosmos flowers were behind them. “I’m only sorry for wasting the time we have together. For not being present.”

She slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow. “Do you want to talk about anything? Or do you want me to guess?” She paused. “Is this about what Cazier’s letter said? I am guessing you want to go home to Diu.”

The letter he’d received two days earlier was still etched in his mind. Master General Cazier reported ill omens and bad tidings—Iver’s health continued to decline, Riome remained lost at sea along with any answers about who was helping Nola, and Diu was tearing itself apart. And if that were not enough, his cousin concealed one last message:

Diu is now a dangerous place for the next would-be king. Stay away until I send for you.

“Saying everything out loud makes it real.” He looked at her knowing he was not