Keldras opened his eyes.
He was lying across a worn wooden pew.
The ruined church.
Again.
For a moment, he simply listened.
Rain.
A slow, steady patter drummed against the broken roof above.
Somewhere outside, thunder rolled across the sky, low enough to rattle the cracked stained-glass windows.
Water dripped through the shattered ceiling into dark puddles scattered across the stone floor.
The church felt colder than before.
Keldras stood, brushing dust from his clothes.
A flash of lightning illuminated the sanctuary.
For the briefest instant, light spilled through the broken windows.
Keldras stepped toward the shattered window.
Rain swept across the hillside beyond the church.
Lightning flashed.
For an instant the countryside stood revealed.
A gentle slope descended toward a narrow stream.
An old stone path curved around the hill before vanishing into the darkness.
Beyond it lay tangled gardens, their walls broken beneath centuries of neglect.
The landscape tugged at something deep inside him.
Another flash.
A broad oak stood atop the ridge, its branches long dead.
He knew that hill.
Or…
he knew the shape of it.
It was wrong.
Familiar.
Yet somehow older.
His eyes drifted toward a patch of overgrown earth where nothing now remained but waist-high weeds.
For a heartbeat he could almost picture a training yard there.
Wood striking steel.
The weight of a halberd in his hands.
A familiar laugh.
Then the image dissolved with the next flash of lightning.
Keldras frowned.
“…Why do I know this place?”
The chapel was filled with the sound of peaceful rhythmic breathing, turning away from the window towards the sound.
Saphira was asleep.
Keldras walked toward her, looking down at her sleeping form.
Without thinking, he reached out and brushed a loose strand of purple hair behind her ear.
A slight smile came to his face.
Keldras froze, why did he do that?
It felt natural but why did it feel natural?
Trying to ignore the strange impulse, his eyes wandered through the ruined chapel.
His gaze locked on a heavy silver chain which materialized from the floor, it circled her neck before climbing along her jaw and over the side of her head.
His hand reached toward it, before his fingers brushed against it, Saphira’s eyes snapped open.
Her brilliant sea blue eyes locked onto his.
…
….
She became aware of how close his face was to hers.
A slight pink flush rose to her cheeks.
Her free hand came up to brush her cheek feeling the heat.
Why is my face warm?
she thought.
“You’re close.”
Keldras finally realized how close they were.
His ears warmed.
He lowered his hand and took an awkward step backward.
The silence stretched between them.
Only the rhythmic patter of rain filled the ruined chapel until a distant rumble of thunder finally broke it.
“You’re back,” Saphira observed.
Keldras nodded.
“Why?” She asked, trying to diffuse the awkward silence.
Keldras didn’t know; he couldn’t give her a distinct answer; he just woke up and was here.
He didn’t know.
There was no reason.
…
Perhaps he wanted to see her.
The thought was absurd.
He pushed it from his mind.
“The storm is quite strong,” Keldras observed, trying to distract himself from his thoughts.
Saphira hummed.
“It usually is.”
Keldras looked toward the shattered window.
“Why?”
She was quiet for a long moment.
“I don’t know.”
He blinked.
“You don’t?”
Saphira shook her head.
“It began after I was sealed here.”
“…Sealed?”
“The day I was sealed…”
She stopped.
“…the weather never changed again.”
She didn’t finish.
The words simply…
Stopped.
Keldras waited.
She never continued.
The rain continued to fall.
Keldras thought about Blackspire.
“It’s been a while since we had steak,” he mused.
Saphira turned to him.
She burst out laughing.
“That’s what you’re thinking about?”
“….And Gorra called me a stomach worm.”
Keldras quietly took a seat beside her, a faint smile lingering on his face.
Her laughter faded into a gentle smile.
“It’s a shame you didn’t kill that crab.”
Keldras blinked.
“It probably would’ve tasted good.”
…
A quiet chuckle escaped him.
“It probably would have.”
Neither of them spoke again.
Rain tapped gently against the broken roof.
Thunder rolled somewhere beyond the hills.
They simply sat together, listening.
…
Saphira watched the rain through the shattered window.
Strange.
The silence didn’t feel lonely anymore.
She had spent so long believing this place would always be empty.
Yet somehow…
It wasn’t.
Her silent introspection was broken by a sharp crack next to her ear.
She turned her head toward the sound.
…
She froze.
She had turned her head.
Her breath caught.
The silver chain around her neck glowed a brilliant blue before dissolving into drifting light.
How?
These chains had been with her for as long as she could remember.
They didn’t simply break.
She looked at Keldras.
…
A small smile touched her lips.
Keldras opened his eyes to a knocking on his door, he rubbed the sleep from them before turning to the noise.
“Yes?”
Rianna pushed the door open and tossed his training clothes onto the bed.
“Training. You’re going to be—”
She stopped.
Her eyes widened.
“…Keldras?”
He looked at her.
“Your eyes…”
She couldn’t decide how to explain it, so she simply picked up a mirror from the table.
Keldras looked into the mirror.
Brilliant blue eyes stared back at him.
The red and yellow were gone.
In their place were deep sapphire irises surrounding narrow draconic pupils.