Chapter 19
As I blinked, I noticed the golden curtains around me. Was I home? It looked like some kind of chamber. I tried to stand, but a sharp pain crept up my chest. There was a bandage wrapped around my arm where the phoenix had left its mark. Speaking of the phoenix, where had it gone?
I finally gained more control over my eyes despite being bedridden by the pain, but I realized I wasn't home. The room was more masculine and smelled like charcoal—the kind used for barbecues in modern times. Speaking of modern times…I'd had a dream last night.
I was seven again, my hair dirty because there had been no water for days, my stomach rumbling because black tea was all my father could find to feed us. I was cold most days, and I felt dirty—not morally, but emotionally. We were among the very few who at least had firewood to make the tea, but I still wanted more. Looking at all these gold-covered castles and gigantic—if not inconveniently sized—curtains made me wonder: *Where was all this wealth in the modern world? Where had we gone wrong as a society?*
Sey appeared, his cloak missing. He looked almost vulnerable—shoulders lowered, neck bent forward. I hadn't realized how tall he was. He still had his sword beside him but had placed it by the door.
Was that his way of saying he trusted me now?
"Arl sent an envoy. He'll arrive with your men to pick you up soon," he said, taking a seat near me. "I'm sorry for not securing the first flame. I was afraid you wouldn't make it to the end."
I smiled, painfully forcing my body to sit up.
"Where am I?"
"My kingdom."
"*Yours?*"
"I am the descendant of my father, after all—the man who started all of this in the first place." He laughed, looking toward the sky. "I have no one now."
He seemed too trusting all of a sudden. Too comfortable.
"You have the flame, don't you?"
"What makes you say that?"
"I was unconscious for most of it, but I was still close by. My wounds are this bad because of how long it took you to bring me here."
"Fair observation..."
"You can have it."
"The next one's mine, though. I'll make sure not to get used as a human shield next time."
He didn't say anything after that—just simply took his leave. I smiled, wishing for a creature to bury him in the earth.
Why was I so weak? I thought the phoenix had given me much of its power. Or maybe this was all just some damn hallucination. Was I even lying in this bed now? With all the shadow attacks and missing memories, I wasn't too sure anymore.