poisoned blades 13
The Groom
“The Nightshade is getting meticulous,” Flameshade grinned as he entered his brother’s chambers and found Nightshade perfecting his clothing.
“Shut it,” Nightshade glared at Flameshade and Aquashade who had closed his chamber doors behind them.
“I didn’t say anything,” Aquashade muttered.
“I’m sure you were thinking a perverse or sardonic remark,” Nightshade retorted.
“Loosen up,” Flameshade patted Nightshade on his back.
“What do you mean?” Nightshade asked.
“You know she likes you,” Aquashade whispered.
“I know,” Nightshade muttered. “But I’m only getting married once…”
“Do you think Windfire is being this particular and nervous?” Flameshade asked.
“Probably not. She looks gorgeous no matter what,” Nightshade blushed.
“I’m sure she thinks that you’re handsome no matter what,” Flameshade assured him. “Even if your clothes aren’t completely unwrinkled, or if your hair isn’t all neatly pulled into a ponytail…”
“Yeah, since when do you do that? I’m used to your hair being all messed up all of the time,” Aquashade muttered.
“I did it this morning before proposing,” Nightshade replied as he collapsed onto his bed.
“Remember that she is used to you not doing anything with your hair,” Flameshade said as he took the hair tie from his brother. “Did the beauty do anything with her hair this morning?”
“N-no…” Nightshade stammered, feeling nervous as the image of Windfire from this morning came back to him.
“Then be yourself for her. She fell for you then…or it could have been the way you kiss…” Aquashade said thoughtfully.
“What are you getting at? I kissed her twice…” Nightshade blushed.
“Right, once before you fell and once before we ran back to the castle,” Aquashade agreed.
“I didn’t kiss her until after we fell, thank you,” Nightshade said defensively. “I mean I admit that I thought about it…”
“No, you two looked like you were a step away from sex,” Flameshade agreed with the younger warlock.
“You’re crazy,” Nightshade said as he laid on his back and stared up at the ceiling.
“No, we’re serious. You would think that we’d be the ones who’d want to forget that,” Flameshade whispered.
“What?” Nightshade shook off his brother’s comments as jokes.
“Windfire’s sisters saw it too,” Aquashade said defensively.
“Saw what? We had a memory lapse, but I think I’d remember that!”
“Why would you have a memory lapse?” Flameshade asked.
Nightshade considered his brother’s question. “Th-the dream…”
“Dream?” Flameshade inquired.
“We...we were in a dream of mine…” Nightshade remembered. “A dream of ours…” his cheeks were flushed red with chagrin as he remembered the dream.
“You two were in a dream together?” Aquashade asked.
“She’s in all of his dreams,” Flameshade explained.
“H-how did you know that?” Nightshade asked.
“Keep a better eye on your journal or father will have your head,” Flameshade tossed the leather bound book to his brother.
“You read it?” Nightshade demanded.
“Not all of it,” Flameshade explained. “But back to the dream walking…don’t you find it odd that you two hated one another and you wound up in a passionate dream together?”
“You forgot that we couldn’t figure out how we got there,” Nightshade whispered.
“We know how you got out…you acted the dream out,” Flameshade weighed the logic of the dream’s contents and what they had all witnessed.
“Right, but she touched my hand…that’s the only thing different…” Nightshade breathed.
Flameshade settled on the edge of Nightshade’s bed. “Did you ever want what was in your dreams?”
“Oh,” Nightshade moaned, “More than anything. I don’t care that she is a witch,” he rolled his eyes and moaned again, “I want her in any and every way…”
“I’m going to ignore the weirdness of this situation,” Flameshade cleared his throat, “Did you ever think that she wanted you too?”
“I’d hoped, but they were just those what-ifs…” Nightshade replied. “She told me that she did and still does…”
“What if they made the dream happen themselves?” Aquashade guessed.
“That wasn’t a dream,” Nightshade argued. “It felt so real…” he bit back a moan.
“Because you wanted it to,” Aquashade said dryly.
“Did you act how you did prior to the dream in the dream?” Flameshade folded his hands in his lap.
“Of course I acted like I hated her…except being naked with her naked, too made that impossible…” Nightshade said sheepishly.
“You forced the truth out…you both did…” Flameshade said with finality.
“You think it’s that simple?” Nightshade asked.
“Well, did you act more arduous toward her after that?” Aquashade asked.
“I…I carried her through the deep water and let her sleep on me when we reached an incline,” Nightshade blushed, “She slept a dreamless sleep and…”
“And what?” Flameshade asked.
“And she told me…”
“That she’s in love with you…” Aquashade said quietly.
Nightshade nodded, “And I told her the same thing! I swear it just came out…it was as natural as breathing…and then I started to feel it…”
“It took seventeen years, three hundred sixty-four days for you two to let down your barriers and tell the truth…” Aquashade smiled warmly at Nightshade.
“It took her talking as she dozed off to make me tell her that I had feelings for her! I only figured out that we had the same dreams prior to her little nap and my rest.”
“You are too passionate to be a warlock,” Flameshade whispered to his older brother.
“Uh…” Nightshade started as he sat up, “You think so? The horned god thinks I’m treacherous.”
“This is very treacherous,” Aquashade admitted.
“It is, but it’s for a good cause,” Nightshade leaned forward as he spoke, resting his face in his hands. “This is going to be the death of me…”
“What do you mean?” Flameshade tilted his head a little, not following his brother’s grim outlook on his purpose—Nightshade was usually the optimist after all.
“This isn’t going to be easy,” Nightshade said quietly as he dropped his hands and threw his head up toward the ceiling, exhaling sharply.
“But you can do it,” Aquashade said with a smile.
“I needed that,” Nightshade smiled as he stood.

poisned blades 15