“What do you think you’re doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
Zayne’s eyes snapped open. The ground beneath him was cold and unforgiving. The last thing he remembered was watching her being taken away from him, but everything was foggy after that.
The only source of light came from directly above him. Panic washed over him, hitting him like a tidal wave, and he couldn't get his head above water. Was he back in the castle, had Astra finally succeeded?
“No…no…not again…” The idea of being back sent his body reeling. Tears pooling quickly behind his clenched eyes, the air felt like it’d been ripped from his lungs.
His eyes strained to focus on anything that might explain where he was and what happened. But he saw nothing, just a void of darkness that seemed to go on forever.
Zayne had to get up, he couldn’t just lie here, waiting for death to take him. Pressing his hands to the floor, he slowly started to push himself off the ground. By some miracle, he managed to get one foot out in front of him, gripping his knee to brace himself as he prepared to stand. He knew his knee may fail him, but that wouldn’t stop him.
Gingerly, he got both feet under him, clenching his jaw as the pain surged through his knee, a twisting sensation, like the muscles would tear off the bone the longer he bared weight on it. His tall, broad frame started to tremble at the sudden shift in momentum.
“Mmmmph….c’mon you can do this, don’t falter now!”
But his words had little effect on the strain his physical body was going through. His knee finally buckled under the weight, throwing him forward until he was down on all fours.
Zayne pressed his forehead against the ground, tears streaming down his hollow cheeks, and in a fit of hopelessness, slammed his fist against the ground.
“You can save her, but she’ll be lost to you if you do.” The voice echoed, surrounding him on all sides.
“Hello…,” his voice waivered, “who’s there. Come out and show yourself.”
“Are you sure this is what you want?” The voice was now crystal clear, and Zayne now recognized exactly who it belonged to.
“Yes, step into the light.” Zayne demanded.
The footsteps echoed as they drew nearer until Zayne finally could put a face to the voice in head. Adorned in all black, his shoes, pants, shirt, a heavy trench coat, and raven colored hair were a stark contrast to his fair skin.
“Hello, old friend.” He extended his open palm to Zayne, but he hesitated to grab it. What if it was another one of Astra’s traps?
“C’mon, you can’t stand on your own, you need my help. You can trust me.” He gripped Zayne’s hand tightly, then with his other hand, he grabbed Zayne’s forearm and pulled him to his feet.
Zayne let out a soft cry, the pain was no longer isolated to just his knee, it was as if everything he’d endured was tearing through him again.
“Hold on, let me get something for you.” He said as he threw Zayne’s arm over his shoulder, then reached around his waist, pulling him close to support Zayne’s weight against his own body.
The man reached into his coat pocket, retrieving a vial, the liquid swirling within a mix a blue and black.
“Here, take this. It’ll help lessen the pain.” Using his thumb to pop the lid off, he carefully brought the bottle to Zayne’s quivering lips.
“Wh..wh…what is…that?” Zayne tried to move away, but his resistance was met with a hand tightly clenching his jaw, forcing his mouth open as the liquid was poured down his throat. He knew he was not in any shape to put up a fight.
“It’s medicine, just drink it and quit struggling.” His tone, a mixture of concern for his friend, and annoyance at having to go to these lengths to help him.
The liquid was cold across his tongue as it went down his throat, causing him to cough as it settled in his chest. But it also filled him with a warmth that he’d long forgotten existed. It spread across every inch of his body; he remembered feeling like this before. In the castle, when he heard her voice call to him in Astra’s prison, she was the warmth that thawed his once frozen heart. Showed him what true love really looks like. What it feels like. To be loved for more than what he could do for her.
“Feeling better? Do you think you can stand?” The man looked to Zayne, his eyes locked on him, waiting for Zayne’s response.
“Yeah, I think I am okay.” Zayne said as he slowly shifted his weight off the man in black.
“So. Do you want to explain what’s going on? And why you look exactly like me?” Zayne couldn’t help but feel a little unsettled. This person in front of him shared his face, but that was about all they had in common, yet he seemed to know Zayne, but Zayne couldn’t place him.
“It’s…complicated. But I am you, just not of this timeline, and the version of Zayne that you’re presently inhabiting…is an alternate version of you from another life…and my past self as well. ” He sighed, fault lines of exhaustion ran deep through his voice. Despite his efforts to hide it, Zayne could sense it.
“It’s why I have been trying to contact you. Astra is not being truthful about his true intentions. It’s why I needed to take you somewhere he can’t find us so we can talk openly about what needs to happen.” The man’s tone shifted, almost pleading with Zayne.
“When he threatened to take her memories from me, what he really meant was take them from you didn’t he?”
The man in black let out a deep sigh, contemplating hard before speaking again.
“She is anchor point across all of our lives, what allows us to be connected to each other, but should any harm come to her…” His voice trailed off.
“You’ve put a rift in the timeline by coming here, one that can only be fixed…by returning to Astra’s keep.” His voice was uncompromising, yet also apologetic. He knew what Zayne had gone through but had to protect her at all costs. Neither choice was one he wanted, but he knew he had to make one…for all their sake.
Zayne’s gaze faltered at the man’s words.
“No…there has to be another way.” Zayne guardedly stepped back, as the man in black approached him, rapidly closing the distance between them.
“When Astra said he’d make you forget her, this is the only way he can do it. If she dies here, she will disappear from your universe…and mine, as though she never existed.” He walked towards Zayne with both hands raised, trying to show him that he meant no harm to him.
Zayne’s thoughts were racing, this man seemed to be genuine, he couldn’t sense any ill will towards him. Zayne always knew she was powerful but was she really so powerful that even Astra feared her? Could such an entity exist? Did he allow her to escape this entire time, just so that he could have her killed by Zayne’s hands?
“If you love her, truly love her, you’ll do this for her. But to do that, you must wake up.” He said, as he lowered his hands, taking a few steps back to create distance again between them.
“What do you mean ‘wake up’?” Zayne’s voice wavered. What he couldn’t see, were the black ice shards forming just behind him.
The man turned his head away as he sent the black ice shards directly towards Zayne, plunging them deep into his back.
Zayne stumbled forward, the man in black catching him just before he fell to the ground.
“I am sorry, please forgive me, old friend.” His voice cracked, pulling Zayne close, tightly cradling his head against his shoulder.
“Don’t be sorry. I’ll save her…by any means necessary…old friend.”
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