Chapter 28 Dreams in the Mist

The mist deepened in the night, curling through the seams of the canvas tents, sliding like a snake across the dirt floor. Kai had already left the tent, moving through the gray veil with slow, silent steps.

But inside, his companions slept.

And the mist found their minds.

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Skye’s Dream

She stood alone at the edge of a dense forest. Mist clung to the trees like cobwebs. The sky above glowed a strange gold, soft and surreal. It looked like sunrise, but didn’t feel warm.

“Kai?” she called out, voice trembling.

No answer.

She stepped forward, uncertain. The fog shifted, revealing a clearing touched by light. In the center stood Kai.

He was smiling—really smiling. His hand was locked with someone else’s. Laughter floated from him like music.

Skye moved toward him, heart heavy.

“Kai…”

Her voice cracked. He didn’t turn.

He walked away, further into the haze, swallowed by it.

She tried to follow, but her body turned to stone. She couldn’t move. Her knees buckled. She collapsed.

No sound left her throat. Just silence.

And the cold.

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Revoli’s Dream

She stood in a hallway made of mirrors. Two doors faced her.

Behind one: she wore gold and silk, curled in Kai’s lap, smirking as he kissed her neck.

Behind the other: she sat barefoot in a garden, feeding him fruit beneath a tree. He smiled with quiet love.

She loved them both.

She wanted them both.

Then the hallway trembled. Glass cracked. The walls groaned and began to fold.

She ran to hold both doors open.

“Kai!” she yelled.

He was between the rooms—then gone. Vanished like dust.

The doors slammed shut.

The mirrors turned black.

She was alone.

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Fara’s Dream

A battlefield burned around her. Fire split the sky. Screams rang like bells.

Kai stood in the center, swords spinning, eyes glowing.

He fought like a force of nature. But cracks glowed along his skin, bright and spreading.

“Stop!” she yelled. “You’re breaking!”

He didn’t hear her. Or couldn’t.

She ran to him. Cast shield after shield. Heal after heal.

Nothing worked. Her spells passed through him like smoke.

He shattered as she reached him.

Ash in her hands.

She fell to her knees.

“I said I’d protect you too…”

Her voice faded into the fire.

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Outside, the mist rolled on.

The girls twitched and murmured in their sleep, each locked in their own illusion, their own longing, their own fear.

And Kai, unaware of their dreams, moved deeper into the fog.