Chapter 30 Waking the Heart

The mist behind Kai unraveled, falling away like draped cloth in slow motion. The conjurer was gone, but not defeated. The dream still held his girls. The mist still clung to their minds.

Kai walked back toward the glowing shield where they lay—Fara, Skye, Revoli—still entangled in slumber, bodies safe but hearts snared.

As he stepped closer, the fog around each girl thickened, pulsing in time with their breathing. He could feel it now—cracks in the veil, not just over the world but over their dreams.

And somehow, with his belief still burning strong, he stepped in.

---

Skye

The gold forest returned first. Skye stood in mud, dress clinging to her legs, her arms limp at her sides. She didn’t move, didn’t speak. Her eyes locked on a version of Kai who held someone else’s hand, laughing as he walked away.

Then, a second Kai appeared—her Kai.

“Skye,” he said.

She blinked, stunned. Her voice caught in her throat, but tears answered first.

“I thought I was just… there,” she said. “Watching from the edges.”

He stepped toward her, slow and steady.

“You’ve never been just on the edges,” he said. “You’re here. You matter. I see you.”

She collapsed into him, arms gripping tight around his chest. He pressed his lips to her forehead and held her close.

The golden forest cracked like glass.

And she woke, whispering his name.

---

Revoli

The hallway pulsed with light and noise. Mirrors screamed as if alive. One door showed her in silk and jewels, bold and seductive. The other showed her in a quiet garden, gentle and free.

Both felt right. Both felt true. And both were tearing her apart.

She stood between them, trembling. The walls bent and buckled.

Then Kai stepped into the storm.

He didn’t look confused. He didn’t hesitate. He just walked straight to her and put his hands on her shoulders.

“You don’t have to choose pieces of yourself,” he said. “I want all of you. The one who teases. The one who loves. The one who hopes.”

Her hands shook.

“But which one do you want more?”

He smiled—not wide, not loud, just sure.

“You.”

He leaned down and kissed her cheek, soft and warm.

The hallway shattered into light.

She woke, curled around his boot.

---

Fara

Smoke clung to the air. Fire streaked the sky. Fara’s hands glowed with broken magic as she held what remained of Kai’s body in her arms. His skin cracked like dry stone, glowing inside.

She sobbed. “Please... stay.”

Then a hand rested on her shoulder.

Her eyes snapped open.

“I failed,” she whispered.

Kai crouched beside her. “You didn’t fail. You were never meant to carry everything alone.”

“But I said I’d protect you.”

“And I said we’d stand together.”

She reached for his hand. He met it, fingers strong and steady.

“We do this side by side,” he said. “Not as shield and weapon. As family.”

He kissed the back of her hand.

Her magic pulsed—not frantic, not forced—but warm.

The fire fell away.

And she woke with his hand still holding hers.

---

Kai stood over them as their eyes fluttered open.

No fanfare. No explanations.

Just a quiet breath of relief.

And the night, finally lifting its weight from their chests.