I tried not to stare as we waded through the water and onto the soggy wooded banks nearby. Manmade structures that looked to be leftover homes from before everything went to shit. I could still see floating remnants of an old hangout we used to go to after every big super battle: Ernie's bar.
“So, are you going to bring it up naturally, or do I need to make this anymore awkward?” Guy quietly asked, glancing between me and Wyatt.
I smiled softly and shrugged. “That’s up to you. I’m an open book these days, though I gotta warn you that the pages aren’t as filled in as I remember.”
He scoffed. “You said my name, but we’ve never met before.”
“You said mine, too.”
“That’s different. Everyone knows who you are. They even pray to you.”
Again with the religious thing?
I wrinkled my nose, trying to remain respectful.
“Why would they do that? I’m not a god.”
He stopped walking, examining me with a puzzled expression, as if my head wasn’t on straight.
“What do you mean you’re not a god? Didn’t you eat the moon and vanquish BloodLust?”
“I…okay, who is spreading these lies about me? I didn’t eat the moon–you can literally look up and see that it’s still up there. The missing piece is close to it, and as for BloodLust…” pausing, I lowered my voice. “No one beats BloodLust, not really.”
“Are you sure? I mean records show you beating it—”
“How many records?”
“What?”
Raising to my full height, I turn to him.
“How many records of me do you have where I defeated BloodLust? The answer doesn’t actually matter because BloodLust is not a person; it is a disease that infects victims and turns them into villains. No matter how many times I broke and beat it, it always managed to scurry to the next victim and ruin more lives.”
I felt Wyatt's hands on my shaking shoulders as I finally let in some air. My tail draped around my midsection, giving me its best attempt at a hug.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” He exhaled slowly and lowered his gaze. There, in that one moment, he felt like the Guy I knew again.
“Yeah, it’s hard to imagine anyone would remember that after a hundred years.” I sighed, running my fingers through my muck-covered hair. “It’s not your fault.”
“I’d still like to know how you knew my name, especially if I believe that you’ve really been asleep this whole time.”
There's a joke in here about him being the man of my dreams…but it’s hard to think about that when Wyatt is hovering right next to me, though he’s been awfully silent this entire time. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he’s all in my head.
“I wish I had a good answer for you, but I can’t.”
“Did you meet a replica of him in Sanctuary?” Wyatt asked quietly. He wasn’t angry or jealous–Wyatt wasn’t built that way–no, he was curious. Guy turned towards him, blinking a few times.
“I’m sorry but did he just say my replica? Also, who is he?”
Good going, Wyatt. Sometimes I wish you were just in my head.
“Wait, you have a record of me but not him?” I point at Wyatt.
“Never seen him before in my life.” Guy shrugged.
“That doesn’t make sense. Wyatt wasn’t just a part of my team; he’s my husband.” The words felt strained—we hadn’t been a married couple in so long.
Even when I was in Sanctuary, as a couple we never made it past our teenage years. It was funny. Somehow, even in a fake world, I still held my love for a madman. Now that I’m awake and in a time that’s no longer my own, I wonder.
Are the memories we made the only thing keeping me from imploding?
Guy’s mouth curled up, and he motioned with his index fingers towards his crew. One by one they started scaling up the wall with an accelerated rope. When his jaw clicked, just once, I could have sworn I saw a flash of something dark in his eyes.
“Team, huh? I’ve never read anything in the dragon archives about you having a team…or a mate.”
Mate? Why not just call him my spouse?
“Dragon archives?” Now it was my turn to squint…but not at him. Wyatt shrugged when my laser focus landed on him.
“Here, I can show you better than I can tell you.” When he held his hand out towards me, I hesitated.
“What are you doing?”
“Giving you a ride up to the top of the wall, duh?”
A nervous laugh escaped me. “ You see how big I am, right?”
“Oh, trust me, you wouldn’t be the biggest thing I wrapped my arms around. Hurry up, it’s eerie out here.”
Is it wrong that I almost expected him to call me cleanup girl here?
I stepped up and took his hand. My cheeks darkened and my belly flipped when he swept me off my feet.
“Whoa! Okay, a little warning next time! And since when do you have superpowers?”
“I don’t.” He murmured as his line yanked us to the top of the wall. Wyatt hung onto another soldier…but it was like he paid no attention to me or our surroundings at all.
When we landed, Guy put me down gently, but his fingers grazed against mine and lingered a little too long. My blush hadn’t gone anywhere yet, dammit. Calm down, please. We haven’t moved past our last partner yet.
The top of the thick concrete wall was flat, yet it had small wooden buildings on it, shacks–really, filled with soldiers in tactical gear. Groups of 4 would walk by, though I’m sure if it were any wider, bigger groups would move. Down below on this side of the wall, the streets of Cyran City ran dry. Cracked roads and crumbling pavements stretched as far as the eye could see. Buildings were in shambles or held together with duct tape and dreams, but the vision of what Cyran used to be was much easier to see here.
It felt a little more like home. Like all it needed was some construction, some elbow grease and paint and everything would be right again. Yet, when my eyes landed on the center of the city, my hopes started crumbling.
“Guy…what is that?” I point at it, that thing glaring at me. Guy chuckled as if it were a normal Tuesday, and maybe for him, it was a normal day.
“I thought you’d recognize yourself, Sapphyra. It's your statue built in your honor.”
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