Chained Hearts: From Slavery to Sovereignty
Chapter 92: A Fantasy

Chapter 92: Chapter 92: A Fantasy

The man tilted his head slightly and leaned in until their foreheads touched. Cassian opened his eyes briefly and caught a glimpse of the glowing crimson eyes. Their intensity was softened by an emotion he could not name.

Their breaths mingled in the cool air. The space between them was reduced to mere inches. Cassian’s fingers tightened around the man’s hand as if he was afraid this moment would slip away.

The man let go of Cassian’s hand. He brought both arms around him instead and pulled him into a firm yet gentle embrace. Cassian melted into it and rested his head against the man’s broad shoulder.

The warmth of the embrace felt like a sanctuary. It felt as if nothing in the world could touch them here.

But suddenly the Scene shifted. They were no longer standing at the edge of ethereal lake. Now they sat together beneath a towering tree with dark branches spreading like veins across the crimson sky. The man rested his hand on Cassian’s and traced idle circles against his skin with his thumb.

Cassian opened his mouth to speak. He wanted to ask who the man was and why this felt so real. No words came out. Instead, he heard the man’s voice in his mind. It was a whisper that sent shivers down his spine.

"You don’t remember me, do you?"

Cassian shook his head as frustration bubbled within him. He tried to see the man’s face again, but it was hidden by an impenetrable haze.

The man leaned closer. His glowing red eyes locked onto Cassian’s as if he was searching for something. A soft and bitter laugh escaped him. He rested his forehead against Cassian’s again.

"You promised," the man said. His voice was heavy with sorrow. "You swore you wouldn’t forget. But here you are, searching for what you’ve already lost."

The words struck Cassian like a blade. He felt a deep pang of regret even though he did not know why. The dream began to unravel. The edges of the scene dissolved into a swirling mist.

Cassian reached out desperately. He tried to hold onto the man and keep him from fading away. "Wait," he pleaded. His voice broke as he spoke.

The man smiled. It was a sad and knowing smile. Cassian could not see it, but he felt it deep in his heart.

"Wake up, Cassian," the man’s voice echoed as the dream shattered into darkness.

Cassian’s eyes flew open. His chest heaved as he lay there. The forest was silent except for the pounding of his heart. He pressed a hand to his forehead. The phantom warmth of the man’s touch lingered on his skin.

Who was he? Why did it feel like he had lost something precious? Why did it feel like he might never find it again?

"Are you alright, Cassian?" Keren’s worried voice rang in his mind. He was looking at Cassian with a curious gaze.

"Why are you sleeping here?" Keren asked again when he got no response from Cassian. He wiped the sweat oozing from Cassian’s head.

"Here, take this. You will feel better," Keren said while giving a small pill.

Cassian looked at Keren, dazed. He still could not comprehend what was reality and what was a dream.

Whether it was Keren’s voice to wake him up or that man’s voice, his mind had become jumbled from all this.

He took a deep breath and gulped down the pill without any water, as he had done countless times in the past years.

He instantly felt relieved as his breathing became normal and the chaos in his mind started clearing. He looked at the sky and found it to be dark.

"How long was I asleep?" Cassian asked with his gruff voice. His voice felt strange even to him. "Huh!" he sighed dejectedly.

"I don’t know. I just came here and found you lying unconscious," Keren said and sat beside him on the grass.

They were sitting at the other end of the forest and on the edge of a cliff. The view from the cliff was worthy of appreciation; it intensely soothed one’s mind. No wonder Cassian fell asleep here.

"Was it the same dream?" Keren asked in a small voice, his hand gently brushing the soft grass. He was busy playing with the grass, but all his attention was on Cassian.

"Yeah. The same dream again. I don’t know when it will leave me." Cassian paused and fell again on the soft grass.

He had left the village in the late morning. Everyone thought he was angry with them and did not want to see them, but the reality was that his mind and heart were unsettled.

The illusion of that fucking monster was enough to mess with his mind. From the time he looked at Prince Dorian’s face in that illusion, all the memories, the past, and that pain came crashing down in just one go.

A slow, taunting smile appeared on his face. The feeling was really, really bad. He was truly pathetic that the mere illusion of Prince Dorian was enough to shatter the wall he painstakingly built in the past five years.

He felt deep pain in his heart, and the image of Prince Dorian continuously haunted his mind, taunting him as to why he had left.

His heart started yearning for him with every inch of his body. But was the case the same for him? Did he even remember him? The thought of him yearning for him was far-fetched. He could not even think that someone of such high and mighty status would even consider remembering the existence of someone like him.

The thought alone was enough to pain him. Now he was no longer a teenage boy who could not see the lies of adults or their deception. He understood very clearly how little commoners like him mattered to those of higher status.

And aside from him, who knew this better? After all, he had withstood it firsthand.

A tear appeared in Cassian’s eyes, but he clenched them shut. He did not let it fall. He had promised himself he was no longer the same Cassian. He would never shed a tear for someone else.

No, he was Cassian Hayes, a strong swordsman in a reputed kingdom of swordsmen.

He would treat the past as wishful dreams of his. A fantasy never meant to happen.