9. Camazotz
9
Camazotz
I was furious, though to her, I dared not show it. This was between me and the King of Dreams. So I let her take my beast for a walk, knowing well there would be more danger inside than out there.
I crossed the corridor, containing all my rage so it could be directed at the right asshole.
He knew better than to do this.
Waving off my Stonecrux and taking flight, I moved with the speed of thousands, and with just a few beats of my wings, I reached the meeting area. Its entire existence was a joke, created as a place for mediation between the rulers of this realm. As if my brother and I could ever stand to share space long enough for discussion.
The room was a small cavern on the edge of the forest. The walls had long been taken by weed and overgrowth, possibly centuries ago, if not longer. The thick canopy of trees outside were too dense and tall to allow even a god to see the sky above, and if you walked deep into the center of the space, stairs took you down into a black pool of water.
An obsidian mirror.
I sat by the bank, breathing in the old magic still lingering in the air, and thought of my brother.
I’d spent my life trying to ignore Elio’s existence. He was all I could never be, designed by a cruel universe to be better, to deserve better. Unscarred, untainted by the evils of the human mind, his blue eyes still glistened with godly intentions. Even his wings, feather-white and soft, spoke of something angelic.
Mine, a monster.
Blinking my eyes open, I stared at my own reflection until finally, the water rippled, my image stirring. I let my gaze drift to the furthest end of the pond, the water stilling and revealing first his blond hair, his shoulders, then wings.
“Camazotz.” He buried the warmth in his tone.
“Thank you for taking time from your busy schedule,” I said sarcastically, getting to my feet.
He stared blankly, saying nothing. Our destiny didn’t allow us to deny one another. This was just a projection; he couldn’t cross far from this room or be here in his physical body unless I invited him to my castle, but he couldn’t refuse to meet me.
Bound together unwillingly for eternity.
“Where is she?” His eyes darted around, as if searching for her, as if I hid the witch under a bush or a rock.
“Hardly your concern,” I clipped back with a smile.
A scowl formed over his features in his anger. “It is my concern!” he shouted, stepping toward me. “She is mine!”
“If she was yours, wouldn’t you have her?” I asked with an innocent tilt of my head.
Seeing his displeasure was one of my greatest joys.
“She is destined for me!” he roared. “She is my bride! This war has waged long enough. I will end it now. Our father’s prophecy demands—”
I snorted. “You hold dear the word of a father I no longer remember.”
“I remember enough.” He lowered his voice, looking uncertain for the first time in his existence. “For the greater good, I should make the witch my queen. Even in your abhorrent ways, you must agree that keeping this territory stable is our most important task.”
“Maybe I’ve tired of an existence without purpose.” I immediately regretted my words, sharing far too much of my own mind with him.
His tone turned urgent. “Our purpose is the realm. If it continues to weaken, to break, it will die, and so will–”
I raised my hand to stop him. Of course I agreed on that part. I wouldn’t gain anything if all of Helios sickened and faltered. There was only one outcome if the fates had chosen our destiny. We were the guardians of dreams and nightmares, keepers of the things lurking in the night. Protectors of hope, of love, of innocence. The humans manifested their best and their worst into the realm. The good was fleeting, absorbing into their own subconscious and changing them. The bad was my burden to hold back, to keep chained away from fragile humans so their existence would be unmarred.
It wasn’t a service to humanity; it was a necessity to keep the Universe balanced.
Without hope, humans had nothing to live for, and if humans had nothing to live for, there were no dreams. Without dreams, there was no us.
It was simple math with only one solution: Florencia’s marriage to Elio. I was well aware.
He spoke each word slowly, his voice barely a whisper. “Give her back.”
Yet, my mouth betrayed me, as if there was somehow another option. “No.” I turned away, ready to leave, before remembering the real reason I summoned him. “Stop visiting her.”
A barking of an exaggerated laugh that bored me to my bones tore from his chest. “Who do you think you are to request that?”
“She is a human, you mangy cur. You may be ignorant to the physical needs of her people, but I am not. She cannot go without sleep. You will–”
“She is kind of sleeping,” he replied quickly with a smirk.
My eyes narrowed down to slits. This was different; he knew it was. Florencia had never been outside the human realm. Time worked differently here, and her body was still mortal. He wanted to emphasize the importance of healing our land while ignoring the importance of his own bride’s mind. Without rest, she’d go insane. And if every time she laid to rest, my brother was transporting her mind to him, she was not asleep.
It was nothing like sleeping, regardless of that clownish smile he donned on his face. Once again, my twin reminded me of all the ugliness he masked behind his beauty.
“Does she only serve one purpose to you?” I raised my voice, my rage no longer containable. “Let her sleep, or you will lose her.”
“You stole her from me!” His entitlement spoke first. “You shouldn’t be requesting anything from me. You should be thankful I don’t storm into your castle and—”
Any hint of light escaped the room. “Do it.” I stepped closer to his image. “Storm over here and take her. She’s likely in the gardens right now, unprotected.”
His jaw ticked, the idea tempting him far beyond ration or reason.
“Want her? Then do what you’ve failed to do since you’ve learned she was your destined. Go claim her, brother.” I chuckled softly. “If you can.”
“Give her back.”
I exhaled my amusement. “Brother, you never had her.” I shook my head, turning for good this time. “Let her sleep, or she dies.”
He balled his hands into fists. “Do not threaten her, Camazotz. You know if she dies, the realm—”
“Is that the sole reason you want her?” I asked.
Elio’s nostrils flared wide. “I want her because she’s my bride.”
I nodded. “Like something to collect?”
He huffed, marching to the pond once again and turning when the water was at his knees. “It’s irrelevant what you think, Camazotz. Since the beginning of existence, your wants are irrelevant to the greater good. It doesn’t matter to me if you judge my motives. Florencia is mine. Once she understands her role, even you won’t be able to keep her from me.”
He stormed away, submerging into the black waters and disappearing once more. I remained in place, watching the ripples smooth back into the calm mirror once again. Encounters with Elio were unchanging, as predictable as his nature. He was promised too much, and as such, unused to disappointment, he made it the problem of all those around him for what he could not obtain.
A spoiled child who was never told no.