Whispers of a Dead Empire

Chapter 153

Mmm, more chapters. This is more or less a date scene for the two love bird since I've been lacking it. Anyways, enjoy and let me know what you think! <3

As usual consider joining my patron for more content! (I have a new book on the horizon) <3

I hummed to myself happily as I closed the latch on the container. From the inside, the sweet smell of freshly baked pizza was seeping from the crevices, and it took everything that I had not to tear it open and devour it.

I was in such a good mood. I asked Alessia out on a date for the first time as a more spur-of-the-moment thing. We are both always working and never really got to spend time together. So, instead, I made it happen. Granted, I was leaving Nyx out, but that would have to be the price I paid. Next time, though, I would happily take her out with us on a family date.

As that thought swam across my mind, I paused. Family date, huh? Why did those words feel so right? Would Alessia count as Nyx's mom? Stepmom? How does that even work? I toyed with the thoughts as I grabbed the container's handle and walked out of the room. I don't think it matters all that much to me. It is all the same in the end.

I pushed the door that led to my kitchen outwards and stumbled into the hallway. Alessia was resting against the far wall with her arms crossed, and her eyes were slightly glazed over. "Are you alright?" I asked as I got close to her and laced my arms through hers.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking." The veil that had fallen across her eyes fell away, and she flashed me a smile.

"Are you sure?" I asked once more as I pulled her arm into me. Was I being overly touchy? Maybe, but I didn't care. Right now, I just need it.

"Yeah! It's really nothing to worry about. Just work stuff."

I stared at her for a second and tried to discern if she was lying to me or not, but I couldn't tell. At times, her face could be rather impassive. "If you say so." If there was something wrong with her, I wouldn't push it. She would tell me when she was ready. Besides, if anyone was guilty of not talking about themselves, it was me. The mere thought of opening up to someone scared me. It made me feel vulnerable, and that was something that I wanted to avoid.

"I do say so." She turned to me and gave me a small smirk, and I grinned back at her. But I still stored this information away for later use. "So tell me, Calixa, where do you intend to take us?"

My name left her lips, and I felt my heart jump in my chest. "Uh, honestly, let's just go to the lake. It's the prettiest place in the domain right now." I honestly wouldn't have minded taking her somewhere outside the domain, but I had Nyx to worry about. Not that I didn't trust in her or her ability to take care of herself. But the security aspect would be a pain to deal with.

"A pretty place, with an even prettier woman." Alessia's voice took a huskier tone as she complimented me.

"I'm sure you say that to every woman you meet." I teased her back slightly, but her calling me pretty left warmth in my chest.

"Only the ones that matter." She shifted her head towards me and gave me a wink.

"Oh, so there are more than me?" For a second, I felt my heart drop. But the fear quickly faded when I realized that there hopefully wouldn't be anyone else. She is with me or at work.

"Yeah. There is another." She nodded her head, and I suddenly felt a little dejected. Did I mean that little to her?

"Oh.." The words left my mouth coated with sadness. It felt like the world was crashing down around me, and I didn't know how to take it.

The silence hung in the air between us for a few heartbeats as I pondered what went wrong. Was it my work? Was it because I didn't open up to her as much as I could have? Thousands of questions rushed through my mind like a torrent, and I felt jealousy blossoming in my chest. "Who is she?"

"Oh, are you jealous?" Alessia stopped walking, and she stared at me with that stupid smirk of hers.

"I'm a little angry if I'm going to be real with you." I pulled my arm away from her and crossed them. A large part of me really hoped that she was just kidding.

"Come now, Calixa, you know the only other woman in my life I talk to is Nyx." Her smirk grew wider, and relief coursed through my veins, but there was no small amount of indignation behind that.

"That's not fair." I crossed my arms and turned my head away from her. How dare she get me going like that! I was scared that she found someone else.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it." She chuckled nervously at me, but I could only roll my eyes.

"Alessia, please never do that again. You scared me." The relief that I felt made me weak in the knees. The mere idea of losing her hurt me in a way that I wasn't ready for.

"I'm sorry, my lady." She walked forward and interlaced her arm with mine once more.

"I'll forgive you. But if you ever leave me, I'll kill you myself." My words became honey-sweet as I gave her my threat. Was it harsh? Yes, but I don't have the desire to date anyone else. Alessia was mine, and she needed to know that.

"Duly noted." She stiffened up a bit at my words. Good, I'm glad my threat found purchase.

I nodded my head in approval and brought my menu up, and with a quick motion, I teleported us to the far side of the lake, which wasn't devastated by the duel I had earlier.

fifteen minutes later:

I was settled onto the blanket I spawned in, and I was enjoying the sunlight that was caressing my flesh. The lake's surface held small ripples that pulsed across its surface from the soft gusts of wind that pushed through the trees. It was a beautiful day.

I sat forward, undid the latch on the container, and quickly opened it, revealing its contents. Desperation grew within me as I stared at the large pizza, still radiating waves of heat off its surface. My mouth watered as I reached out towards the first slice and brought it up towards my mouth.

Strings of cheese clung from the slice on my hand and stretched downwards towards the rest of the pizza. Damn, I didn't realize that I made it that cheesy. But that was how I liked it. I bit into the pizza, and immediately the flavor sank into my tongue and flooded my mouth. Never has food tasted so strongly before. I could pick apart the very minutiae of each flavor within the pizza, which also sadly meant that I could tell what it was missing. I always liked to think my pallet was good, but now, it was much more precise.

It wasn't bad by any stretch. It was fantastic, but the cheeses I had didn't mesh together super well, which was strange considering that this was a blend I used to make on Earth. Maybe my sense of taste was as heightened as the rest of my senses now. This would be a pain to acclimate to, but I would get over it.

"Are you alright?" Alessia's sweet voice tore me from my thoughts, and I looked over at her. She was sitting beside me, with her legs crossed, and was basking in the sun.

"Yeah. I just realize how much more sensitive my taste buds are, and now the food is missing something, which is something that I would have never noticed before." It was a shame, really. If there was one thing that I loved, it was food. I remember the first day I started working in kitchens. It was hard to figure out what I was missing, and now it feels like it was my first day again.

"I take it you are an avid fan of food, then?" She asked as she closed her eyes and shifted weight onto her hands. The sunlight caught her skin, and I stared at the colors I hadn't seen before. Her skin tone was now close to what I had seen in my dreams.

"Yeah. I love eating. I used to eat a lot, and the only thing that balanced it out was that I worked for fifteen hours a day." Oh, the life of a line cook. The hours were long and grueling, but the pay was great.

"Tell me about your life. I don't care about what the whispers tell me. I want to know about the Calixa that was before all of this." She opened her eyes and affixed me with her golden eyes.

"It's nothing special. I was working on becoming a chef. So I gave up most of my life for work. Fifteen hours a day for five days a week. The other two, I either slept or partied." I mused on the memories as I spoke to her. How many nights did I get shit-faced at a party, sleep for four hours and go back to work? A few too many times and one would think I had learned my lesson by then.

"My memories tell me I was the same, granted I wasn't training to be a chef. Instead, I joined the Order of the Blue rose and worked every day to be the best I could be. To provide for myself and my brother." Her face fell slightly at the mention of her brother, and it broke my heart a little.

So I set the slice of pizza that I was munching on down and slid over to her. "Tell me about him." It was a touchy subject, but at the same time, I wanted to know more about the woman that sat across from me. I only knew the barest hints, but I wanted to know more.

"When we were younger, he was great. He was driven, but he was kind. We both came from nothing, and we never forgot it. Well, I never did, at least. Near the end, he did." She grew a little sullen, and I laid an arm across her and pulled her into me.

We sat there in silence together and stared at the lake. Perhaps it was rude of me to pry, but I wanted to be closer to her. "Alessia, do you hate him?"

"I don't hate him. I just hate what he became, and I'll hate him until he comes to his senses." She pressed her head against mine, but her words struck me strangely.

"What do you mean?"

"Someone like my brother could never be truly killed. He still lives, and I feel him brimming just under the surface, desperate to be released from his chains."

I sat there and thought back to the last time I saw him when I watched Alessia die, and I felt like a torrent of ice-cold water washed over me. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course. I'm always here for you." She pulled away from me slightly to get a better view of my face.

"While you were unconscious, I slept next to you, waiting for you to wake up, and last night, you mentioned him by name and asked why he betrayed us. I thought nothing of it until I fell asleep, and I was somehow drug into your dream. I watched you die, and I was powerless." Emotions that I held deep within me, came to the surface as tears built up in the corner of my eyes.

She sat there for a moment in stunned silence. Before she reached out and pulled me into her. "I'm sorry you had to see something like that." She murmured softly in my ear as I wept in her embrace.

"Just promise me you won't do something like that again." My words came out begging more than anything else, but I couldn't help it. What I watched was genuinely horrible.

"I'll do my best. For you and Nyx, at least." I smiled and nodded my head slightly. That was the best answer I could have hoped for, at least.

"Thank you, Alessia." I pushed away from her slightly, took a deep breath to clear my nerves, and wiped away some of the tears. "Anyways, do you want to help me design some stuff for the guard while we are together?" I had some ideas for armor to outfit the palatines that I wanted to do, and I wanted her input. While this was a date, I didn't see this as work. Just me sitting here with the woman of my dreams, working on projects together.