Eryshae

ε૨ყรɦαε

Sam

College Prom

The amber-honey Danish was sticky sweet, golden layers of flaky pastry melting in his mouth with a subtle warmth that seemed to pulse beneath the surface, as if the amber glaze held some secret energy. Sam took a slow, deliberate bite, the taste rich and almost hypnotic, a small comfort against the swirling chaos in his mind.

His fingers trembled slightly as he set the plate down. The light in the room seemed softer somehow, filtering through the curtains with an almost otherworldly glow. The faint pulse from the vines tattooed on his left arm throbbed beneath his skin, the bioluminescent patterns flickering in sync with his heartbeat.

He glanced across the room, where Vael stood near the window, her silhouette framed by the dusky evening light. She looked radiant, almost unreal, in her crimson dress and black corset, but it was the way her eyes held his that unsettled him more than anything else.

The memory of his transformation, the half-man, half-tree monster he had become in Eryshae, came rushing back. The violent surge of vines lashing out, sunflowers blooming like flames from his wooden limbs, beams of light shooting from their eyes. It was a vision that felt like a nightmare and a revelation all at once.

And yet here he was, in this quiet, normal world, sharing a simple pastry with a version of Vael that felt at once familiar and distant. He shook his head slightly, trying to ground himself.

Sam set his cup down gently and glanced toward the window. The evening air seemed cool and inviting, a stark contrast to the heaviness settling in his chest. "Maybe we should go outside," he said quietly, voice steady but soft. "Get a breath of fresh air. Clear my head a little."

Vael nodded, her eyes brightening with a mix of relief and understanding. "I think that's a good idea." He stood, the faint glow from his tattoo pulsing gently beneath his sleeve as he moved. Together, they stepped toward the door, the muffled sounds of the prom fading behind them.

Outside, the air was crisp and cool, tinged with the faint scent of late summer blossoms. The sky stretched wide and deep above, stars beginning to prick the dusk with pinpricks of light. Sam took a deep breath, feeling the cool air fill his lungs. For a moment, the strange weight in his chest loosened, just enough to make him feel a flicker of hope.

Vael slipped her hand into his, fingers warm and steady. "You don't have to carry it all alone," she said softly. He looked down at her hand wrapped around his, a tether to this fragile moment of peace. "Thanks," he whispered. "For being here. For everything."

Vael smiled, her eyes reflecting the starlight. "Always." They lingered on the porch for a moment, the sounds of the distant party muffled beneath the chorus of crickets and the rustling of leaves. The soft glow of street lamps cast pools of golden light on the pavement, painting long shadows that stretched like quiet secrets. Sam inhaled deeply again, letting the cool night wash over him. The tang of the amber-honey Danish still lingered on his tongue, a sweet reminder of warmth amid the uncertainty.

He glanced at Vael, her profile bathed in moonlight, every curve softened by the gentle darkness. For a fleeting second, the weight of his fractured memories and strange new powers felt manageable, like it could be carried on two shoulders instead of one. "I don't know what's waiting for me back there," he murmured, nodding toward the prom. "But out here… it feels like maybe I can breathe. Just for a while."

Vael squeezed his hand, her voice steady and sure. "We'll face whatever comes, together. No matter where we are." The words settled deep in his chest, weaving through the tangled threads of doubt and fear. It was a promise, a lifeline. Above them, the stars twinkled with quiet patience, bearing witness to two souls trying to find their way through a world that suddenly felt too vast and too strange.

Sam closed his eyes, the bioluminescent vines beneath his skin pulsing softly, syncing with the steady beat of his heart. For now, the night held a fragile peace. The hush between them thickened, not with silence, but with presence. The stillness of the night curled around their shoulders like a shawl. Sam leaned back against the wooden railing of the school's front walk, his fingers brushing Vael's as they stood side by side.

She didn't speak. She didn't have to. He closed his eyes. The air cooled as he exhaled, breath steady, shoulders sinking. His awareness drifted inward, past the laughter behind him, past the taste of amber and sugar, past the tight fit of his unfamiliar suit. In the stillness of his breath, something shifted. The vines beneath his skin stirred. They coiled gently along his left arm, aglow beneath the sleeve like molten gold traced into living bark. The bioluminescence throbbed in a quiet rhythm. His breath slowed. The pulse deepened.

And then, A flicker. The world tilted. He saw Vael, but not the one beside him. Eryshae Vael, in black and crimson, gliding through moonlit halls slick with danger. Her dagger gleamed wet, and blood shadowed her jawline like war paint. She spun, fluid and fast, and dropped a guard with a clean, silent thrust.

Mira followed, faster, more brutal. Another guard fell, choking on the steel blooming from his ribs. They moved as one, fury and precision, sisters in vengeance and resolve. The walls around them were gilded and cold, Ruwan's estate pulsing with unnatural quiet.

Another hallway. More guards. Vael pressed a hand to her side, breathing hard, but still standing. Still burning. Her eyes glowed with fury and love, desperation carved into every movement. "I'm coming," Sam whispered. His body remained on Earth, his hand still wrapped in Vael's. But his spirit twisted through something unseen, pulled by blood, bark, and memory. He felt the vines in his arm reach toward that place, toward them.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The Vael beside him blinked and looked up at him, sensing the change. "Sam?" she asked softly, voice brushing his name like petals on water. But Sam didn't answer. Not yet. He stood very still, caught between worlds. The night air crackled with a quiet not of this place. Something ancient was waking in him. And somewhere, two women fought for the shard of a god, and for him.

A loud whoop shattered the quiet. "Prom, baby!" someone yelled, followed by the unmistakable thud of someone stumbling into a bush and laughter erupting like a firecracker. Sam's eyes snapped open.

The golden glow beneath his sleeve faded, retreating like embers under ash. The vision, gone. The weight of the other world peeled away in fragments, like water slipping from a dream. He blinked, breath caught halfway between then and now.

The parking lot lights buzzed overhead. A group of overdressed students staggered past, glittering with cheap sequins and half-drunken glee, one of them shouting lyrics to a song that hadn't played inside for over an hour.

Then he felt it, soft and grounding. Vael leaned into him, her head resting against his chest. Her arms slipped gently around his waist. She wasn't speaking. Just breathing, listening to the steady thrum of his heart beneath the fitted suit.

"You okay?" she asked softly, tilting her head up to look at him. He hesitated, then nodded, wrapping his arms around her in turn. She was real. Solid. Warm. Her presence cut through the veil of dislocation. Anchoring. "I am now," he whispered, pressing his chin lightly to the crown of her head.

They stood like that for a long moment, amid the chaos of Earth and the echo of another world, just two people on the edge of memory, dancing between realities, holding onto the one thing that felt unshakably true.

Each other. Vael pulled back just enough to meet his eyes. Her gaze was searching, concern softened by affection. "You've been... somewhere else all night," she said quietly. "Not just distracted. Farther."

Sam hesitated. He didn't have the words. Or maybe he did, but they were tangled in this timeline, too many truths. He brushed his thumb along her cheekbone, anchoring himself in the way her skin warmed under his touch. "Have you ever had a dream," he murmured, "so vivid it felt more real than this?" Vael tilted her head slightly. "You mean like a lucid dream?"

"No. Not like that." His voice dropped. "I mean one where it feels like you lived a whole other life. Loved people you've never met. Fought for things you couldn't name. And then woke up here. With everything just a little too... clean. A little too quiet." Vael's brows knit together. "That's awfully poetic for someone who spent half the semester sleeping through Lit."

A breath of laughter escaped him, half-grateful, half-sad. "Maybe I'm catching up." She stepped in closer, pressing her hand flat against his chest, over where the faint outline of vines curled beneath his jacket.

"Whatever dream you had… whoever she was…" she whispered, "I'm not her. I know that. But I like you, Sam. I've liked you since the moment you awkwardly spilled coffee all over your notes and tried to pretend it was abstract art."

Sam smiled. He remembered that day. Barely. "I'm here," she said. "Right now. With you. And if your heart's caught between worlds, I'll wait." Sam's throat tightened. He swallowed hard, then leaned down and touched his forehead to hers.

"I don't know what's real anymore," he whispered. Vael's fingers curled gently into the fabric of his jacket. "Start with this," she said. "Start with us." For a long moment, the night held its breath. The wind stirred the leaves. The music from the prom faded to a distant thrum behind the doors. And Sam closed his eyes, resting in the warmth of a heartbeat that, for all its differences, still echoed the one he thought he'd lost.

The doors swung open again with a soft creak as Sam and Vael stepped back inside. The music had shifted, slower now, steadier. A love song from a decade ago pulsed through the air like nostalgia wrapped in glitter and bass. The lights had dimmed further, casting everything in a syrupy glow of pink and gold. Couples drifted in lazy circles across the dance floor. Laughter bubbled from the refreshment table. Someone had spilled punch and let it drift across the floor.

Earth continued, oblivious.

Vael's hand found Sam's again, fingers interlacing with a quiet certainty. "You okay?" she asked softly, searching his face. He nodded. "Yeah. I just… needed that." She smiled and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Let's dance one more time before the night ends."

He let her lead him back to the edge of the dance floor. The scent of her perfume followed, lilac and something warm he couldn't name. Sam rested his hands on her waist, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as the music guided them into motion.

The world slowed.

Not in the magical, cinematic sense. But in the way time feels when it knows it's running out, dragging its heels to give you one last heartbeat longer. One last breath.

Her head rested against his shoulder. Her breath near his collar. And for a moment, just a moment, Sam let himself pretend this was the only world that mattered. That he wasn't split between stars and roots.

That he wasn't glowing underneath his skin. That Vael was whole and present and here, not mirrored from another life, another battlefield. But even in that moment… the vines on his arm pulsed softly. And behind his closed eyes, he saw golden light.

Sunflowers.

A woman's scream.

A forest burning.

He opened his eyes again. Vael was still swaying with him. Still smiling. He kissed her temple gently. "I'm glad I asked you," he said. "To prom."

"I'm glad you did too," she whispered. "Even if you're dreaming." They both knew it, somehow. This wasn't going to last. But for now, for this single evening under borrowed stars and college lights, it was enough.

The music changed again, a soft acoustic rendition of something ancient and slow. The kind of song that didn't belong to any one generation. It simply was, passed through time like a shared secret.

They didn't speak.

They just moved.

Sam felt the rhythm guide them, their bodies close enough to share heat, to hear each other's hearts. He memorized the way Vael's lashes lowered when she smiled, the way the light caught the curve of her cheek, the faint shimmer of gold dust woven into her green curls.

It was uncanny, how she looked like the Vael he knew. The real one. The one who had bled in battle and shouted in defiance and whispered against his chest in the quiet hours before dawn.

But she wasn't her.

Not exactly.

Still, when she looked up at him now, her eyes wide and kind and searching, Sam felt something shift inside him. Maybe it didn't matter what world this was. Maybe the feeling was real enough. He reached up and tucked a loose curl behind her ear. "You're beautiful," he said simply.

Vael laughed, not shy but genuinely surprised. "That's not something you just say during a slow dance at a prom. That's something you say… when you mean it."

"I do," he said.

The moment stretched. Her smile softened. "Do you want to go outside again?" she asked, voice quiet now. "Just for a little bit?" He hesitated. Outside was where things shifted. Where memories bled and power stirred and ghosts whispered.

Inside… was warmth and color and the illusion of normalcy. And yet. "Yeah," he murmured, brushing his thumb gently against her hand. "Let's go."

They stepped off the dance floor and walked through the golden-lit corridor together, past women fixing their makeup, men boasting about slow dances, and chaperones sipping coffee out of paper cups.

The night air met them like a forgotten hymn. Cool. Earthy. Real. The stars were just starting to pierce the velvet sky. And somewhere far beyond the thin veil of this world, Sam felt a sunflower blink open.