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Xaden’s POV
It’s late in the afternoon, and the courtyard is scattered with cadets, most of them relaxing after a brutal week of training. I’m standing off to the side with Garrick, who’s leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, already grinning like he knows something I don’t.
“What’s your name?”
The voice is tiny but insistent, and when I glance down, I’m met with wide, curious brown eyes and a boy who can’t be more than six or seven years old. His shirt is too big for him, and his hair sticks out at odd angles as though he’s been running around all day.
I raise a brow, amused. “Xaden.”
The boy nods solemnly, as if committing it to memory. “I’m Elias.”
I crouch slightly so I’m at his level. “Maren Zina’s little brother right? What can I do for you?”
Elias squints up at me like he’s appraising something important, then points over his shoulder. “You’re friends with Violet, right? The silver-haired one who’s really fast?”
The corner of my mouth twitches. “Friends is one way to put it,”.
Elias shifts on his feet, suddenly looking nervous. Then, leans closer, as if we’re sharing some grand secret and with the unfiltered boldness that only kids seem to have, he asks, “Do you like Violet?”
Garrick immediately starts laughing, a full, unrestrained belly laugh that echoes around the courtyard. “Oh, this is going to be good,” he mutters under his breath, loud enough for me to hear.
I shake my head, trying to hide my smile. “Do I like Violet?” I repeat, stalling for a moment to see where this is going.
Elias nods, his expression completely serious. “Yeah. Do you like her? Like, really like her?”
I laugh softly, unable to resist the kid’s straightforwardness. “Elias, I don’t just like Violet—I’m in love with her.”
His eyes go wide, and he steps closer as if he needs to confirm the truth of my words. “You’re in love with her?” he asks, his voice filled with awe.
“Yes,” I say, my voice dropping to something softer, something more honest. “I’m in love with her.”
Elias considers this, then tilts his head. “What does being in love feel like?”
Behind me, Garrick snorts. “Oh, this is going to be poetic.”
The question catches me off guard, but the innocence of it tugs at something deep in my chest. I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees, and consider my answer. How do I explain something so complex and encompassing to someone so young?
“It feels like… home,” I start, my voice soft. “Like no matter how bad things get or how hard the world is, there’s one person who makes everything better. She’s the reason I want to fight harder, to be better. Loving her feels like nothing else matters except making sure she’s happy and safe.”
Elias blinks up at me, processing my words, then nods like he understands. “So… you love her because she makes you feel good?”
I hear Sgaeyl laugh in my head ‘This human hatchling is too young and pure to find out how the Silver One truly makes you feel good’
“Do not make sexual innuendos at me.” I shoot back to her.
“Not just that,” I start again, searching for the right words, “love feels like… always wanting to be close to someone. Like you’d do anything to make them happy, even if it’s hard for you. It’s feeling like they’re a part of you, like they make you better just by being themselves.”
Elias blinks up at me, absorbing every word. “So… it’s like having a favorite person?”
“Exactly,” I say, smiling. “But even more than that. It’s like your favorite person is also the most important person, the one you’d do anything to protect.”
He nods solemnly, then asks, “Why are you in love with her? Is it because she’s pretty?”
I chuckle, thinking of Violet’s laugh, her stubbornness, the way she surprises me every single day. “She is the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen,” I admit, “but that’s not the only reason. I love her because she’s brave, because she’s smart, because she challenges me in ways no one else does. She makes me want to be better, for her and for myself.”
Suddenly, Elias grabs ahold of my hand and quietly adds “My parents loved each other too,”.
A tendril of pain claws through my chest at seeing the sadness in his eyes. Children like him should be playing and basking in their parents’ affection, not grieving their parents’ deaths. Their small hearts should be filled with love and joy - not emptiness and despair.
As I rub a hand over his back, Garrick walks over and crouches in front of Elias and tilts his head so that he’s looking at him. “So were mine”
He whispers something into his little ears for a while and only after Elias nods is when Garrick gets up.
Elias stays quiet for a few minutes, but then he cocks his head again. “Does Violet like you?”
Garrick, still hovering nearby, decides that his input is extremely necessary in this specific conversation. “Not really kid, no.”
I glare at him, rolling my eyes, then turn back to Elias. “She doesn’t just like me,” I say, smiling. “She loves me too.”
Elias looks skeptical. “Are you sure?”
I laugh. “I’m sure. She tells me every day.”
“Then why haven’t you married her yet?” he asks bluntly, his face a perfect mask of confusion.
That one catches me off guard. I blink at him, struggling to find an answer, while Garrick bursts into another round of laughter.
“In an ideal world, I would already be married to her,” I finally say, though it sounds weak even to me.
Elias crosses his arms. “If you love her, and she loves you, you should get married. That’s what happens in stories. You’d be like the prince and princess in my book.”
I glance at the book in question, which indeed features a prince and princess on the cove, locked in a dramatic embrace.
“Well,” I say, trying to suppress a smile, “real life isn’t always like the stories.” Then feel like shit for saying that, because this kid obviously knows that happily ever afters don’t always exist.
“It should be,” Elias insists, then adds, “You and Violet would be a good Duke and Duchess.”
I can’t help but laugh at that, the image instantly warming my heart and soul. “I agree with you wholeheartedly.”
He nods approvingly, but then his face scrunches in thought. “Who fell in love first?”
Before I can answer, a familiar voice cuts in.
“I’m pretty sure I did,” Violet says, stepping into view with a teasing smile.
Elias whips around to face her, his grin widening. “Really?”
She nods, crossing her arms. “Really.”
“Absolutely not,” I cut in, shaking my head. “It was me.”
Violet raises an eyebrow, her smirk growing. “You’re delusional, Riorson. You didn’t even know how to admit your feelings back then.”
“I didn’t have to admit them to know they were there,” I retort, stepping closer to her.
Elias looks between us, his eyes wide with fascination. “So who’s telling the truth?”
“I am,” Violet and I say at the same time, pointing at each other.
Elias laughs, clearly enjoying this more than he should. “You both love each other, so does it really matter who fell in love first?”
I glance at Violet, and for a moment, the teasing fades. She’s looking at me with that soft expression that always makes my chest feel too tight.
“No,” I say quietly, holding her gaze. “It doesn’t matter.”
She smiles, stepping closer until her shoulder brushes mine. “Exactly.”
Elias beams up at us. “You’re like the prince and princess in my book.”
I glance down at him, then back at Violet. “You hear that?” I say, smirking. “We’re royalty now. No need for Halden to exist anymore”
She rolls her eyes, but her smile doesn’t waver. “You’d better not let it go to your head.”
“Too late,” Garrick mutters from behind us, earning a laugh from Violet and Elias.
I wrap an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. “Thank you, Elias,” I say, genuinely. “You’ve given us a lot to think about.”
He nods, satisfied, then waves as he runs off, leaving us standing there in the courtyard.
Violet looks up at me, her smile softening. “So, who fell in love first again?”
I smirk, leaning down to press a kiss to her temple. “Still me,” I whisper.
She laughs, the sound wrapping around my heart like a promise. “Keep telling yourself that, Riorson.”