Chapter 41: Chapter 41

Colter

New York City

“Sorry, I have pressing matters to attend to!” Colter announced, hurriedly leaving the bar as soon as their shift ended. He ended up drawing weird looks from Tessa and Vida as he sheepishly grinned while stepping around them and out into the streets.

“Take care!” Vida called after him with a blanching Tessa by her side, “Girl, he just abandoned you and you tell him to take care?!”

He slipped through the crowded streets of bustling New York City, weaving sidewards and dodging them as these citizens paid no mind to what was in front of them. His thoughts were still filled with the visions of the kingdom in utter chaos. Fear had been injected into his veins, his blood running colder than ice.

Moving into an abandoned area, it was an alley that stood between two derelict factories. Glancing around for any watchers and spectators, Colter focused his powers all over his body and with a whoosh, he darted upward into the air, flying with blinding speed.

He gazed around the place, looking for something with a great vantage point, his eyes settled on the tallest point he had seen, the humans had called it the ‘Empire State Building’. It was a thrilling flight, but thrills were not on his mind at the moment, it was fear and horror.

Colter stood atop the skyscraper, taking in the sights and slowed his breathing. He was desperate to see more, channeling the magic coursing through his veins, he forced himself to see the visions that had haunted him once more.

He was not an oracle or a seer like some people, he also did not have the divine powers of Flora, but pictures and scenes flickered in his thoughts as he closed his eyes in pure concentration.

It was the royal chambers, King Malik and Prince Gian Howard stood in front of each other, smiles were painted across their faces as they laughed about something but Colter could not hear what. He could only see them, but he could not hear what it is they talked about. His heart slowly tore itself apart at the sight, it was a perfect picture of a father and son bonding over something. It was as if the chaos in the kingdom had passed and all was well. Yet, this was not a vision of anything, it was simply his imagination running wild. He was not certain it was real, but it harmed him just the same.

“Ah” Colter muttered with a shudder as the visions stopped, he was back on the human’s world called ‘Earth’, “It seems I am not needed in the kingdom anymore.” There was a sad inflection on his voice as he told himself those words. An icicle of pain slipped straight into his heart as he thought of them again, but somewhere in his mind he was also grateful that he did not see the chaos and hassle of the visions that came to him before. Everything seemed peaceful.

Uncertainty settled in his thoughts, he was still not sure of the kingdom’s stature, ‘Damned be whatever it is that father and Gian is doing’ Colter thought furiously and his thoughts were now aimed at his mother. He had not seen her in quite some time now, not even in his visions and that worried him. “She must be in distress and worry.”

With some of his doubt quenched, he turned back to the unbelievable view before him. The late afternoon skylines of New York City were always a wonder to behold, he could barely make out the ant like shapes and figures of the people bustling in the streets below him.

He snapped his fingers at once and flames covered his arms, they were dancing and flickering, changing colors from orange, red and blue. Playfully, he focused on his palm and it turned into a beautiful ball of swirling colors, hot to the touch, but this did not affect the prince as it was his latent power.

“If I were to return home” the prince said to himself, juggling the fireball in his hands mindlessly, “This power will be stripped of me. Father will surely give this to that asshole Gian and who knows what he might do with such tremendous power.”

He flicked it with all his hands and the fireball flew upward into the skylines vanishing with a small puff of smoke, unnoticed by anyone and anything.

“Yeah” his thoughts continued, “If that were the case, to return home is to be like Samuel. A sinner. Wouldn’t that make father’s day? The useless son, the idiot prince now also a full-fledged sinner of an Ecanus. Worthless from the beginning to the end…”

Colter had always been unappreciated by most of his family, one had wanted an iron like grip on him in order to control his every action, one always undermined his actions in order to make his name better while his mother simply stood by and gave him comfort when everyone else was against him.

Memories flooded into his mind and his eyes turned watery at the saddening thoughts, he conjured another fireball in his palms and focused so much energy into it that it had grown gigantic in size. It emanated a burning heat that would surely scorch any normal human who comes to close, he even felt the floors starting to burn up with the raging fireball in his hands.

“It makes it even harder to leave this place.” Colter muttered, dissipating the fireball into nothingness, “While it is quite a weird world to be in, this is the only place I could ever call home.” His thoughts shifted towards the humans he had bonded with during his stay here.

Peter for his kindness and acceptance at his mistakes during work.

Tessa the ever-protective friend, a humorous and sarcastic ball of energy in a woman’s body.

Vida, the human who lingered in his dreams always. The one who made him feel things that he had never even felt before.

“How can I leave them” the prince muttered, “They showed me that I am accepted, I am alive and I am valued.”

His eyes suddenly gave a fierce glow, a sudden shot of inspiration and happiness. The energy inside him expanded as he felt the weight on his shoulders disappear.

“I cannot leave Vida. I want to stay here. I want to stay with her. I want to stay with her forever.”

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Vida

Vida’s Apartment, New York City

Annoyed that Colter hadn’t come home yet, with a mixture of worry since he was someone who could potentially get lost in New York City, Vida pouted as she set her things down. Seeing that Colter had other things to do, she and Tessa had stopped for coffee and shared news about what they had done over the days. It was idle gossip, but even Vida could not focus as she found herself thinking of Colter over and over.

Sighing to herself, now also annoyed at her protectiveness over the man who had landed unconscious in the streets of New York City, Vida started to take off her clothes to change, she was halfway through taking off her shirt when she heard familiar footsteps in the hallway. She slipped them back on in a hurry and took a peek at the corridor and saw Colter standing there with a smile. It was a different smile from what he usually had. It was a smile that showed contentedness and pure bliss.

Confused, Vida walked barefoot into the hallway and cocked her hand in an angle, staring bewildered at Colter.

“You okay, bud?” Vida asked, worried that he might have hit his head or something, but Colter did not say a word.

He just hurried over to her and swept her feet in a fierce hug that made her blush wildly.

“What’s happening?” Vida blurted out, suspended in the air by Colter’s sudden hug, “Did something happen?”

“Nothing awful!” Colter answered happily, “Everything is all right, I’m all right. We are all right!”

“Are you drunk?” Vida asked now, bewildered at what Colter was telling herr.

“Ah, just let me hug you, Vida and allow me to say, thank you.”

He had closed in on her ear and the whisper of thank you lingered on her neck, making her heart beat faster and her blood run hot with feelings she had felt when she dreamed of Colter.

All this time, this was the most sincere show of gratitude that she had ever received.