"I still don't like this," Zenith said, folding his arms.
"I know." Theo sighed, though his exasperation was only for show. In fact, some part of him felt stupidly giddy hearing such a strong opinion from Zenith. And he knew it was only because Zenith was worried for him.
Still, Theo had already made up his mind. "It's okay," he said, patting Zenith's arm. "You'll be here in case anything happens, right?"
Zenith nodded, his lips pressed into a tight line. "If I sense even the slightest hint of danger, I will arrive in an instant. I promise."
"I know you will. Thank you, Zenith." Theo didn't know if words could even begin to express his gratitude. As insane and reckless as this whole idea was, as much as Zenith had protested against it, he'd still agreed to come along. Just knowing he was there helped Theo breathe a little easier.
Hopefully, this wouldn't end up anything like the last time he had gone off to talk to Victor alone. It wouldn't, right? This time Theo had initiated everything. But who knew, maybe Mirage had actually answered the call and was waiting with another trap.
Well, Theo couldn't waste time worrying any longer. He'd just have to face it, and trust that Zenith had his back in case everything went south.
He offered Zenith one last reassuring smile before pushing open the cafe door. The bells on the handle jingled, cutting through the conversations bubbling around the sidewalk. Zenith went to sit on the bench outside the cafe, arms still folded and posture tense and alert. Hopefully he wouldn't attract too much attention like that.
Taking a deep breath, Theo ducked inside. The cool air came as a relief from the bright heat outside. To his satisfaction, he saw that the cafe bustled with patrons, nearly every seat filled.
Even Mirage wouldn't try anything in a crowded cafe in broad daylight, right? Or so Theo hoped.
Despite himself, Theo's heart climbed into his throat and sweat slicked his palms as he scanned the cafe. Victor should have already arrived….
There, in the far corner at the back. Broad shoulders, black hair tied in a loose ponytail.
His heart began galloping like a racehorse trying to flee the track. 'Act natural,' he told himself fiercely as he got in line to make his order.
Once he had his passion fruit iced tea in hand, he made his way to the corner table. With every step, the blood throbbed louder in his ears. Some stupid cowardly part of him insisted it wasn't too late, that he could still turn tail and run.
As if. This had all been his idea in the first place.
Theo slipped his hand into his pocket and squeezed the crystal. Its Levia rolled in a slow wave through his body, unknotting his tension a little.
By now, he had reached the table. He looked at Victor, but Victor wasn't looking at him. Instead, he had a laptop open and was intently typing away.
A bead of icy sweat trickled down Theo's temple. He cleared his throat.
Slowly, Victor lifted his head. His dark eyes pierced Theo's, sending a jolt through Theo's heart.
Theo cleared his throat again, found his voice. "Victor. So you came."
Victor nodded. "I don't have much time. Make it quick, whatever you wanted to talk about."
He sounded perfectly calm, not a trace of his alarm from the phone call. But Theo clung on to the memory of his breathless, stammering voice. He couldn't forget that he had gotten the advantage over Victor, however slight.
"Does Michel Rose know you're here?" he asked as he sat down.
"No. That's why I said I don't have much time." Victor shut the laptop and slid it into the bag resting by his side. Dressed in a black T-shirt, a plain coffee on the table, he could have been just another college kid studying at the cafe.
"What were you doing?" Theo blurted before he could stop himself.
"Homework." Victor shrugged. "Taking a few online courses. Since I never did end up going to college."
Online courses on top of working as Michel Rose's assistant and fighting for the Infernal Legion? Seemed even after quitting cello, Victor's workaholic spirit burned bright as ever.
'Don't get sidetracked,' Theo admonished himself, but he realized he might have an opening to get some answers. "Yeah, about that. What exactly did you get up to after you left home?"
A slight frown turned down Victor's lips. He leaned back, drumming his fingertips on the tabletop. "I thought you wanted to talk about Mom."
His tone was calm, but Theo didn't miss the hitch in his voice when he said 'Mom.' Something tight and unpleasant squeezed Theo's chest. He had never talked much about Mom with Victor, but he knew that she meant far more to him than she did to Theo. If only because he had actual memories of her. Now Theo was going to force him to dig into those old memories, reopen old wounds….
He felt disgusted with himself. Why, even now, did he worry about Victor's feelings? When Victor had made it clear he didn't care about Theo's. When Victor had hurt his friends plenty of times already.
Repeating this in his head, Theo made himself meet Victor's gaze. "I do. But this has to do with that. Mom was a wizard, right? Did you know all along?"
Victor looked carefully, critically, at Theo as if trying to search for something. It was all Theo could do to hold his head up, to not flinch away. "I didn't," he said at last.
"So when did you find out you were a wizard?"
"I told you already. It was after I left home. Maybe a few months. I was living on the streets at the time. I saw an arena and stumbled into it."
Theo's skin tingled. Just like he had. "But even if Mom didn't tell you, you had to have some idea, right? The dreams and stuff…."
Victor's eyes narrowed. "What dreams?"
"The dreams of flying cities. Fortresses. And – and spells. You had those too, right? I've been having those dreams all my life, even before I knew what they meant."
With each word he spoke, Theo's heart pounded harder and harder. Because a sudden tension had gripped Victor's body, stiffening his shoulders and widening his eyes. It might be subtle, but coming from his stoic brother, it was as unguarded a reaction as he'd ever seen.
"I," Victor said slowly, "don't have any idea what you are talking about."
"The...the dreams." Damn it all, Theo's voice came out a squeak. "You never had them?"
Victor's eyebrows rose. "Of course not. Are you telling me you did?"