Sacred Flame: His Enemy, His Mate (BL)-Chapter 93: Checkmate

Kael Dreaven

This was one of those moments I had imagined over and over again. Dreamt of, wished for, so much that now that it was actually happening, it felt unreal. Like a sweet dream I didn’t want to wake up from.

Kain beneath me, soft sounds spilling from his lips, our bodies tangled, hearts beating in sync.

Perfect.

But then, the door burst open.

I froze, rage surging so fast it burned through my chest. My head snapped toward the door, already imagining myself crossing the room and wrapping my hands around Jay’s neck until his head popped right off.

"What the fuck are you doing in here?" I snapped, causing him to flinch.

But then he spoke, and everything in me dropped.

"I was just coming from the boy’s room... he’s not there. The shield outside-- it’s also gone. Someone took him."

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. My heartbeat stuttered like it was trying to restart itself. My hands went numb. My legs felt like they weren’t even mine.

Gone.

The boy is gone.

I blinked, snapped back to reality, and grabbed the first thing I could-- my joggers—pulling them on in a rush. My shirt was halfway across the floor, but I didn’t care. I snatched it up and threw it on, already turning to tell Kain to stay, to wait for me.

Only to see he already had his trousers on, just that his hands were shaking as he struggled with the zipper.

His face was pale. His panic felt louder than Jay’s voice.

Still, I asked him breathlessly, "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, looking at me

"Stay in here. Wait for me, I’m going to bring him back." I said, already making a move to go out but his voice shot up behind me, forcing me to halt on my steps.

"You think I’m going to just stay here after hearing that my son is missing?"

I turned my gaze to him,

He looked at me like I’d gone insane.

I took a step toward him. "Kain, listen—"

"No, you listen!" he snapped, voice shaking with rage and fear. "You’re seriously telling me to sit here while you go out and ’take care of it’? Are you kidding me right now?"

I swallowed hard. This wasn’t how I wanted things to go. "It’s not like that. I just... I need you safe. I’ll handle this."

He scoffed, an ugly, painful sound. "Right. You’ll handle it." He turned away, grabbing at his clothes with trembling fingers. "Like I’m some porcelain doll that needs protecting? That’s my son out there, Kael!"

I dragged a hand through my hair forcefully as though to rip them off my skull, "Look, I’m not trying to fight with you."

"Then don’t fight me. Let me come."

"No," I said, firmer now. "I don’t want you out there if something goes wrong. Not even when I don’t know what I’m walking into."

"I don’t care." His hands were shaking as he tugged his shirt over his head. "If you leave without me, I’ll find him on my own."

"Kain—"

"You don’t get to decide this. I’m going. And I swear to God, if anything happens to him... "

For a second, I stood frozen, torn between instinct and the ache in my chest.

Then I exhaled slowly. "Fine. We’ll go together." I muttered finally.

Because deep down, I knew there was no stopping him.

And the seconds I spent arguing with him here... were seconds we could’ve used to get to Brian.

I cursed under my breath, motioning to Jay to move, "Let’s go," I said tightly.

Kain didn’t wait for another word. He was already at the door, barefoot, his hair a mess, eyes wide with fear and fire. He looked like he’d tear the world apart just to get his boy back.

And maybe that’s what scared me the most.

Because I would, too.

And if anything happened to Brian... if we were too late...

No. I wasn’t going to think like that.

The three of us rushed outside to where the car was usually parked, only to see empty ground.

Gone.

"Shit," I hissed, heart dropping. "Someone took the car."

Kain’s breathing was already shallow as we walked here, but now that we got outside and saw the empty ground where the car should’ve been, something in him snapped.

He stared at the spot like it could somehow bring the vehicle back, like if he just focused hard enough, he’d see Brian curled up asleep inside, safe, untouched.

But the ground stayed empty.

The silence was suffocating.

Then he moved, quick, and erratic as he paced back and forth, hands in his hair, "No, no, this isn’t real, this can’t be happening..." He kept muttering under his breath, until he suddenly whirled on me, eyes wild, face flushed with sheer panic.

"Who has my son?" he roared, his voice raw and broken, cracking with fury. "WHO TOOK HIM?! No one was supposed to know here, right?! You told me he’ll be safe! No one was..."

"I—I don’t know, Kain, I swear--"

"Don’t you lie to me!" he screamed, shoving me. "Don’t you fucking lie to me! You know something, you always know something! Tell me where he is!"

"I don’t know!" I snapped back, louder than I meant to. My voice echoed into the cold night air, full of frustration and dread. "And yes. This is my hideout, no one was supposed to know here, no less come in here!"

"Then who?" His voice dropped to a whisper, trembling desperately. "Who would do this? I never did tell anyone about him. So no one should know where he was--? No one should’ve gotten past the shield. You promised to keep him safe...you promised."

"And I meant it."

"Then why is he not here?"

My breath caught in my throat. The answer was there. I hated it. I’m afraid of it.

But there was no more time to dance around it.

"If it was anyone," I said hoarsely, "it’s him. My father."

The words hung in the air like poison.

Kain froze.

I watched the blood drain from his face. His lips parted but no sound came out. Just air, like the wind had been knocked from his lungs.

"What...?" he breathed, barely audible as he took a step back from me, slow, mechanical. "Your father took my son?"

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.

Because I wasn’t sure. But the signs... they pointed in only one direction.

Kain looked up, his face crumpling, fury and grief crashing together like waves in a storm. "He’s just a kid, Kael! He still cries if I’m not there... He...He needed me, and I was here, screaming at you. He was crying for me, and I wasn’t there."

"I know!" I shouted back, pain lancing through my skull. "Do you think I don’t fucking know that?"

"Then why!?"

"Because he’s my son too!" I snapped.

Kain’s chest rose and fell, sharp and uneven, like he was seconds from hyperventilating. His eyes were glossy now, brimming with unshed tears, rage clawing at the edges of his voice.

"This is your fault," he whispered, not like an accusation, more like a truth too painful to say louder. "If you hadn’t waltz back into my life! If you hadn’t come to meet me on the train... We’ll still be happy together in city C!"

I staggered back like he’d hit me.

I wanted to say he was wrong. I wanted to scream. But I couldn’t

Jay’s voice cut in, small and afraid from the background. "We... we might need to move now, whatever this was between you two. You can sort it out later."

I clenched my jaw, reality slamming back into me as I huffed out a breath, before bolting to the garage, nearly slamming the door off its hinges, and grabbed the first key I could reach from the wall rack.

Another flyer.

I jumped into the cockpit, powered it up in seconds. Kain and Jay were right behind me, the doors sliding shut behind them as the engine roared to life. The vehicle trembled, then lifted off the ground in a rush of blue light, cutting through the night sky.

There’s only one place Brian could be.

Only one place that would make Jay this pale, and me this fucking terrified.

My grip on the controls tightened, veins pulsing. It shouldn’t be like this.

Not now.

Not this way.

I would rather Father strip the flesh off my body till I’m nothing but bones, torch every part of me, burn till I’m a pile of dust and ash, than let him lay a single finger on Brian.

Because Brian is everything.

He’s not just my son.

He’s my final checkmate.

My hidden piece. My queen on a board I’ve been keeping since the very moment I planned to grow those wings.

And if Father has him--

No. No, no, no.

I glanced into the rearview.

Kain’s face was pressed to the window, fists clenched, jaw locked because I know too damn well that If I lose Brian now... I’ll lose Kain too.

And I can’t afford to lose either.