"Putting the safety of your people over yourself is a good start," she told him. "Running into a situation as precarious as this one and thinking of the world first is another.”
He paused, sighing, as he looked at her. "I'm not a hero."
"You're not," she agreed. "Because I know your mind is clouded by the things you would do to make sure the people you love are taken care of first."
"People keep saying that as though they think it should change," he uttered.
"I know you still have a long way to go before others bow at your feet. But... I want to be at your side when they do. I know you'll earn their respect as you have earned mine."
"He'll never let you call him anything else now," Corbin said from the entrance.
Reverie almost smiled, but she didn't turn to look at the Belwark. "I know," she called back to him. "I've just dug myself into a hole he'll forever use against me." Her widened eyes squinted at Dorian’s silence then, and she frowned. "Architects, I think I broke him."
"I'm inclined to agree," Corbin replied upon slipping into the cavern again. "Alright, Prince?"
Dorian snapped out of his daze with a blink and rub over his face. He wasn't sure what to say. His stomach twisted like someone was wringing it free of its contents. Because all he could see was all the things he would do if it did come down to his loved ones or the world.
And he would let this whole world burn before he lost anyone else.
"Hey, Bin," Dorian called out as he lifted his gaze.
"Yes, Prince?" Corbin paused.
"Come inside and get warm." He stood from the ground then, balance wavering, but he caught himself on the wall. "I'll watch outside the rest of the night."
Reverie's hand was on him the moment he stumbled. "You're too weak to be out there—“
"I'm fine," he said sternly. "Neither of you have fire. It should be me outside, not you."
"Prince—“
"Come get warm," Dorian affirmed as he finally met Corbin's eyes. "It is not a choice I am giving you."
He didn't wait on a response from them before he strode outside into the snows. The Dead Moons were nearly there. Just two nights more. He pushed his hands over his face as he sat on the edge of the walk, his feet dangling down. For the first time in a few weeks, the sky was clear. The twinkle of the stars staring back made his chest hurt, and his mind swam of all the thoughts he didn't know how to sort.
He needed Nyssa.
It hit him then how much he'd been holding in. How much he needed to talk to her to walk through everything he was feeling. Now that he'd secured aid, the war was one step closer to him. With Reverie calling him King, it seemed to solidify in his chest that this was real. That people would one day look to him for answers he didn't know how to provide. He wasn't sure he'd ever truly considered the weight of it. The dealing with the Infi the next day would be his first true challenge at keeping the world that had betrayed him from ruin. His first official task at keeping Haerland and her people safe.
There was a constant battle in his mind of whether or not he should actually save it.
In the eyes of their people, Rhaif had been a hero. He'd put the safety of their world before Aydra, foolishly thinking a child born of she and the Venari King would have destroyed everything. Even though such a child and partnership would have brought—and did bring—all their races together.
Perhaps that was what scared him anytime someone mentioned the word 'hero.' Because Rhaif was a hero and a King to his people. Because they didn't know any better. Because they believed the lies despite how great of a queen Aydra had been to them. Protecting them even without her crown and loving them when they didn't love her.
Up until the very end.
How was he ever supposed to get the people to see otherwise?
Protecting them despite whatever lies they believed, he knew, was his duty. He knew it was what he was supposed to do. But until he could bring to light the evils of his own home, he would focus on helping Bala and Nadir keep their people safe. They were his priority. Not his own crown, but rather their's.
Until keeping the world safe meant abandoning his loved ones, he would do it. He would put the people of Haerland first. He would keep them from starvation and slavery.
Even if it meant destroying everything to keep them from succumbing to such a fate.
Dorian pushed that darkened thought to the very back of his mind. He shuddered to think such of one would ever come to fruition, but if it did--
His hands pushed over his face, snow melting on his skin as he forced himself to think of better things. Less world-condemning things.
