76. Aedon
76
AEDON
“ G o!” Aedon urged Brand, who thundered up the stairs with Erika dangling in his arms, even as the remainder of the staircase shuddered beneath them, threatening to tumble them into the void.
Dimitrius stood before Aedon, blocking the way, with a hand raised to his chest. “Get out now, before it’s too late. Take whoever you can with you. Warn the dwarven king. Do not return to Afnirheim. It is lost. Do you hear me?” He bent close, searching Aedon’s gaze—breaching the distrust and hate Aedon lathered upon him. Aedon, taken aback by his vehement sincerity, nodded, speechless. “Tell them to make the rest of their kingdom strong. The pascha will come, and Saradon will aid him to take all of Valtivar. That is what will come to pass.” He said it with such terrible certainty that it shook Aedon to his core.
“How do I know you speak the truth?”
Dimitrius shook his head, glaring at Aedon. “Do you not see?” He held his arms wide, gesturing around. “For fuck’s sake, Aedon. This is about so much more than you or I now. Forget your petty hate. There is a world at stake. There is but the slimmest chance to stop him, if only we can figure it out. You managed to get the Dragonhearts once. Now we need them again. Erendriel herself calls Harper to a higher cause. This is greater than any of us. You must do what you can to help her stop him.”
The staircase rumbled beneath them. Dimitrius grabbed Aedon by the arm, wrenching them both up the stairs as fast as they could go just as the rest crumbled into nothingness behind and beneath them. Dimitrius thrust them into the ether as the last of the bridge disappeared before they could reach safety, and Aedon’s yelp was cut off as they reappeared, tumbling to the ground at the top of what was now a cliff before a yawning void in the mountain.
“H-How?” Aedon stammered, his face paling.
“There’s no time. Go, now . Remember my warning. Swear you will pass it on. No more must die needlessly.”
Aedon grabbed the front of Dimitrius’s shirt, yanking him close as he took one last look at the broken mountain. “I will swear it only if you promise to keep her safe. Swear on your blood, your magic, your life that you will keep Harper from harm until we come for her.”
Dimitrius met his hard gaze with a surprisingly sincere one. “I swear it once. I swear it twice. I swear it thrice,” he said quietly. A slight breeze arose as the rush of magic swept around them, a bond of their word. For a moment, understanding passed between them.
What is he playing at? Aedon wondered, not for the first time. For without Dimitrius, they would all have been dead. The mountain rumbled behind them with ominous warning. Aedon released his shirt just as Dimitrius pushed him away.
“I will see you soon.” Dimitrius’s words were a promise as he disappeared into the ether once more. With a last look at the dark mountain that seemed to shake with its own anger, Aedon turned and fled, following his friends from the bowels of the earth into the welcome touch of light and air.