Queens Of Light And Darkness #3
He chanced looking over at her face. He needed to see her eyes.
He was certain he would recognize if she was lying to him.
She’d done it often enough that he could recognize it now.
But her expression was taut with terror.
Her red eyes flickered along the unending length of the Leviathan.
Was it one creature or many? One. One. ONE.
It had snuck up on them. How? Where had it been hiding?
But there it was. Huge and unyielding and… and…
“Are you telling me the truth?” he asked.
Her lips parted and her eyes darted to him. Pain lanced through her expression. He’d hurt her. Not intentionally. But because she realized that he had a reason to doubt her. She’d lied to him all his life until recently.
“Yes,” she insisted. “But I need to buy us time to get away. And I want you to get a head start. My legs are longer. I’m faster. I need you to keep up.”
If Vulre had said this, he would have taken it as a challenge. But his mother was merely telling him facts. He was shorter than her. She was faster. So it made sense.
“But what will stop it–”
“Nothing will that we can do. Rahven, your father’s city is the only thing that can protect us,” she insisted, truth imprinted on every word. “I need you to obey me. If you love me, you will do this!”
He gave a jerky nod after a long moment.
She closed her eyes and he heard her whisper a prayer that he’d never heard before, “Let the Last Light guide you, Rahven. Now… go!”
He spun on his heel and began to run to purple-towered Illithor that rose up like the magical, glowing kingdom it was beyond the magma waterfalls. His heart had stopped the first time he had seen its crimson-walled majesty.
Home, the voice that had always been with him murmured.
Home, he’d agreed.
And now it was going to protect them against the monster.
He flew over the ground. His feet barely touched stone.
He felt the magic inside of him pour out from his chest and reach the soles of his feet and the top of his head.
It made him nearly weightless. He effortlessly leaped over the magma river that he’d needed Ashryn’s help to cross before.
He let out a whoop of triumph as he landed.
Only then did he glance over his shoulder to look for his mother.
He wanted to see her face–to witness her pride–at what he had just accomplished.
Every day he was getting more powerful. The magic which had eluded him all his life was emerging in new and unexpected ways.
It felt like his birthright now. To wield the Void.
To be the Void. He couldn’t wait to know what she thought.
Even if it was a brief, momentary flicker of a smile.
After all, they were running for their lives.
But they would be safe momentarily. In his father’s city.
Despite what his mother said, the fact that they would be safe there, made him wonder if Vex would truly hate him so.
But his mother was not right beside him.
She wasn’t at the other side of the magma river either, waiting to leap across to join him.
She hadn’t moved from where he’d last seen her.
She had both hands–limned in gold–thrust out towards the creature, holding it back–just barely–as he had run. But still it pressed towards her. Her feet were skidding along the ground as the creature inexorably pushed forward. Her shield was starting to crack and fail.
“Mother…” he breathed as he too, skidded to a halt and started to turn around.
“No, Rahven!” Ashryn called over her shoulder in a desperate, pained cry. “KEEP RUNNING!”
“Mother…” Declan started to run back. “Mother, I’m coming! Hold on!”
“NO!” she shouted.
But he did not listen. “I’m coming!”
The top of his mother’s shield failed. The coils broke through the shattering motes of light and were about to engulf her.
She held up another hand. A shield of gold rippled over her head just in time.
But not before one of the coils brushed her bare shoulder.
She let out a shriek as her skin blackened and smoked.
“MOTHER!”
“Rahven, get–get to–to the city! I–I… I love you,” she said and, even at that distance, he saw her smile. “I love you forever.” Then she turned her head to face the monster before her and with a voice that held no fear, she yelled, “IEFYR!”
And the world exploded with light.
Declan wasn’t sure when the music had stopped. The last notes hung in the air like frost. His eyes were still closed. The stage lights were so bright. So awfully bright. Just like Ashryn’s final spell to save him from the monstrous Leviathan.
A shadow passed in front of the stage lights and a cool hand was suddenly on his cheek, turning his head to the side. Declan’s eyes fluttered open. His father was right there. His hand was on Declan’s cheek. He lifted the other and cupped Declan’s face.
His expression wasn’t empty any more. It was… open.
Surprise. Tentative joy. And… love. The beginnings of love.
Slowly, Vex lowered his head so that their foreheads were pressed together.
His father then murmured, “A gift. That’s what you are, Rahven. A gods’ damned gift.”