Chapter 34
Lorali
T he way Eldric paled made her mind go silent. There was no escape for them now that he was here. The flicker of his eyes toward her made Lorali's heart squeeze, and she wanted to run to him. But she was trapped, caught in the binds of Sage's magic. They bid her to stand as they neared and that restraining light pulled her upright, placing her feet firmly on the ground. She lifted her chin in defiance.
"Get it over with." Her throat burned as she forced the words out through gritted teeth. She would not die voiceless. She would not go quietly.
The archcleric turned to her, a sympathetic smile upon their face.
"Soon, Lorali," they promised, fingers brushing strands of loose hair away from her face. "All will be as it should be. "
The archcleric's magic guided her steps beneath the skylight filled with twilight stars, that precious time where the moon and sun were in harmony.
"I'm sorry," she said as she stood before Eldric, each word a scorching coal in her throat. The ones she could not speak sat like a weight in her chest.
I’m sorry I ran and didn’t stop to listen. I'm sorry I didn’t trust you.
She wanted nothing more than to reach out, to touch him. Memorize the feel of him beneath her palm and know the depths of his soul. Lorali struggled against Sage's magic, but it was no use. So she did the only thing she could: she drank in the sight of him. If these were to be their last moments together, she would memorize him. No matter his unkempt hair or weeks of thick stubble that lined his jaw. Hold him in her heart until the bitter end.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Lor." Eldric's hands came to the sides of her face, sinking into her hair and pulling her forehead to his lips, whispering against her skin. "It'll be okay. I promise."
"Not afraid," she whispered, looking up at him. The words came easier this time, the magic's grip loosening as the archcleric's concentration was pulled by something else. "To die at your side."
The knot in his throat bobbed, eyes shining with unshed tears.
"You will not die today."
There was an unmistakable sadness in his words, as if their fates were no longer intertwined. Her eyes were drawn to the flowing white robes of Sage, who meticulously poured a thick circle of salt around them, creating a protective barrier.
"What are—" Eldric's hands caught her cheeks before she could turn away.
"Don't—just—just let me look at you. One last time," he was pleading, and she couldn't help but shake her head.
"What did you do?" she whispered, desperate as she looked into his eyes, bright as the summer clovers in Juelton.
"There is a way to break the bond. To save you. You'll be okay. I promise." His voice cracked, thick and rough with tears that fell over his winter-paled cheeks.
"No—" Her lips parted, the strangled sound of her voice catching as the archcleric turned their attention back on her. She wanted to scream, to beg.
No, he could not leave her. Not when they had finally found each other. When she finally understood what it meant to live.
"It' s time." Sage's voice carried throughout the empty temple hall. She could see the archcleric standing at the edge of the circle from the corner of her eye, waiting with a pitying look upon their face. "It is for the best, Lorali."
Her eyes snapped back to Eldric—her bonded, her friend—as his hand slid from her cheek, down her waist, and unsheathed the dagger at her side. With a tender touch, he lifted her fair-freckled palm skyward, the same way it had been on the grey day they met. He pressed the blade into her skin, and let ruby blood spill across the dark spiraling ink of their bond.
She reveled in the blessed pain they shared as his calloused palm squeezed her own. As their blood mingled for the last time, a final reminder that they lived, their fates sealed by the archcleric's invocation of Athanasios plunging them into a never-ending abyss.
***
Lorali braced herself for the biting cold of Athanasios' realm, the feeling of ice-flooded veins that seeped down into her very soul—but it never came. She felt the weight of Sage's magic on her physical body, but here she felt the call and pull of her own magic once more. Eyes blinking open, she peered into what should have been a starless void to find a twinkling twilight. Her brows furrowed as she looked about the aether realm. There was no god, no dark throne. Only she and Eldric stood on a mirror-like surface that rippled beneath their feet with hands intertwined in a realm equally balanced on the blade of night and day.
Lorali's mind raced, attempting to make sense of the realm of deep purples and blues mixed with fading yellows and burning reds that clashed like the edges of sunset. Sage did not make mistakes—if they meant to send them to Athanasios, it would be done. But neither the dark night of Athanasios, nor the bright sun of Ostara, greeted them. Instead, they were somewhere in between. Light and dark in equal parts. Balanced, as they were each equinox. With a gasp, she realized they stood in the seamlessly blended realms of the god and goddess.
Eldric , she whispered, soul to soul, squeezing his hand tight. His eyes, lined with silver tears, fluttered open at last. She watched as he took in their surroundings as she had, searching for the dark god, to no avail.
Where is he? Eldric's grip tightened on her hand.
I don't know, Lorali admitted as she looked at him with unwavering determination. But we are not breaking the bond.
Don't make me fail you again. Let me set things right. His voice was pleading. She felt his anguish, his grief. How much he loathed himself for things beyond his control .
You aren't sacrificing yourself. Whatever happens, we will face it together, she promised, placing a hand over his heart.
There is no way out, Lorali. Her name was a plea on his lips. This is it. Let me save you.
You don't get to break our bond on your own. I came here to free you, and I will. We'll get out of this—find somewhere that no one knows us. Take new names, start new lives. Together. Lorali's heart raced as she uttered it, sounding more confident than she felt. With everything reduced to ash, she needed to pause and reassess her plans, to rethink their next steps. As long as they were here, together, there was time. She cradled his face, brushing away his tears. The touch of her hand caused his eyes to fill with a bittersweet blend of hope and desperation that melted her heart. His voice was low as he covered her hand with his own, nodding in agreement. Sealing their promise with one word.
Together .
With the realm slipping into night, they joined forces, their minds racing with ideas on how to flee from their captor. To take back the circlet the archcleric had stolen and make it out in one piece. Despite the impossible odds, they stood together with hope coursing through their veins and tried to prepare as the darkening realm seemed to flicker around them.
With the disappearance of the last ray of sunlight beneath the mirrored horizon, a rush of cool night air filled the space. They both felt the overwhelming, suffocating presence making it hard to breathe—and they knew. The dark void, like a tangible force, curled at Athanasios' heels as he stalked towards them. Gone was the gentle god who dried her tears—in his place stood fury given form. Eldric's grip on her tightened.
Lord Athanasios , she began as he neared, stepping in front of Eldric as if she could somehow protect him from the oncoming storm. Without words, the god flicked his wrist and Lorali felt Eldric's form vanish beneath her fingertips. Her eyes widened as she looked back to where he’d stood with her to find herself alone, and the bond inked within her skin burned away with searing pain. She couldn't catch her breath or even blink, as a scream lodged itself in her throat.
Gone.
He was gone, just like that.
In an instant, her entire world vanished as if it had never existed. Within a heartbeat, the god of the void materialized before her, his eyes fixed on the lone star twinkling in his desolate realm. Her every instinct screamed at her to run as his night-cold voice seeped into her veins like frost on a winter night.
It was with sudden, crashing clarity that she realized the god had only called her by the epithet bestowed during their first encounter, never uttering her name.
Until now.