42. Callum
CALLUM
Raelyna was safe.
She was alive.
And she was safe.
The words repeated in my mind like a mantra as I flew away from my starbound, heading directly toward the center of what remained of Solis Quarter.
Toward the Temple District.
I’d made sure that she was safely surrounded by members of the Guild before I’d felt comfortable leaving her by the edge of The Rift to finish the mission.
My wings beat against the summer winds as I tore through the air, dodging the remaining RSG that flew through the sky, weapons in hand.
On either side, I was flanked by Axel and Eleana as we cut toward the very center of Solis.
We passed over rubble and destruction, skyscrapers that had collapsed to the ground during the battle.
Cement slabs lay in broken pieces as the city continued to fall.
The sky was less chaotic, the remaining angels from Solis Quarter having dropped to the ground to continue fighting against Aurum.
Whether they knew their king had fallen or not, I was unsure.
But I’d guessed, from the declining numbers of RSG still standing, that their faith in their gods was diminishing.
As we flew, I spotted their false temples in the distance, the structures obliterated, lying in shambles as fires burned from the ground up, licking at what remained of the buildings.
I didn’t stop flying until the center of the Quarter was in sight, my wings slowing as I lowered closer to the ground.
The Temple District—or what remained of it—was covered in dust and building fragments.
I spotted a few remaining soldiers wearing Aurum colors fighting on the ground as we approached, and Eleana cast out her affinity, helping to finish off the remaining RSG that stood fighting against our men.
I landed with a thud, my wings retracting as I stood amidst what rubble remained of the Quarter, my eyes scanning our surroundings.
“Stars-damned,” Axel cursed beside me as we took in the utter havoc and destruction our men had laid across the Quarter.
There was nothing left—
The entire Quarter lay in shambles—buildings collapsing in on themselves even now. The Wall was entirely demolished by an act of Aeternus alone.
“You sure you’re up for this?” Eleana asked over the wind as we stared at the carnage before us.
“We’re running out of daylight,” I replied, my voice hollow as I stared at the sight before us, shaking my head. “Send the signal.”
Eleana and Axel nodded before Axel drew on his affinity, sending flares of water bursting through the Quarter. The water spiraled through the air, levitating high above the remaining skyscrapers as it signaled to our men to retreat—to fly back to the war camp and prepare to return to Aurum.
Shouts began to rise up throughout the city. We already knew the majority of the soldiers had begun retreating as the RSG numbers dwindled.
And now, the order had already been given to our soldiers—they were retreating to the war camp, leaving only those who followed Lucanus and his corruption behind.
So we waited . . . standing in the middle of the deserted Temple District, watching as wreckage continued to appear on the horizon, building after building succumbing to the destruction from the attacks.
The shouts began to dwindle, the RSG numbers falling with every minute that passed.
A buzz sounded from my side, and I turned, glancing toward Eleana as she studied the device in her hand.
“The orders are in,” she confirmed. “Our men have been evacuated. We’re cleared to make our move.”
My jaw clenched, fingers drumming against my combat pants as every muscle in my body tensed, preparing for what I was about to do.
No one spoke as we stared at what remained of Solis, watching how the Quarter continued to fall, even after its residents had succumbed to the darkness.
“It has to be done,” Axel emphasized as he stopped before me, clapping a hand on my shoulder.
“Aeternus himself has commanded it,” Eleana added as we stared out at the Quarter, watching the summer winds encourage the flames to grow higher. The Quarter was burning from the inside out as plumes of smoke coated the vicinity.
I nodded my head solemnly, feeling the weight of our actions weighing on my soul as I stared at the carnage.
“I know,” was all I responded before I began to draw deep within me. Saying a prayer to the Eternal, I began to call on my vitas affinity and brought it forth. I could feel the push and pull of overwhelming power . . . the ability to feel those around us as I called my affinity to the surface.
I knew this was what the Eternal had commanded—that we were to leave no one and nothing remaining in Solis Quarter. Not that those commands relieved the burden—the pressure—that fell upon us as we destroyed everything remaining in the Quarter.
There wasn’t much close to our vicinity.
The Temple District was already demolished—utterly destroyed.
No heartbeats or pulses were even detectable in the areas closest to where we stood.
As I pushed out my affinity even further, I began to pick up on the faint collections of weakened heartbeats, my affinity latching on to those it could feel.
I felt the weight of each heartbeat, of every pulse, as I pushed my vitas affinity over district after district, scanning .
. . hunting through the Quarter for any remaining signs of life.
For any angels still clinging to the corruption spread throughout Solis.
I kept pushing, casting my affinity out further and further, until I was certain I’d covered the entire expanse of Solis Quarter. I could already feel the toll on my body, my strength waning as I cast my affinity over such a large section, grasping any remaining pulses I could feel.
I felt far and wide, pushing my vitas affinity further than I ever had before.
I felt every lifeline, every corrupt heartbeat that still remained in Solis Quarter.
And with each heartbeat I felt, I grabbed hold, ensuring that there was no chance this darkness would spread further into Aurum .
. . That every citizen, every RSG, every corrupt angel in power in this Quarter was held firmly within the grasp of my affinity.
And once I was certain, beyond a shadow of doubt, that the only remaining angels standing were the two members of my Shade beside me . . . only then did I tighten my hold more firmly on the corruption.
I took a deep breath, feeling the pressure of my affinity bearing down on me, feeling the pull of its power, feeling the demand to tug . . . to end the corruption that had cast its shadow over Aurelia.
I released the breath slowly, before breathing in once more, closing my eyes as I concentrated on controlling the pull. And then I sent a prayer up to Aeternus, and I exhaled, yanking against my vitas affinity as I felt its pull ripple across Solis.
I felt it—the moment my affinity leashed out across the Quarter. The moment it rippled through the streets, cutting off everything in its grasp, leaving no one behind.
Every pulse stopped—cut off mid beat as I yanked my affinity back in a powerful rip.
Every enemy, every last thread of corruption, of darkness, met its end as I called my affinity back to me. I felt the brutal rush of power coursing through the Quarter as my vitas ensured every last tie to corruption fell.
My affinity came slamming back into me. The weight of casting my affinity so wide hit me in an onslaught of overpowering exhaustion as I sank to my knees in the dust and rubble.
It took everything in me not to collapse from the overwhelming force I’d cast through Solis.
Time itself seemed to stretch on, the summer winds battering against me as I hung my head, exhaustion and anguish coursing through me.
Axel and Eleana stepped beside me, each resting a head on my shoulder as my head lowered further, my fingers clutching the ground for stability, exhaustion seeping through every inch of me.
I could hear the winds howl throughout the streets, plumes of smoke clouding the skyline as flames crackled and burned.
No one spoke as we stayed there, an entire Quarter burning in sections around us. Moments stretched on in silence as flames began to crackle higher in the Quarter, buildings still collapsing around us.
Elion’s words ran through my mind as I lifted my head up, my lips forming into a tight line as I stared at the carnage before us.
Bodies lined the streets, blood spilling down the roads, lights flickering and combusting.
The summer sands whipped through the destruction, sand covering the streets as the suns began to lower in the distance.
It was time to finish this once and for all.
For Solis to fall in its entirety . . . never to be rebuilt again.
There was not a soul breathing, save us three.
You know what must be done.
Elion’s words rang through my mind again and again.
Burn it. Burn it all.
Burn it so that the darkness and corruption can spread no further.
Leave nothing and no one behind.
Burn it.
Burn it all.
I rose to my feet, turning toward Axel and Eleana as I gave a final nod.
It was time for us to finish what was commanded of us.
Axel moved first, casting out his elemental affinity throughout the Quarter as he called any form of water back toward him, drying out the destruction we stood on.
We watched as strands of water began to swirl on the ground, growing larger as he called all the water toward him, before directing it toward The Rift, casting it away.
Rivulets of water spiraled through the air as he continued sucking every last drop of liquid from the Quarter, ensuring that any flames that were cast had the maximum potential to spark fires across the Quarter.
I could tell the moment his affinity began to weaken, Axel’s hands trembling as he wielded his affinity. His movements grew shakier, and the water flowed more slowly throughout the Quarter as he pulled the last drops, leaving the Quarter drier than the desert sands.
I stepped forward next, Axel standing by my side as I then called on my fire affinity, bringing the flames to the surface. My limbs felt weak as fire flickered to life around me, my affinity weakened to a breaking point as I began to direct the power to flow from me.
I could feel the heat surrounding me as I began to direct my own affinity, casting it out throughout the shattered streets of Solis.
Guiding the flames through the Quarter, we watched as the fire began to lick at every available expanse of land, catching everything in flickering hues of oranges and blues.
Soon, the fire began to consume what was left of the Quarter, the crackling flames becoming a hungry roar.
The flames devoured everything in their sight, swallowing the Quarter.
Eleana stepped beside us then, calling upon her own elemental affinity as she began to shake the grounds beneath us throughout Solis.
Her earth affinity quaked through the open flames, trembling the grounds around us.
Buildings and structures—all that was remaining—began to collapse as she wielded her earth affinity, falling into crumbles as the fires began to rise . . . and rise.
We stood there, the three of us, in the midst of destruction and wreckage, alone in the Temple District, watching as the Quarter burned. Watching as our three elemental affinities, one of each elemental gifted from Aeternus, began to strip Solis so that there was nothing left—no one left.
When the fires began to chase toward us, their flames licking at our position, only then did we finally begin to pull on our wings, taking flight as we rose above the remains of Solis Quarter.
We hovered high above the destruction, watching as the last of the Quarter fell to the fires .
. . as what remained of Solis Quarter, of The Wall, fell once and for all.
Only when the last of the Quarter went up in flames, the fire destroying every last inch of Solis, did we finally begin to fly away, leaving the darkness and corruption behind as we headed toward the desert dunes.
We flew away, leaving nothing but ashes and dust in our wake as we made our way back toward the camp—toward Aurum Quarter. Toward the light, and away from Solis . . . from a fallen city of corruption and darkness.