A Night of Dragon Wings - By Daniel Arenson Page 0,121
from bones. The prophet howled, voice rising into a storm, so loud and shrill the sound cracked another column. Then the vermin grabbed Legion's jaw, ripped it free, and burrowed into his head. Soon they were feasting upon his eyes and maggoty brain. Legion's flaming halo gave a last crackle and guttered away.
Fly, Lyana, Elethor thought. Fly far and never return.
Rocks slammed against him. A column crashed and hit his tail. The walls crumbled, falling and burying the vermin beneath them. A blast shook the chamber and fire blazed outside. Another blast shook the palace, and Elethor realized: The hoards of Tiran fire were bursting.
A final crack raced along the ceiling, and the chamber collapsed.
Rocks slammed into Elethor and he fell. Bricks pummeled him. Dust blinded him. Only the Memory Pool remained standing now; the palace crumbled around it. Blinded and roaring with pain, Elethor crashed into the pool.
He slammed against the floor of his old home in Requiem.
Silence rang in his ears.
The fire, the screeches, the crumbling of columns—all was gone.
Here, he heard nothing but a breeze in the birches outside, the song of birds, and the flap of distant dragon wings.
A moan sounded behind him.
Elethor pushed himself onto his elbows and turned to see Solina on the floor. A great chunk of column pinned her down. Her blood seeped from beneath it.
"El," she whispered. Blood stained her lips. "El… will you hold my hand? For the end?"
She reached out a trembling, bloodied hand.
A boulder crashed through the ceiling and landed beside Elethor. It cracked the floor, shattered his bed, and knocked him down.
He lay beside Solina, and bricks rained onto him, falling through the ceiling of his home. Fire blazed above.
"El," she whispered. "Hold my hand. Please."
She reached out, grasped his hand, and held it tight.
"I love you, Elethor," she said. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for how much I hurt you. All I wanted was to be with you here. I'm sorry."
Rocks rained. His home trembled. A column tore through a wall, and his shelf of books and statuettes crashed down. His marble statues fell and cracked. The wooden turtle shattered.
He tore his hand free from Solina's.
He crawled toward the fallen wall. A brick slammed onto his back. He dragged himself over the debris and outside onto the hill.
He crawled a few more feet until he lay in spring grass. Birches rustled at his sides, and the city of Nova Vita rolled below him, towers and roofs emerging from a verdant forest. White clouds glided above, and the dragons flew, shimmering bright under the blue sky.
It is a beautiful place, Elethor thought and smiled softly. It is home. It is the best memory of my life. It is a good place to die.
Chunks of column, wall, and ceiling fell from the sky and crashed into the forest. Elethor lay back in the sunlight, took slow breaths, and let his hands play with the grass. Above him in the spring morning, the sky fell.
LYANA
She hovered outside above the desert, watching the Palace of Whispers crumble.
Blasts of Tiran fire sounded across it. Lights flared. The towers upon the mountaintop crumbled first, raining dust and bricks upon the walls below, and then those walls too fell, and soon all the bridges, archways, and pathways of this ancient edifice collapsed. Dust rose in a cloud and rolled across the desert. Some nephilim tried to escape. They burst from the ruins, only to have boulders, fire, and crumbling towers crash against them and bury them upon the mountainsides. Griffins fled shrieking.
Nothing will escape, Lyana thought. All that lives there dies.
She watched, eyes damp, wings flapping as she hovered before the ruin.
"Elethor," she whispered.
Love of my heart. Light of my life. My husband. My king. Goodbye, Elethor. You fly now to your brother and parents. You will dine at their side among the glittering columns.
She let out a sob.
"And watch over me, El. Watch over me from the stars, for I'm afraid and alone."
Wings thudded behind her. Snorts rang through the air. Lyana turned to see Bayrin and Mori flying over the mountains from the east. They were ragged, scales stained with ash and blood, and they panted as they flew. When they reached Lyana, they hovered at her sides. They gaped at the crumbling palace, tongues lolling.
"Bloody stars!" Bayrin said and spat flame. "We heard you were captured and chased you for three days, Lyana. What the Abyss is that?" He gave her a sidelong glance. "Did you blow up that mountain?"