him.
Terra fell to the floor. He looked up and saw Memoria slashing the giant's face. She was like a raven attacking a bear. Her fangs and claws dug into the giant's eyes, nose, mouth. The king howled and swiped at her. Blood covered her scales; she was more red than green.
Up. Up! Fly, dragons of Requiem!
Howling, Terra pushed himself to his feet. His chest blazed. It felt like knives were digging inside him. He flapped his wings and soared.
He slammed into the giant, clawing. One claw caught the giant's slobbery lip, and tugged, and tore. Blood showered.
"It won't die!" Memoria shouted.
"It will! Bring it down!"
The king's hands thrashed. One fist hit Memoria. She cried and fell back. Another fist thudded into Terra's side, but he ignored the pain. For an instant, he saw the king's face. There was barely anything left; his head was a mess of blood and burned flesh. Disgust filled Terra. He flew, spun, and lashed his tail.
His tail's spikes drove into what had been the giant's head. One pushed through the ear, deep into the brain.
The king howled.
Terra pulled back. Memoria flew beside him. They hovered, panting, staring.
The Giant King swung his arms uselessly. He mewled. Mucus and blood flowed down him. He took one step toward them, knees shaky. He took a second step... and faltered. His knees hit the fortress roof, shaking the structure. He reached out feebly, swinging his hands as if swatting flies.
"Let's put him out of his misery," Terra said.
He flew to the giant's right. Memoria flew to his left. They clawed, lacerating the giant's neck.
The Giant King gave one last, gurgling yowl. He clutched his face and mewled like a demonic baby.
Then he fell.
He hit the fortress, cracking the stone. He kicked his legs, then lay still.
Terra collapsed beside the body. Breathing hurt. Memoria landed beside him and nudged him.
"More giants are climbing the walls," she said. "Let's grab Adoria's Hands and get out of here."
Terra nodded and grunted. He limped toward the dead Giant King. The body lay facedown, hiding Adoria's Hands beneath it. Terra shoved the body, but it felt like shoving a mountain.
"Come on!" Memoria shouted, shoving with him.
Giants howled behind them.
Boulders came flying.
Terra and Memoria leaped aside. The boulders hit the Giant King, shoving the body several feet back.
Terra roared fire. The flames shot across the fortress and hit a dozen giants. Memoria blew fire behind him, burning more giants. More boulders flew. The two dragons scattered, and the boulders hit the dead king again.
"Terra, the hands!" Memoria shouted.
The boulders had shoved the king, revealing Adoria's fingertips. The king's body still buried the palms.
"Hold them back!" he shouted to his sister.
Memoria nodded and flew in circles, blowing fire at the climbing giants. Flaming rocks flew around her. Terra shoved the giant's body, pushing with his feet. He howled with the pain. The body barely moved.
"Hurry, Terra, more are climbing!"
Terra grunted, shoving, driving forward. White pain blinded him. He shouted... and the body moved a foot. Terra reached down, snapped the chain, and tugged it. The hands came free.
"I've got them!" he called hoarsely. "Fly!"
Clutching the hands, he flapped his wings, shooting straight up. Memoria flew beside him, eyes narrowed, blood trickling. Boulders blazed around them like flaming comets.
In his mind, Terra saw the flaming arrows, the hordes of griffins, the fire upon Requiem. He saw their old home: the mosaic floor, the balcony in sunrise, the vineyard at sunset, the garden where he'd play with Memoria and Kyrie.
"I never left you," Terra whispered as he flew. His eyes stung. "You're still with me, Requiem. Now. Always."
If Memoria heard him, she said nothing, but she gave him a sad smile.
They flew from the Jet Mountains. They flew over plains of ice and snow. They flew over this land of exile, this frozen world where they hid from fire and pain. Blood had spilled here today, and fire burned, and for the first time in years, Terra felt the ice inside him melt.
I remember. I was a soldier. I was a brother. I am that man still.
He looked at Memoria, his little sister, the person he'd stayed alive for. He nodded at her.
"It's time to go home."
GLORIAE
She knew this place. She had hunted here. She had burned here. She had shed her mother's blood here and nearly killed her father.
Hostias. Once a shadowy, ancient forest. Today it was a land of burned trees and memories of war.
I rode my griffin Aquila over these woods, she remembered, cutting the