Song of Dragons The Complete Trilogy - By Daniel Arenson Page 0,300

from Requiem's fallen columns. Kyrie had carved text upon it.

Queen Lacrimosa

and her sleeping child

lights of Requiem

our guiding stars

Now tears did sting Gloriae's eyes. She thought of this unborn child, the sister or brother she would never know.

"He would have been a great son of Requiem," she whispered. "I would have taught him. But he would not have been a warrior. He would not kill like I have killed. He would have been a ruler of peace. I would have loved him."

Agnus Dei approached her, and placed her arms around her, and leaned her head against Gloriae's shoulder. Gloriae held her sister, lowered her eyes, and found tears streaming down to her lips.

"I'm glad I have you, sister," Agnus Dei whispered. "I love you."

Gloriae's tears fell, and she held her sister tight. "I love you too," she whispered.

The others joined their embrace. Terra, Memoria, and Kyrie. Young, brave, foolish Kyrie, the boy who had grown up in fire, the warrior whose promise whispered within her. She looked at him over Agnus Dei's shoulder, and he met her eyes.

They flew over Requiem. Five dragons, streaming over ruins and snow. The last of their kind, diving through the clouds, roaring their fire. The wind filled Gloriae's nostrils, streamed under her wings, and stung her eyes. She blew flame and flew, like she would fly on Aquila, and she roared for her new home.

This is my home now, Gloriae thought. She who had lived in palaces, who wore gold and samite, who killed for light and glory... she lived now among ruins and whispers, but this was her home. This is who I am. This is where I find my strength.

No bones remained here. They had buried and burned the slain mimics and Earthen. The living beasts had fled with the death of their master; Silva and his men still hunted them. For this day, peace had come to Requiem. Only ruins. Graves. Wind rustling the last snow. Gloriae roared her fire.

She found herself flying to King's Forest. Memories would always haunt this place, but Gloriae would not avoid them. She had seen horror there, and anguish like she'd never known... but there too pulsed the heart of Requiem, and she flew toward it through her fire and the icy wind. The others flew around her. We are a new herd, like the herds of old.

She landed by King's Column. Even in dragon form, she felt dwarfed by this column; it towered above her. The other dragons landed around her, their claws silent in the snow.

Gloriae shifted into human form, drew her sword, and place its tip on the earth. She knelt before the column, and she prayed.

"Draco stars," she whispered. "I have never prayed to you before. But I beg that you hear my words now. I am Gloriae, daughter of Benedictus and Lacrimosa, a warrior of Requiem. Let me serve you now. Let me defend you with sword, claw, fang, and fire."

The others knelt around her and whispered their own prayers. For Requiem. For their constellation. For the memory of the dead and their souls in starlit halls.

Gloriae closed her eyes and lowered her head. "And for you, Father and Mother. For you, the brother or sister I never knew. I will restore this land for your memory. I swear this to you. I love you always."

When she rose to her feet, she found the others looking at her strangely, their eyes soft.

"It is time," Memoria whispered and smiled sadly.

Kyrie nodded. "It is time," he agreed.

Gloriae frowned. She looked from them to Terra and to her sister. They stared back, solemn.

"It is time," Agnus Dei whispered.

"For what, sister?" Gloriae asked, sword still drawn. "Tell me."

Agnus Dei approached her, smiling sadly, her eyes soft. She placed her hand on Gloriae's shoulder.

"It is time that we crown a new queen of Requiem."

Gloriae couldn't help it. She laughed. "Sister, I... do you mean to crown me?"

She nodded. "You were born before me, Gloriae. Only a few minutes before me, but you are still the rightful heir."

Gloriae laughed again, though her eyes stung. She looked at the others, one by one, but they all stared back solemnly. She shook her head in bewilderment.

"My friends... the Oak Throne is burned. It burned years ago. Our halls are shattered."

Kyrie shook his head. "King's Column still stands. We stand in the hall of Requiem's kings, as many generations have stood before us."

Gloriae swept her arm around her. "I see ruins. Only five of us remain. Would I rule over