history, I'd put my own life on the line to make sure that others got their chance at a better future, much like I and my people before them. My path had crossed Vesta’s along the way, and nothing was ever the same after that. Our Stravian mission had brought us close, tying our life threads together, and only death could tear us apart.
I'd found love and comfort in her arms. Bliss and sweetness in her smile. Energy and humor in her mind. The four elements had made her a noteworthy fighter, and, by the stars, Vesta had everything a creature like me could ever wish for. The strength of her character amazed me, even now.
But death was coming for us all, and I doubted anything could be done about it. The one thing that could break us had finally arrived, so bright and beautiful that it caused conflicts in my emotions. On one hand, I wanted to run and hide, overcome with crippling dread. On the other hand, however, I had to keep looking, to understand this cosmic beauty and the destruction it was about to unleash.
My ears were ringing.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I knelt on the ground, the light growing brighter from within the sanctuary. My lips moved, aching to say her name, over and over again. My resolve wormed its way to the surface, eventually. If I was to die, I would do so while looking up at my beloved Vesta, my warrior fae.
I would look death in the eyes.
"I love you," I whispered, expecting devastation to erupt from the sanctuary at any second. Holding my breath, I thought of the first moment I'd met Vesta, and the eyebrow she'd raised at me, as if saying, "Who the hell is this guy?" in her typical, off-the-cuff manner. I remembered her pale blonde hair, the caramel tan of her soft skin… the sound of her voice, and the way she tilted her head back whenever she laughed. I loved it. It had been music to my ears.
What I wouldn't have given to hear it again.
A loud boom thundered above, and I sank my hands into the dried-up dirt, bracing myself for the killer wave. It was coming. I could feel it. The ritual had been unleashed, and this was it… that final moment. That fabled last breath.
I would've liked to see the lagoon again. To bask in the sun and bathe in its crystalline waters. To shift into my Tritone form and swim for days on end, up and down the sandy western coastline, from White City all the way down to the Dorasor Mountains, where the River Pyros originated, with its hot springs and lush jungles.
There was no time left for that. It would've been nice.
A few minutes passed, while I waited to die.
It took me a while before I began to wonder what was taking so long. Not that I'd gotten in any way accustomed to the idea of dying—not at all. But prolonging the inevitable irked me more than the concept of dying. The Hermessi had already taken everything I treasured most. They might as well hurry up and take my damn life, too.
But nothing happened.
Instead, the ringing in my ears died down. The bright light faded, and silence settled over the realm in a most peculiar fashion. Could this be the calm before the storm? It didn't feel like that.
The air was breathable again. There was no weight crushing me. No sense of doom.
Looking up, I could see the sanctuary again. The sky was clear, and its glow had vanished altogether. The building hovered, but barely. It wobbled. I heard the tinkling of glass inside, the steel beams of its structure moaning. From all the jostling, remaining bits of dirt clumped to the bottom began to fall off.
One of them landed on my head, and I cursed from the sudden jolt of pain it sent through my skull. This didn't make sense.
Suddenly, the sanctuary came down in all its glory, and I scrambled backward as far away from its landing point as I could at such short notice. It hit the ground hard, with a spine-tingling thud. The marble cracked here and there along its core beams and around the already-broken windows.
The thud reverberated across the surrounding land, as if a Deargh had suddenly fallen from the sky. Chills rushed through me as I tried to make sense of what was happening. There was no one else around, no one to ask