Page 100 of Kiss of Magic

“Tala’s checking in every fifteen minutes. She’s fine.”

Darian’s expression didn’t change but he felt a weight lift.

“Shade? Salaq?”

Kam shook his head.

“The last communication I had from them was hours ago. They were holding on, but only just.”

“And Raya?”

“She’s still healing but I think she’ll be okay.”

“Thank the gods for one small mercy at least.” Darian paused. “I’m sorry, your Majesty.”

Kam looked at him, surprised.

“What for?”

“For not being more helpful. My weapons… they work, but they’re too unwieldy. I should have made them lighter, I should have…”

“Count Lemar.” Kam’s voice was sharp. “Without those weapons we would already be annihilated. Your technology has bought us time.”

“And what fucking good is that if the eventual outcome is the same?”

“More time means more hope. And hope is all the people have right now.”

“You know as well as I do there’s no saving us now. It’s too late to use the key. The seal is gone.”

Kam didn’t answer. The weight of the Empire lay heavily on his shoulders. Five thousand years of glorious rule under the Elhinn, and it was onhiswatch that Nush’aldaam would fall. The guilt was crushing him.

“Can you hold the fort?” he asked Darian. “I need some air.”

Without waiting for an answer, he unfurled his wings and took to the skies.

The landscape beneath him was a dystopian nightmare. Where once the city had sparkled like a prize gem, now it was crushed and broken. Bodies still lay in the streets. There had been no time and no personnel to collect them and give them a dignified burial.

Sick to the heart, he alighted at what was left of the Gilded Palace. The demons had torn through it, leaving very little of it intact.

He picked his way through the shattered walls, the crumbled stones still adorned with ancient symbols. The calligraphic script which had once gleamed brightly was now dull and lifeless.

We thought we were protected,he thought.But it was just an illusion..

He was so deep in contemplation that he almost walked into the figure standing quietly among the rubble. He pulled up short.

The stranger was golden-haired and tall, with eyes the colour of honey. He was wearing a simple white robe and a smile so radiant that Kam almost began to smile back before remembering himself. He formed a blade with his light magic, holding it lightly but meaningfully.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?”

The man let his eyes travel over Kam.

“You are Elhinn. Chosen to rule,” he said conversationally.

“I am the Emperor, to be precise. Now answer my question.”

“Which one? You asked two.”

Kam bit back his irritation.

---