Page 78 of Sins of His Wrath

They walked together toward a half-collapsed building with a curved dome, perhaps once a communal hall. Inside, strange rippled patterns distorted the stone walls—not carvings, but actual waves in the material itself, as though the rock had briefly become fluid.

"Did magic cause this?" Naya asked, running her fingers along one of the warped surfaces.

Akoro watched her, his expression unreadable. "Yes. Can you sense it?"

She shook her head. “I can’t feel any magic nearby.”

“Good,” Akoro muttered. “Things have improved since then obviously.”

"What happened to the other families? The Vos and Qor?"

"Wiped out almost entirely." His jaw tightened, a muscle flicking beneath his skin. "Those who weren't killed in the initial disaster fled. Their bloodlines scattered to the edges of the region, their wealth gone."

Naya turned in a slow circle, taking in the devastation that surrounded them. "And the Sy?"

"Survived, but barely. They lost nearly everything—their wealth, their status, their control." Akoro led her to a fallen pillar that provided a makeshift seat and gestured for her sit. From a pouch at his belt, he withdrew a bundle wrapped in waxed cloth. "They refused to accept responsibility for what they'd done."

He unwrapped the bundle, revealing flatbread, dried fruits, and what appeared to be some kind of cured meat. "Eat," he said holding it out to her.

The simple fact that he'd thought to bring food surprised her. She glanced at the sky. Was itlur ennen? She didn’t want to interrupt the story by asking.

Naya accepted the food, their fingers brushing in the exchange. That brief contact sent a flutter through her that she determinedly ignored.

"So the Sy blamed others for their downfall?" she surmised, tearing a small piece of bread.

Akoro's laugh was bitter and short. "They blamed everyone but themselves. They said the people had turned against them, that their enemies had sabotaged their work, that the Vos and Qor families had interfered with the artifact." He bit into a piece of the cured meat, chewing slowly. "It was easier than admitting they had destroyed their own civilization out of greed and hubris."

They ate in silence for a few moments. The food was simple but flavorful—the meat spiced with unfamiliar herbs, the dried fruits intensely sweet. The normalcy of sharing a meal amid such devastation felt strangely intimate.

“What are your questions?” Akoro asked.

Naya chewed, thinking for a long moment. “The Sy were responsible for breaking the Nnin-kaa border.”

“Yes.”

“Why is it treasonous to say that? None of the council members would answer, not even your brother.”

Akoro inhaled a breath. “The Sy Dynasty at the time made it treasonous to accuse them of being responsible… but there is more to it.”

“Let me guess,” she said sarcastically, “it comes in a later phase?”

“Yes.”

Naya laughed

Akoro went still, watching her closely.

She stared back at him, sobering, Maybe it was rude to laugh considering the circumstances. She lowered her head and continued eating. Awkward silence descended for a few more moments. "What became of the survivors?" Naya asked finally.

"They abandoned the cities," Akoro said. "Became nomadic, traveling in bands, scavenging resources from ruins like this one." He gestured around them. "Civilization collapsed within a generation. The magical artifacts that remained often malfunctioned catastrophically. People learned to fear magic rather than rely on it."

Naya studied his profile, the hard lines of his face illuminated in the harsh sunlight. "But not your family."

His eyes snapped to hers, sharp and assessing. "What makes you say that?"

"You're here," she said simply. "Your dynasty survived. You still use magical tools—the enchanted boulders, the magical domes in the desert." She paused. "You're king. Your family must have maintained some power through it all."

Akoro stood, gathering the remnants of their meal. "Come. We should tend to thenniraebefore continuing."

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