Page 46 of Of Empires and Dust

“Salara Ithan…”Eltoar stared at the name, his finger brushing over the ink. That was not a name Eltoar had expected to see. “It can’t be. She wasn’t at the Three Sisters. She…”

“Whether it’s her or not, we need to go.” Rage simmered in Lyina’s voice.

Eltoar swallowed, a knot forming in his throat.

“Lyina is right. We must go.” Voranur crossed his arms, staring down at the letter in Eltoar’s hands. “Whatever the outcome, they are the last of us.”

Eltoar nodded, lifting his gaze at the sound of wingbeats. Karakes soared over the treeline behind the command tent at the bottom of the hill, alighting behind Helios, rain splashing off his scales.

“We will go.” Eltoar folded the paper, keeping it in his hand. “Voranur and I.”

“What?” Lyina rounded on Eltoar, her stare hard and cold.

“Sister.” Eltoar made to rest his hands on her shoulder, but she swatted them away.

“Don’t treat me like a child, Eltoar. I don’t have the patience for it.”

He took a breath, then looked to Voranur and back. He would give her honesty, as he always had. “You are not ready, Lyina.”

“Not ready?”

“The elven Draleid killed Pellenor.” Eltoar’s stomach turned as he spoke. But still, he pressed onwards. He found no joy in twisting the knife in Lyina’s heart, but he did what he needed to do. “They ripped Meranta’s wing from her body, tore out her chest, and snapped her neck.”

Lyina’s eyes widened, her mouth opening. She staggered backward as though Eltoar had punched her in the gut.

“They took him,” she whispered. “He was good.” She clenched her jaw, muscles twitching “And they took him.”

“They did, and you would kill them all if you had the chance.”

“You wouldn’t?” Lyina stepped closer to Eltoar, tilting her head as she stared into his eyes. The next words were not a question. “You wouldn’t.”

Eltoar shook his head.

“He was our brother, Eltoar. He was better than me and he was certainly better than you.” Tears mixed with rain on Lyina’s cheeks. She shoved Eltoar, her gauntleted hand slamming into his chest. “Did you not love him? Do you not feel his absence likeI do? Am I mad, or are you cold and heartless?” She shoved him again. “Answer me!”

“Of course I loved him,” Eltoar said calmly. “But he is gone.”

“And they took him from us.”

“And we took more from them. How many of their loved ones did we kill that night? And in the years following ‘The Fall’? If you ask them, I’d wager they think the scales are far from balanced.” Eltoar shoved the folded letter into his wet pocket, then pushed Lyina’s hands aside and cupped her cheeks. “I will feel Pellenor’s absence until the day Heraya takes me from the world. He was my brother, and I loved him. But hearts grieve differently. Yours needs to bleed, needs to rage and weep so it can heal. Mine needs to push forward, lest it will break.”

As Eltoar spoke the words, Helios’s mind brushed against his, warmth flooding from the dragon’s soul. Their hearts broke together, their wounds both doubled and shared.

Lyina held Eltoar’s gaze, then brought her left hand up to rest it atop his. She didn’t speak; words would have held no meaning.

“Vir væra vëna aier andin,” Eltoar whispered. “Nur anis, aiar alura.”

We will see them again. For now, they rest.

Lyina nodded softly. “You and Voranur go. You’re right. I would kill them before they opened their mouths.” She brought Eltoar’s hands down and pulled away. “What if it’s a trap? What if they’re trying to draw you out?”

“I wish luck to anyone trying to trap him.” Voranur looked up at the towering figure of Helios.

The great dragon shifted, and the rain broke through, drumming the ground and splattering against Eltoar’s face as he looked up at his soulkin.

Helios stood over them all. The endless rain drummed against enormous wings, crimson moonlight glinting off the ocean of black scales that flowed over his body. He craned hishead down so Eltoar could rest a hand against his snout. “Let them try.”

The rain fell heavieras Eltoar and Voranur flew towards the old temple that stood atop Darnírin’s Hill, some fifty miles east of Elkenrim. So heavy in fact, and Helios moving with such speed, that Eltoar had pressed himself against the dragon’s scales, closing his eyes and allowing his mind to drift into Helios’s.

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