Page 466 of Of Empires and Dust

“I will pay it.”

“You do not even know what it is.”

“I will pay it.”

“A god cannot simply grant life to the dead, no matter how powerful they are. It requires more. Shards of who we are.”

“I will pay it,” Haem repeated again.

“Shards of me… shards of you. To mend a shattered soul so it will stay as one… When things break, they do not go back together in the same way. New pieces are required to fill the cracks. I will be weakened. You will be…”

“Lost,” Haem finished.

Varyn nodded. “I need you to understand. My powers have limits. To do this is no simple thing. Not for either of us. I must break the oaths I swore, become the thing I stood against. But if I do not, Efialtír will tear that world into oblivion. And so I am faced with a choice.”

“I will pay the cost,” Haem said for a fourth time, his resolve strengthening. “Will you?”

Calen staredout at the silver ocean as Varyn stood in silence.

“I will,” the god said.

“You will what?”

Varyn rested a hand on Calen’s shoulder. “This is our last chance, Calen Bryer. If we fail now, Efialtír will hold eternal dominion over your world. He will burn the veil between worlds.To give a sliver of what I am, a piece of my soul, that is a sacrifice I never thought I would make. But if I cross the veil myself, I know the world will break beneath me.” He sighed once more, something that might have been a smile cracking across his lips. “What is a god, if they are not willing to give pieces of themselves for the world they created?” A resignation set into Varyn’s voice. “I will not be what we once were. I will pay the cost.”

“Calen?”

Calen’s heart stopped at the sound of his brother’s voice. He looked to the other side of Varyn, and Haem stepped forwards to seize Calen in the deepest of embraces.

“I’m sorry,” Calen whispered. “For everything. I… I’m sorry for arguing. I’m sorry for?—”

“Shhh…” Haem squeezed Calen tighter. “I love you, little brother. Please don’t be mad. This was always my purpose. I only ever took the Sigil so I could keep you safe. I love you so much, and I could never be prouder of the man you’ve become.”

“Haem? Haem, what’s wrong? Why would I be mad?”

“You were always stronger,” Haem said, pulling his arm inwards and pressing a fist to Calen’s heart. “In here. You never gave up. Not once. We would train for hours, and no matter how many times you went down, you stood right the fuck back up. Covered in mud, blood on your face. You always stood back up. And I was so gods damn proud of you every time. I need you to stand back up again, little brother.”

“Haem, why are you crying? You’re scaring me.”

“This is what I was made for, Calen. I would always give my life for you and Ella, always. This is my purpose. To protect you, to keep you safe. Tell her I’m sorry, I’m sorry we got so little time. Ask her to forgive me. She’s yours to keep safe now, and you’re hers.” Haem clasped his hands to the sides of Calen’s face. “You better protect her. I’ll come find you if you don’t.”

A sudden realisation dawned on Calen. “Haem, no…” Calen clutched at Haem and glared at Varyn. “I don’t want it. I won’t take it. I won’t pay this cost. I won’t!”

“It’s already been paid,” the god replied.

“No, no… Haem.”

“The sun will set, Calen,” Haem said, pulling Calen in close. “And it will rise again, and it will do so the next day and the next. The gods are in charge of such things, but it is by our own will that we pick ourselves up when we fall. I will always be there. A piece of me will always be there.”

“Haem, don’t do this, please… please don’t do this.”

Even as he said the words, a brilliant white light consumed everything, and a storm raged in Calen’s mind.

For a heartbeat everything was quiet, and then he woke with a gasp, dragging air into his lungs, his body stiff and aching, his chest burning.

He placed a hand over his chest, feeling four scars over his heart. A wave of fear, of agony and joy and hope and every emotion he could have imagined crashed into him with a weight that bore down on his soul, and he found himself staring up into pale lavender eyes.

Valerys’s heart beat so fast Calen thought the dragon would collapse. Valerys twisted and turned, hauling himself upright, his winged forelimbs pressing into the stone, his frills standing on end. The weight of the dragon’s heart consumed him, drowning him.

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