Page 86 of The Time Of Queens

Sophia must have recognised something in his face, because she too quickly pulled me in for a hug and whispered,

“Goodbye, my sister, it was one of my greatest joys getting to know you.”

“Sophia?” I questioned but before I could say more, she pulled away and just as her Demon side started to arise, she told me,

“Take good care of my family!” Then she went off running into the fray, her own smoky ink wings emerging.

“I don’t understand, what are we… oh.” This question ended suddenly when I saw Draven pull a coin from his pocket, wasting no time before tossing it into the fountain. The effect was instant, as the water started to ripple before stepping stones emerged. At the same time, the opening under the spray of water appeared as the stone statue revealed its true nature.

Then without saying a word, he took my hand and urged me to walk the path towards the door. I looked back in time to see the flames consuming half the house, the crashing of the roof as it fell through the rooms below a painful sight. We had not long ago made love in that room and now it was all destroyed. Making me question how it could have turned so badly, so quickly.

But it was when looking back to the house that I caught sight of one of the Demons running towards us, having broken through his brother’s defences.

“Draven, look out!” I shouted just in time for Draven to act. He spun quickly, at the same time the Demon lunged for him.

I watched this all play out as if in slow motion as he pushed me through the opening with one arm, doing so just as his sword emerged from his other hand. Purple flames licked at the steel as it grew, the air crackling around its length before it was plunged into the Demon’s chest. The Demon bellowed in agony, howling not only at the sword in its chest cavity, but as the flames ignited its pale skin, charring it instantly.

The Demon’s eyes soon turned black to indicate all life had left its body, prompting Draven to cast his arm out so its body dislodged from his weapon. Its now lifeless body crashed into the water, where it hissed as the water extinguished the flames.

Draven wasted no time to follow me inside, sealing the door shut and igniting the light so we weren’t in the pitch black. My heart was still pounding, unsure if we were still safe or not. My silent thoughts were soon answered when he told me,

“Come, we must hurry, as more will be on their way.” Then he took my hand and started to lead me down the ominous staircase. The only light from the flames that travelled along the recess came from the stone channel above.

It seemed like a small forever until we reached the bottom, and the last time I was here felt like an age ago. Draven took my hand in his and started to lead me into the huge atrium. The colossal space of the Janus Temple opening up in front of us, like giants had once lived here. Rows and endless rows of doors leading to so many places, it was hard to fathom.

Draven had once described it as being that if Earth had a doorway that led to every city in the whole world, and had asked how many doors would there be. Naturally, I couldn’t answer but unsurprisingly Draven could. Telling me there was around ten thousand cities worldwide. Then he asked, what if each realm had just as many?

Pretty soon, the amount of doors made sense and my head started to hurt, something I admitted aloud, making him chuckle at the time. But he wasn’t laughing now, as there was only one place he had in mind, and it wasn’t any door.

“Draven, what is going on?” I finally asked, making him turn to face me just before the water that was defying gravity. Then he took my hands in his and told me,

“This is the only way to protect you from what’s coming.” My eyes widened with this knowledge, and he paused long enough to cup my cheek before saying in a pained voice,

“I wish I could have kept you as my own…if even for a day longer.”

My tears started to rise in sight of his very own. Which was why I threw my arms around him and held on tight.

As I now knew what this was.

This was his goodbye.

Because he was sacrificing his own happiness to ensure not only my life, but something far greater. I knew this when he told me,

“Embrace our children for me. Tell them that I…that I love them.”

I cried out at this, my heart breaking for him.

“Oh, Draven.”

He swiped my tears from under my eyes, his already falling as he told me,

“You have to know that you made me the happiest man in the world… if only for a few short days, then it was worth it… it was worth the thousands of years I waited,for I would wait a thousand more for just another day.”

I cried out harder, letting the tears flow as I threw myself into him once more. He held me back just as tightly and I felt his own tears continue to fall, now landing on my skin. But then as a huge, thundering bang sounded above, he pulled back.

“They have managed to breach the fountain, quickly, we don’t have much time left.”

“But you… how will you…?”

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