Page 79 of Glass Wings
They searched all of Earth after that. Arryn found himself flying through all seven continents, looking for clues, but finding none. The search had concluded with everyone returning home. Djoser went back to Egypt, the twins to their private home in France, Reign to the United States, and Amis to his village in New Zealand.
Almost twenty years had passed, and Arynn did the only thing he knew he could do successfully: he waited at home for her to return. This day, however, felt different. He could no longer wait, pine, and hurt over something that did not exist. Today, he needed to let his anger out. The world was a terrible place; yes, he could endlessly put himself in tortuous situations, but what would be the point? He had done nothing wrong.
He considered going back to the Life Gifter briefly, to beg to be eradicated, even be a martyr, taking any future retaliation meant for either Reign or Allienna. Instead, he walked out of the temple door to the Earth realm to stir up a new storm.
His boots crunched through the snow as the wind danced around him. Arryn lifted his face to the sky and closed his eyes, letting a tear freeze on his eyelashes before raising his arms to push the darkness into the sky.
The fire underneath his skin flew through him, giving him instant relief while black clouds swirled for miles. Lighting struck three, now four, now five times, followed by a continuous roar of thunder.
“I will never be enough for you,” he said to the sky, hoping that somehow, somewhere, Allienna could hear him. She was smart andcunning. Arryn knew now that there was no foul play in her disappearance. She simply did not wish to be found. She had left him.
Arryn dropped down, his bottom sitting on the snow below him, the waterproof coat working hard to keep up with the demand as moisture did its best to climb through any thread that would receive it. With the storm still roaring, Arryn picked up a handful of snow and brought it in front of his mouth.
The storm did not make him feel better on this day, but maybe true, organic creation would.
He blew into his hands gently as particles of snow and ice flew out before him. Instead of falling, they continued to swirl as Arryn added more and more to it. Eventually, the swirl of snow took a new shape. A shape with four legs, a head, and wings.
Whenever Arryn created life, there was always the threat of an imbalance, war, and famine. Even one being, one tree, one rock, would completely change the future tapestry that Karmakara would weave. He had experienced it firsthand as a child and swore off anything that might fulfill the purpose he was created for.
However, at this moment, he wanted to feel something other than alone. He needed something other than to disappear. He would be giving life as a promise to himself, a promise to be responsible for the creature that otherwise had no reason to exist.
Arryn let the storm calm and fade away as he focused on the soft swirl that outlined his new pet. He inhaled and, with a casual flutter of his eyelashes, pulled in the atoms surrounding him, making up snow, earth, and rock. The swirl had solidified, and a trembling, freezing baby dragon stood where air once was.
The power surging through Arryn’s veins made him feel incredible. He could taste the air around him, the loose particles that begged him to create more and more. There could be forty new pets and companions in front of him in the blink of an eye, and he struggled momentarily to find a reason not to make it so.
The dragon pup was no bigger than a full-grown Labrador, its smooth and scaly skin a deep burgundy-tinted brown. It had largecartoon-like eyes, black as coal, that were filled with terror and uncertainty.
Arryn exhaled and unclenched his fists, letting the desire to bring more atoms together pass while staring at the creature before him.
“You were snow and air; now, you are named Kismet, my new friend.” Arryn leaned his hand out to the dragon, who accepted her new name and rubbed her head against his hand.
Arryn’s hand slid behind the animal's ears, close together on the top of its head and then down the back of its neck to its light red feathered-covered wings. Arryn wasn’t a monster. The creature needed something to stay warm in this harsh environment.
Kismet let out a screech and a small cloud of smoke. The faint smell of embers filled Arryn’s nostrils, and he smiled.
“I guess we all have our special talents, don’t we, girl?” With that, he picked up the dragon and walked back toward the temple door, which was enveloped by snow from the storm.
“Got any fire to melt that away?” he asked Kismet with a smile and watched approvingly as a small shot of embers escaped from her open, toothless jaw, melting snow and exposing the door latch.
“I don’t know what’s going on here,” a familiar woman’s voice sounded behind him in tandem with boots landing in the snow. “But it’s weird.”
Arryn turned to see Reign, her wings retracting into her shoulder blades as she stood in the snow in attire more fitting for the beach. She shivered, covering her arms with her hands, and walked straight towards the door, unlatching it, raising her eyebrow at the dragon in Arryn’s arms. She then walked inside to find warmth.
Arryn hadn’t seen his friend since the day Allienna had disappeared. She had promised to search, and while he believed she did, she never told him about it. He had been grieving all this time, alone, and he was a bit pissed off about it. Reign had supported him through lesser traumas, but with something real like this, she kept a distance.
He walked behind her through the hallway, her black leatherboots matching the rest of her attire, leaving sloppy, wet puddles on the floor with every step. Kismet started to thrash lightly in Arryn’s arms, the poor creature feeling threatened in the new surroundings.
They all entered the common room, Reign whirling around to confront him. Arryn could tell that she sensed his irritation as her face hardened when their gazes met.
“Please state your purpose here,” Arryn instructed with a coldness that made it seem like the temple door was left open.
“Here you stand, holding and stroking a dragon like an evil villain . . .” Regin scoffed and smiled.
“You left me. You all left me,” he said, putting the dragon on the floor. The little creature snorted a few times before wandering away. Arryn twitched his head and a lush velvet blue dog bed and a plate of raw steak appeared near the stove.
“It’s only been twenty years. If we were human, I’d say that would be a couple of months equivalent,” Reign said, watching Kismet find the plate of food and cautiously pick at it.
“My wife, who was carrying my child, disappeared. You all left to find her and never came back. I searched, too, but mostly, I sat here abandoned. I even considered seeking out the Life Gifter?—”
