Page 101 of Eluvonia
I look up at him, my throat tightening, and I nod again, more firmly this time, as if my very being could promise it. “For him,” I whisper, the words tasting like a vow.
Kaida pulls me into another embrace, his arms strong and comforting, his shadows wrapping around us like a shield against the weight of the world. We stand there, silently watching the night unfold, the ocean stretching endlessly before us, vast and unforgiving. The waves crash relentlessly against the rocks below, their steady rhythm a cruel contrast to the turmoil inside me.
The sky is a deep, unyielding black, and the sea seems to swallow every last trace of light. But as Kaida holds me, his presence steady and grounding, I cling to the faintest flicker of hope—the hope that we can honor Declan’s sacrifice and somehow, find a way to save what’s left of our broken world.
The sun is long gone, replaced by a blanket of stars that glimmer faintly overhead, like tiny pinpricks in the dark fabric of the sky. Kaida’s warmth lingers beside me as we pull away from each other, the air between us heavy with everything unspoken. Without a word, we start westward, his footsteps steady, mine dragging as if the weight of the world is tied to my ankles.
We walk in silence. The only sounds are the soft rustle of the grass beneath our feet and the occasional sigh of the wind, carrying with it the faint scent of salt from the distant sea. Hills rise and fall in the darkness like gentle waves, and I force myself to keep moving, one foot in front of the other, because stopping would mean thinking. Thinking wouldmean remembering. And remembering… Well, that’s a luxury I can’t afford right now.
The earth evens out, giving way to a field of wildflowers that seem almost otherworldly in the starlight. Petals of deep indigo, soft lilac, and pale gold sway gently in the breeze, brushing against my legs as we pass. It should be beautiful. I should care. But instead, I feel… hollow. Like a shell that’s been cracked open and emptied, leaving nothing behind but the brittle edges.
“You’re quiet,” Kaida murmurs after what feels like hours. His voice is low, gruff, but there’s something softer underneath—concern, maybe.
I glance at him, my lips twitching in what might be an attempt at a smile but ends up as more of a grimace. “What do you want me to say? Got any good Dragon jokes? Because I’m fresh out.”
Kaida doesn’t laugh, but his lips curve ever so slightly. “Not really my thing.”
“Figures.” I kick at a stray rock, watching it tumble ahead of us before vanishing into the dark. “Let me know if you think of any.”
The field stretches on, endless and quiet, until a soft blue glow in the distance catches my attention. It’s faint at first, like a tiny star on the horizon, but as we walk, it grows brighter, more defined. I squint, shading my eyes out of habit even though the glow isn’t strong enough to blind me.
“Is that the portal?” I ask, breaking the silence. My voice sounds foreign to my own ears, thin and strained.
Kaida grunts in response, which I’ve come to understand as his version of “yes.” Classic Kaida—why use words when monosyllabic noises will do?
As we draw closer, the glow resolves into a swirling mass of light and energy, suspended in the air like a living thing. The portal is massive, easily three times Kaida’s height, its edges crackling with streaks of electric blue and silver. It hums softly, the sound low and almost hypnotic, like the purring of some great beast. The center is a churning vortex of color, deep blues and violets mingling with flashes of white. It’s both beautiful and intimidating—the kind of thing that makes you feel small just by standing near it.
I stop a few paces away, craning my neck to take it all in. “What exactly is Vryngard?” I ask, my voice hushed, as if speaking too loudly might disturb the portal.
Kaida steps up beside me, his gaze fixed on the swirling energy. “Think endless mountains. Raging storms. It’s home to harpies and stone giants.”
I glance at him, one brow arched. “Charming.”
Kaida chuckles, the sound low and brief, before he reaches out to take my hand. His fingers are warm, calloused, grounding. “Ready?” he asks.
I nod, though the tightness in my chest says otherwise. “As I’ll ever be.”
Together, we step through the portal. The moment my foot crosses the threshold, the world tilts. Colors blur and shift, swirling around us in a chaotic dance of light and shadow. There’s a sensation of falling, though my feet never leave the ground, and a strange warmth spreads through me, like sunlight filtering through a dense canopy. My grip on Kaida’s hand tightens, and I swear I feel him squeeze back, just once.
But then—everything stops.
A pulse of cold seizes the air around us, sharp and suffocating.The ground beneath me shuddersunexpectedly, like it’s alive, and I stumble, my breath catching in my throat.
I look at Kaida, his expression frozen, eyes wide with something I can’t quite read. His grip on my hand is suddenly too tight, his knuckles white.
“What’s happening?” I gasp, my voice sounding distant, swallowed by the strange, heavy atmosphere.
Kaida doesn’t answer. Instead, his gaze flickers to something behind me, his muscles tensing. A low growl rumbles in his chest, and I spin, barely catching a glimpse of the shadow moving toward us—too fast, too dark, too… wrong.
Before I can react, a voice cuts through the tension, icy and twisted, like the shriek of metal scraping against stone.
“Welcome to Vryngard.”
Epilogue
The forest hums with the faint whispers of life as I tread carefully, the crunch of leaves beneath my boots a sharp counterpoint to the silence. Shadows stretch long and dark across the uneven ground, and I keep my gaze ahead, scanning for movement. Time is against us. The Dragons have grown relentless, their fire consuming entire forests in their quest to root us out. Each inferno scars Eluvonia, a twisted paradox of destruction from those who seek dominion over it.
“Sir!”
