Page 130 of In Between Darkness
“I love you,” he whispers, his voice thick with emotion. The winter is finally over, the ice around his heart has truly thawed, and I am there to hold it with both hands.
I cling to him, burying my face in his neck.
“I love you too,” I sob, tears soaking into his shirt. “I thought I’d lost you.”
As he holds me in his arms, the world suddenly feels right again. The wreckage, the smoke, the pain - none of it matters. All that matters is that Ryder is alive and back in my arms.
“But it still doesn’t make sense, Asha. How am I back?” he asks, a little more lucid now.
“It seems you and River are kind of…connected,” I say, my voice unsure of how he is going to react.
“What do you mean, connected?” Ryder asks, his eyebrows furrowing further.
“Twins,” I say, evidently. “He brought you back, some kind of energy transfer,” I continue. “When one twin is dying, the surviving twin can-”
“Yeah… I know the lore,” he interrupts. “But that is only the case when a twin is dying, not completely dead.” His voice trembles a little. “And I was completely dead, Asha. I saw my God and everything.”
I sit perplexed for a minute, just staring back at him, trying to understand what had just happened.
“The explosion must’ve jump-started your heart, only for a second, but in that moment you were both touching. That’s got to be it,” I think out loud. “You’re twins, Ryder! You and River are twins.”
“We’re what?!” River grumbles, sitting up and scratching the back of his head. But all I can do is squeeze him and thank him for bringing Ryder back.
Chapter Fifty-Two
“Stop right there!” A soldier escapes the rubble and aims his arrow at us through the smoke of the building.
My body stiffens, and my heart begins to pound again. You have got to be kidding me. We shuffle back on the dusty pebbles, nearing the edge of the cliff. Something tells me we will not escape this one. My head is still fuzzy from the explosion, River’s exhausted from the journey up the stairs, and Ryder is barely lucid.
“We don’t want any trouble.” I plead with the soldier to stand down.
“Good, cos I’m hauling you in,” he says whilst unclipping a pair of handcuffs from his belt and walking towards us. But he barely gets any closer before he is swiped off his feet and gripped by deadly claws. He screams as he is carried high into the sky and dropped to the forest below. His cries dwindle through the air until a thud renders them silent. The creature loops back around. It’s Craize. My eyes catch his as he ripples a thought through my mind.
‘Brave soul.’
His words cause me to smile as I look back at him, shouting out a ‘thank you’. He flies gracefully through the sky and back towards Sun Sovereign.
The ground begins to quake around us as we make our way down the mountain. My body involuntarily tenses but eases when I see two figures forming in front of me. A kaleidoscope ofscales gradient into life as Versivius and Skypharoh drop their invisible shields. Ryder and River stand by my side watching them morph into three-dimensional beings.
‘We are indebted to you, Starchild.’Versivius speaks with Skypharoh nestled under his arm.‘You brought my son back to me.’His voice rumbles with gratitude as they nuzzle their cheeks into one another.
I smile back at them, my heart thumping with happiness.
‘And for that we will serve you.’
They rest themselves on the ground before me and bow their heads. These are creatures of immense power, beings of venom and legend, yet they kneel before me. I stare back in a state of shock. I can feel River and Ryder’s eyes burning into the side of my head as they stand by my side in disbelief.
“Please do not bow to me,” I say, making my way over to them. “I am grateful to see you both reunited.” I smile, my hand resting on the space between Skypharoh’s eyes. “But I do not want anything in return, you cannot serve me,” I speak quietly into their scales, but their heads remain bowed.
‘You are our saviour,’Skypharoh hisses.‘We will be your sword, your shield and your wings, command us and we shall obey without question.’He echoes his father’s sentiment. ‘We will not accept your rejection.’
My eyes are fixed on them, my heart pounding in my chest. I am not worthy of their devotion. “I…I don’t understand,” I stammer. “I just did what anyone else would have done. I don’t deserve this.”
Versivius raises his massive head, his golden eyes burning with conviction. ‘You underestimate yourself, Starchild. You possess a courage that burns brighter than any flame, a compassion that can mend even the deepest wounds. We see the fire in your heart, the strength in your spirit. We will follow you wherever you shall take us.’
Skypharoh nods in agreement, his gaze unwavering. ‘We have seen the darkness that plagues the world, the corruption that festers in the hearts of men. You are the light that can banish it, the bridge between the darkness. We will trust your judgment even when you doubt yourself. We will be your unwavering support, your loyal companions, until our last breath.’
These two magnificent creatures still bow before me, their eyes filled with a resolute faith. A lump forms in my throat as I see the reflection of myself in the mirror of their eyes, a potential I didn’t know I possessed, a strength I didn’t know I had.
