Page 123 of Kingdom of Today
Ding.Cyrus recovered from his injuries and joined the fray.
Ding.Vyle spewed a stream of fire into the throng as he flew through the door.
Ding.War sounds crowded in my ears. More clanging metal. Sharper grunts and groans. Piercing screams. Thuds as soldiers fell.
Ding.The Rock grew another inch.
Ding.The Rock widened.
Ding.An opening between the guards appeared, thanks to Domino. I dove through it. The soldiers noticed. One lunged for me, dragging his blade through my middle and over my thigh.
Searing agony consumed me as I collided into the Rock.
Ding.
The stony fragments grew another inch, their pointy spindles digging into my wounds—growing through them. I screamed as my world went dark.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Not every story has a happy ending.
—The Book of Soal2.1.25.46
I floated in a space without time, where the past, present, and future all transpired at once, everything I’d ever done or would do happening simultaneously, always, and forever. As I slipped in and out of consciousness, I knew everything and nothing.
Awareness came with pinpricks of strength. A prick here, a prick there. Heat spread from the punctures, infiltrating muscles and bones, activating my mind.
I blinked open my eyes and gasped. I stood rooted in place, but I also somehow remained in motion, drifting through the skies of Theirland, peering over the entire expanse all at once. It was bigger than I’d ever realized, with four castles hidden in the far corners of the realm. They each topped a mountain.
The dual sensations I experienced mystified me as much as the worldview.
“Am I dead?” I asked, my voice echoing in the void.
“Far from it. You’re more alive than you’ve ever been.” Domino approached me and suddenly I—we—occupied a private room in the library. And yet, I maintained my awareness of the Rock. “You are officially a librarian.”
Me, one of the elites. Just imagine!
I scanned the unfamiliar areas and frowned. A lovely room with glass displays of weapons, a mystery tree growing in a corner, and a hologram projecting snippets from my life at Fort Bala.
“I don’t understand,” I said, spotting the sign that hung over the door. It readArden Dawn Roosa. “What is this place?”Whywas this place? Stretching out my arms to graze the flowers carved into the wood doorframe, I realized I wore a buttery-soft red cloak. I looked myself over and marveled. A robe like Domino’s.
“This,” he said, “is your memorial.”
“But you just said I wasn’t dead.”
He held up his hand, requesting quiet, which I happily gave. “When we do special things for Soal, memorials like these are erected. Members of the Tome Society can come, read about our exploits, and learn from our mistakes and successes.” As he spoke, he walked around, motioning to symbols carved into the wall. Just like the symbols on the Rock.
Oh, wow. “You have a memorial?”
He nodded. “I do.”
So badly I wanted to see it. Read it. But first, I would read my own. Easy to do. The symbols became text, the story of my life there for the taking.
Heart fluttering, I walked about, drinking in my tale. How I didn’t trust what I read and traveled down a wrong road. How I’d ultimately corrected my path. How I sacrificed my life for the Rock. How, in return, I gained a new life with a bright future ahead ... after a series of turbulent times. The symbols that told of those turbulent times, I couldn’t yet decode. But I didn’t grow nervous by what was to come. I knew what I was fighting for now. Not just Cyrus and me but others. As many people as possible. The world!
My world.
“How much time has passed since I bonded to the Rock?” I asked.
