Page 94 of A Story of Sinners

There was one last male that needed to be saved, and he would. No matter what. If I had to give my own life, I would. My presence had only ever caused pain in this world, but him, he could do something with the world. He could make it a better place.

Still crouched over Ryken’s limp body, my eyes traced his form, frantically searching for any sign of movement, any sign of life. Golden dust slowly sank into his skin, the same dust that had brought the others back. I pressed my ear to his chest, listening to the soft thump of a heartbeat.

My lips parted, and a sound like that of a wounded animal poured out. He was alive! I gripped his shoulders, trying to nudge him awake, but he didn’t wake. His pupils moved beneath his eyelids, as if searching for something.

Me.

The wounded sounds tearing through the battlefield filled me with triumph, but the winged male hovering over my husband filled me with terror. He didn’t say a word. He was waiting for something, expecting something, and it filled me with dread.

I clung to Ryken tightly, refusing to ever release him. Fingertips pressed into the skin of my arms, and Ryken groaned, still not fully conscious, but aware enough to grab ahold of me. My brow furrowed as my vision darted between him and Malachi.

Malachi’s lips were pursed as he tapped his foot beside us, still waiting.

“Please,” I begged. “Just leave us be.”

He crossed his arms. “I can’t do that, my light. Ever.”

“What are you waiting for?” The ringing of bells filled my mind once again, and that voice spoke.

Save them.

Save them.

Malachi tilted his head and leaned over, as if listening in on that disembodied voice. “I’m waiting for that,” he whispered.

Save them, the voice sang insistently.

I cried out in frustration. “I did! I saved them!”

Bells chimed.Not them! Them!

A flash of pain sliced through my skull, and my eyes glazed over, unable to see or hear anything around me. The battlefield that had been filled with death mere minutes ago was quickly replaced by a strange and foreign land.

My dreamscape. The scent of death lingered in the air, overwhelming the sweet lavender and honey scent, the golden fields charred and burnt. The forms of gold and silver winged bodies, long dead, littered the grass. Luminaries.

My mouth dropped open as a large white palace made of columns and marble appeared in front of me. Then, suddenly, I was inside the palace, in a throne room of sorts, filled with heaps of dead luminaries, their feathery wings tattered and burnt as they lay sprawled across the marble flooring.

A slight whispering called my name, not Duana or Dahlia, but something that couldn’t quite be put into words, like the sound of a soft flute. Somehow, I knew it was my name. My gaze whipped in the direction of that sound, and my eyes widened.

Atop the throne sat a male cast over with stone. Long, gold, feathery wings spread out from his back, and a golden circlet sat ingrained into his forehead. He held strong features and a long golden beard, surrounded by flowing golden hair. His eyes were glazed over with gold as his body remained frozen and lifeless in that throne, cobwebs collecting on its edges. He held a staff in his hand, a glowing tip at the top shining throughout the dim space.

I didn’t need to be told who he was to the world or to me. Some deep knowing declared it before my mind could even process who I was looking at.

The Luminary God.

Solaris.

My father.

The voice accented with chiming bells spoke once more.Save them.

Then, everything went black.

Chapter37

Malachi

When darkness and light merge, the power of worlds will forever be in its grasp.

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