“Only one.” His face flickered, briefly touched by nostalgia. “No, I’m alright. Let’s get away from this crowd.”
Jealousy flashed in my heart, but I shoved it down. He could be talking about anyone—a parent, a sibling, a friend.
Grabbing my horse, I followed him down the street, but a malaise grew in my bones. Rubbing my neck, I tried to place the sudden discomfort. Flinching, I looked around wildly as the sounds of chatter and footsteps muted, as though plunged underwater.
Unease blossomed amidst the silence, and nostalgia heightened in my breast. Halting mid-stride, I gasped in terror.
Seth grabbed my arm. “What’s wrong-”
I stared into his eyes, seeing only the red of his irises and the disaster behind us.
A black spot appeared on the dirt road, a perfect contrast to the beautiful marble stores. Red haloed its infinite embrace, casting light on the single drop of water sitting quietly at its base.
Everything fell silent. The birds stopped singing, and the people’s voices ceased. Everyone halted, the world stilled, life and time froze for a fleeting moment.
It all burst back to life, far too loud, all at once. Screams tore through the air as the people noticed the pocket of Empty.
The abyss surged in all directions, buildings disintegrating beneath its touch, roads collapsing into the sharp canyon, people vanishing into specks of dust. Chaos erupted as people scrambled to escape.
Seth’s horse reared in fear, tearing from his grasp and charging forward. It clipped me as it ran past, throwing me to the ground. My head struck the stone steps of a shop, and the world blurred.
Screams echoed through the fog.
Sheer terror captured their voices. The screams of the dying.
Someone grabbed my wrist and hauled me up. The world spun before my vision snapped back into clarity.
Seth yanked me roughly, spinning me around to face the void. “Stop it!” He shouted.
Focusing, I thrust my palm forward, fingers trembling. The void advanced, dropping the city into a chasm filled with still waters. The blackened sky consumed the clouds, tearing the very aether asunder. But nothing happened. Nothing in my breast stirred, no magic sparked at my fingertips.
The Empty advanced, uncaring of my futile attempts to stop it.
“I. . .” I stuttered, watching our doom approach.
Seth pulled me away from the Empty and pushed me ahead of him. “Run.” He barked.
Finding my footing, I sprinted away from the growing void, glancing over my shoulder to see a child trip. My heart pounded, but the horror was over in an instant. The bounds of the abyss reached the boy and turned him to dust before his mouth had fully opened to scream.
A solemn weight crashed through my body as I stared at the spot where the child had been. Throat going dry, I forced myself to keep going.
Where were the others? My head snapped forward, but all I could see was a throng of people, loose horses, and cattle. Reliefsang through my heart when Eleos pushed through two men ahead of me and dashed to my side.
He touched my arm, and his voice rang in my mind. “Can you stop it?”
“No.” I thought back at him, nearly screaming the word aloud.
Seth slammed into us from behind, propelling us forward. Keeping his grip on my arm, Eleos heeded the order and ran.
The ground quaked beneath our feet, tossing me off balance. Tremors raked through the mountain as the Empty destroyed it. Cracks ran through the road, and I looked up to see boulders falling from the cliffs above.
If the Empty didn’t reach us first, the landslide would sweep us away.
A baby’s cry rose above the cacophony. Just another noise, to me.
But not to Eleos.
He stopped. Dropping my arm, he spun on his heel, quickly finding the source of the noise. A pregnant woman had tripped, a swaddled infant clutched in her arms. Resigned to her fate, she buried her face against her child, shrouding it with the falling locks of her blonde hair.
