I watched Cyrus die as he failed to locate you. I watched the sands of Nibia chip away at his decaying flesh; I watched the grains hollow him out, as they curled around his exposed body.
Cyrus’s voice deepens.
Nero was the first to die. Ryker and Ember met their end together as they tried to save Tristen. Tristen was captured and… experimented on.
Cyrus hisses as his fingers curl around the paper. “I need a second,” he admits.
Don’t do it. Don’t give Everett the reaction he wants. The pain in Cyrus’s voice has me struggling to sit up. My aching bones press into the corner of the wall I’ve made home. The chains on my wrist block out my magic, which is depleted since they haven’t given me blood.
“Okay, I’m gonna continue.” Cyrus keeps his eyes down.
You… you were one of the last of your kind. Of all vampires. You hid away from the world as it burned; eventually, a fire hot enough to burn your skin claimed you.
I witnessed so many endings, all the same except one. Selene’s death was the only way we won. Her death healed the runes, giving you weapons to use against the Shades. Without Selene’s death, the Shades would have raised an army as you struggled to learn how to draw runes again.
Selene’s sacrifice gives you protection for decades, time to learn and understand how to create new runes. Time needed to help Tristen become what he needs to be, to foster an army of these warriors and other soldiers to keep the runes and society safe.
I’ve included a map with this letter. It holds the location of two dozen dra…
“Holy shit.” Cyrus guides the paper closer to his eyes.
Dragon eggs. Find the rune that makes Dragon riders. Bring Adrian’s son to them when he’s old enough. Dragon fire and weapons forged with it are the only tools strong enough to slay the Shades and the other evil that will continue to grow.
I’ll give you a head start. The girl Galen killed, who fed from the vampire,shecontrols the lump of shadows.Shewas the Shade. In the next coming months, you will learn that the lands to the west call the shadow beast a Phantom. Shades have the ability to separate us from our shadows. Without our phantom self, we can’t be mentally grounded. We go insane. Shades use Phantoms like dogs. But they realize they can do more with them, like build armies.Not every Shade is the same. Some can sire, others go mad, and some are just hungry and scared so they attack.
The girl Shade Adrian thinks he buried didn’t die. She regenerated hours after they buried her. And all those affected by the plague that spread in Hector’s land were victims of aShade who sent their Phantoms in to make more. They went mad because the Shade stole their shadows.
There is a specific protection rune that looks like this.
Cyrus is so entranced, he doesn’t turn the page for me to see.
It can prevent the plague that the Shades spread from entering the body. Spread this rune, allow everyone, even your enemies, to have it. It will hinder the Shades from building their army until the dragons are old enough to produce fire.
You’re wondering how runes work. From what I have seen, most runes function like magic; they need rest to regenerate. If tattooed, they don’t need to be retraced, but the wearer must stay aware of their rune’s state. Just like with magic, they can sense when it’s running low and needs rest to refuel. Be cautious about how many runes you permanently mark on your body. Overuse can lead to failure of the heart.
The future I see has many preferring runes etched onto jewelry or inked with materials that fade. They choose their runes based on daily needs. These items act as conduits, transferring the rune’s magic to the user. I suggest you spread the protection rune this way. Stamp it onto coin pendants, bracelets, rings, anything! Just make sure everyone wears it, from elders to newborns. Don’t let the Shades build an army.
Cyrus gulps. “At least he gave us a running start,” he mutters as his eyes reread that last section.
“A start?” I quip. My spine cracks as it pulls straight. “He gave me an end.”
Cyrus’s honeycomb eyes lock onto me tightly. “Endings mark new beginnings. I was you once. I laid down and took it. Crawled so deep inside myself, I told myself I couldn’t feel or think. Itwas a lie. I felt, and my mind was a festering wound of sickly thoughts, Titus. I was turning into the monster I resented. Our family was an antibiotic that saved me. Whether you like it or not, I’m going to shove the medicine down your throat and force you to swallow.”
I’m so weak, the only action I can make is a dry snort. “So after every mark he put on your body, you forgave him? Bullshit!” I’ve seen his night terrors.
“Forgave?” Cyrus lowers the letter, leveling me with a livid glare. He rarely speaks about his past. “No. I’m not telling you to forgive Selene. That’s up to you. Our monsters are very different.”
“I don’t think so. Your monster loved you. Selene loved me. They both destroyed us in the end.”
“You loved Selene. She gave her life for you. I never loved him.”
“You can go,” I mutter as my heart twists bitterly in my chest.
“I’m not done with the letter.”
“It doesn’t matter. As soon as you free me, I have one mission in mind.”
“So, after everything, you’re going to let these Shades win? After every battle I have fought, you’re going to let dunes be the foe that slays me?”
