Cassiel
It all came down to this moment. To the end of all things. Cassiel couldn’t even be angry, because what else would he deserve? There was no controlling how his life began, but he could control how it ended.
The darkness swallowed him. Thin strips of faint light spilled from cracks in the debris. Cassiel’s chest ached with his crushed ribs, his body trapped beneath the earth. It was crushing him alive, and he had no way to breathe. As death drew near, all else faded.
No pain.
No fear.
Only remorse for what should have been.
On the other side of his consciousness, Dyna was there. Soft and warm. Beautiful, gentle, foolish, safe. Alive.
He made sure she would live, even if it meant he didn’t. In that he could rest, because there was no greater miracle than that.
But as Cassiel began to fade, a force burst through his soul, and he felt her. The bond surged to life with Dyna’s scream that rendered through the earth. The power behind her cry brought one last gulp of air to his lungs and feeling back to his body.
Her magic ripped through the atmosphere with a powerful wave so strong it blew the darkness away. The building shook again, and boulders cracked as they lifted off him, leaving smoke and green embers falling like rain. His broken chest rose with a gasping breath as he blinked up at the opening several feet above him. Dull gray light filtered in.
“Cassiel!” came Dyna’s cry again, closer this time. His waning vision fought to stay at the sound of her voice. “Cassiel, where are you?” she sobbed. “Answer me, please!”
Here…He lifted his hand or tried to. He couldn’t move his body anymore.I’m here…
Scuffing footsteps echoed in the cavern. Shimmering green light followed.
“Cassiel?” Dyna’s face stained with tears and dust appeared in the opening above him. “Oh, Gods. I’m coming!”
She vanished from the opening
Don’t come down.His eyes grew heavy, and he took a shallow breath, coughing up blood.It’s too dangerous,he tried to say, but his voice came out raspy and tasted wrong. He couldn’t move or sit up. Nothing worked.
Everything hurt.
The air burned his lungs and darkness filled his vision.
“Cassiel! Oh Gods, please!” A hand gently patted his cheek, and pain yanked him to consciousness. A blurry face surrounded by red hair hovered above him. “Please wake up.” Dyna’s voice broke on a panicked sob. Her small hands closed over his face. “Cassiel!”
He stared up at the most beautiful emerald eyes glistening with tears. His chest struggled to rise with shallow breaths. Dyna sobbed as she looked over him because she knew he wouldn’t be getting up. His ribs must have punctured a lung. He coughed up blood, struggling to breathe. Pain. There was so much pain, but he could take it, because she was there.
“Oh,kohav.” She sobbed as she looked over him, and he knew it must be bad. “Can you heal with your divine blood?”
His back throbbed painfully. Cassiel felt the hole there, the emptiness of where his wing used to be. “I can’t heal myself anymore,” he rasped faintly.
“Then use your fire.”
His fingers twitched, and the flames flickered, sputtering out. He knew what it meant, and so did she. “Dyna…”
She shook her head, weeping. “No.”
He smiled faintly, remembering they had been here before. They say one saw their life in their last moments, but all he saw was her.
“You can’t do this to me now.” Dyna angrily wiped her cheeks. “You will not die here.” She placed her hands over his heart, and her warm magic swept over him. It sunk into his cold body, easing the last of his pain. But he was broken beyond repair. He would bleed out faster than she could heal him. She shut her eyes tight, and green light flared aroundthem as she pushed herself beyond the safe parameters of Essence Healing.
“Dyna…” Cassiel took her hand. “Stop...”
“No, I am not giving up. You must hold on. The others are coming.” She looked up at the opening at the distant call of voices. “We’re here!”
“Dyna, listen…” Cassiel murmured, making those pretty green eyes look at him. “I should never have taken your choice. No one can decide your life’s direction but you.” Every word cost him, and he struggled to take another breath to finish what he should have said from the beginning. “I will no longer beg for your forgiveness, because it was never mine to have.” Cassiel’s shaking hand reached for her wet cheek, but he had no more strength left. She caught his falling hand. “For what I have done, and I have failed to do, I am sorry…”
