His crimson eyes dulled by something far worse than fear.
Alora stilled when she thought of her lost dagger.
“What of…” But she hesitated.
“What of Sunstone?” Rune smirked bitterly and dragged a hand down his face. “That was perhaps the only ore that might have helped us … yet I eradicated it from existence. When I returned to the Mortal Realm, I scoured the ore from the earth, erased all knowledge and makers of its forging, because I wouldallow nothing that could be used against me again. I believed myself invincible.”
He laughed once, the sound hollow.
“I was wrong.”
The torches trembled in the throne room and Alora’s vision welled as she thought of her dream.
“Even then, Sunstone would have merely been an advantage. What I truly need is Seraph fire, divine flame that quells all darkness.” He opened his hand and crimson flames danced over his palm. “But only Hellfire answers to me now.”
Alora closed his fingers over the flames. “I don’t understand why Elyon cannot simply destroy him?”
Rune’s gaze lifted to the mural of beasts. “Gods cannot kill their own kind,” he reminded her. “The same is true for Primordials. For balance is the foundation of creation.” He looked back at her. “To erase a force like Vorak without something to take his place would be like tearing a sun from the sky and offering the earth nothing in return. The Realms would collapse and life as you know it would cease to be.”
Alora trembled as she imagined it, everything crumbling beneath her feet. The world was unraveling now because of the tear in the sky.
“I’m scared,” she admitted in a whisper. “Is this war pointless then? Are we marching toward our deaths?”
Rune took her face, pressing his forehead to hers with a soft sigh. “I did not find you again only to lose you. We will survive this.”
“How?”
“By binding Vorak to the Rift.”
Her eyes widened. “Is that possible?”
Rune gaze flickered and she read his uncertainty in the bond. “If I can cast him into it, the Rift will seal and he will be bound for an eternity.”
But to do that, he had to survive a battle against a Primordial. Her chest tightened as she was hit with the vision of him turning to ash.
Alora shook her head, desperation clutching her heart. “That is not our only option. Tell me about the Soul Anchor ritual.”
His jaw clenched and he stepped back.
“If there is a way we can stop him before this leads to a war we may not win, then you must tell me.”
Rune turned away from her, his clawed fingers resting on the wall. He was quiet for so long, she thought he wouldn’t answer.
“A Soul Anchor,” he ground out. “That is how Elyon bound the Titans. He anchored them within Rifts of the Abyss, making them the pillars that hold up the Realms.” His jaw clenched, hard enough to crack. “That is a Soul Anchor, Alora. It’s entrapment.Forever. And it would take a powerful soul to hold it.”
Alora’s body went cold, a hollow ache spreading through her chest. This was what the Dominions had been talking about. A mortal soul could not hold it, it would take a powerful being. Yet in her heart, she already knew whose soul was needed.
Rune’s hands clamped down on her shoulders, firm and furious. “No.”
Her eyes welled. “But I can save everyone…”
I can save you.
“No.”His voice broke, fury and anguish burning together. “I will not risk you, Alora. Never. The Realms be damned! I would let it all burn to ash before I ever sacrificed you.”
The ferocity of his declaration rang through the bond. Rune dropped his head against her shoulder, and a tremor ran through him. His large wings wrapped around her, as if to shield her from all to come.
“Do you not know how precious you are to me,ra’ayati?” His voice broke. “My beloved wife, I refuse to exist in a world where you are not.”
