Another burning hot sensation ripped through the every fibre of Rionan’s being, and Rionan arched his back with the sheer force of it.
“Ali,” he guttered out. Her name was a question, a plea, a prayer on his tongue. As if in answer, Rionan felt a surge of electricity through his body. A great strength that overwhelmed him, took his breath away, rising to the surface like a tidal wave.
Opening his eyes, Rionan raised his hands. His skin glowed with a faint iridescent light, growing brighter and brighter, as this new surge of power forced him to his feet.
Rionan knew what had happened.
The pain that still vibrated through his body was all he could feel. It overwhelmed his senses. He lost his grip on where he was, who he was.
His insides were fire, destruction. He was water, ice, and snow. He was the wind. He was the earth. He was the call of animals in the night. He was the stars and the moon. He was the sun beating down from the sky. He was the roar of the Amassa soaring overhead. The dance of the tide meeting the shores. The sweet melody of the birds that filled his memories.
His blood heated with the essence of Xanthia itself.
His face contorted into one of pure wrath as he began to glow like a newborn star, the power of Xanthia flowing through him like the current of a mighty river. He roared up to the sky, the force of his voice echoing through the fibres of Xanthia itself.
For his friends, for his territory, for his people, for Xanthia. For Ali.
Rionan unleashed himself.
Power exploded out of Rionan in great waves of iridescent light that illuminated the night. Rionan’s rage burned white hot within him as he continued roaring up at the sky, sending huge bursts outwards over and over again. His light swept through the grounds of Savangrad, through the forests surrounding the area, through the skies above.
Enemy soldiers began burning where they stood, screaming as their bodies were engulfed in radiant fire, like they had been smote down by the Gods of Xanthia themselves.
Enemy Amassa fell from the sky, their wings ablaze, their bodies lifeless as they slammed into the ground beneath them.
Rionan’s power was sculpted around every Western soldier, everyone who fought on the side of good in this war. His men looked on, awe-struck, at their Lord who stood on the battlefield, glowing like a supernova, hollering his battle cry up to the sky above.
The very land seemed to answer, as cries of animals – birds, mammals, and creatures of Xanthia that had not been heard since the beginning of the war – rose from the surrounding forests, as if beckoning the dawn of a new age.
Rionan opened his eyes, his pulses of light pushing out, out, out, reaching for the furthest parts of his territory. The burning light emanating from his skin dimmed now, but he remained gilded by an opaline sheen. He scanned the ramparts of his palace and saw what he was looking for: a small red shield, struggling to hold against the waves of power that pushed from him. A snarl ripped through Rionan as he brought his hands together before him. In a flash of bright white light, he transported himself to the location of that red shield.
To Rannirr.
Rionan was going to finish this, once and for all.
45
For Ali
Rionan’s feet slammed onto the stone of the rampart floor with a thud. He ground his teeth when he saw Rannirr crouched twenty feet before him, like a viper waiting to strike. Rionan curled his top lip, exposing his canines as he stepped forward.
“Where is she?” he growled out, the air humming with a ferocious static.
“Ah, your human pet?” Rannirr smirked, cocking his head at Rionan. He had not dropped his shield, which held, despite the barrage of power Rionan had sent out into the world. “I think you know what happened to her.”
Rionan snarled, taking another step towards Rannirr, who looked on with his mocking smile.
“You really only have yourself to blame, Rionan,” Rannirr continued. “Sending a human onto a Xanthian battlefield? I could hardly be to blame when she decided to send herself backwards, right into that Well of yours. A pity. I can imagine she was highly entertaining.”
Rionan’s breath came in heavy pants as a bead of sweat slid down his forehead.
She could not be gone.
She would not be gone.
“But sheisgone, isn’t she?” Rannirr laughed, as if reading Rionan’s mind. “You felt it, didn’t you? After all, you were bonded. Tell me, Rionan – how badly did it hurt you when her very being was ripped to pieces?”
Rionan roared at Rannirr, launching himself at the Eastern Lord, as Rannirr dropped his shield.
