With his power glowing behind her, she looked as though she was being welcomed into the afterlife.
He searched his chest for anything she may have been feeling, any flicker of emotion within her.
He found nothing.
47
Human Customs
Alianna slowly opened her eyes. The room around her was blurry, and her head pounded like it was being cleaved in two. A groan escaped her, and she saw the faint outline of somebody hurrying towards her.
“Ali,” she heard a familiar voice say. The voice was filled with relief, with happiness, as hands came to cup her face.
She knew those hands.
She felt lips brushing her cheek gently, a hand resting on her own, as the person spoke again.
“Oh, Ali. Thank the gods. Ykava said you would wake, but – I was beginning to think she may have been wrong…”
Alianna’s vision cleared, and she blinked. Her heart skipped a beat as the figure in front of her now became clear. Those eyes, that floppy dark hair, that ethereal beauty. Now enhanced by a strange, iridescent glow that seemed to emanate from him.
“Rionan,” she breathed, her voice hoarse. “What happened?”
Alianna tried to push herself up into a sitting position, but the room spun, and she flopped back down onto the bed.
“Easy,” Rionan soothed, propping a pillow behind her. “Let me get you some water. I can tell you everything that happened as soon as we know you’re alright. I need to get Ykava – I will be back.”
Ykava, the High Healer that Alianna had been introduced to at their camp, returned with Rionan within a few minutes. Rionan sat at the foot of the large bed that Alianna was resting on as Ykava looked over her, examining her with her healing gifts, running her hands over Alianna’s body. Alianna felt a warmth pulsing from Ykava’s hands. The High Healer kept her eyes closed while she worked. Rather than ask questions, Alianna looked around.
She was in a large bedroom with a huge four-poster bed. If she weren’t sitting in the room with a Xanthian other than Rionan, she might have thought she was back in The Rinniel.
The room was bedecked with marble tiles and dark wooden furniture. An armoire, a desk, and white velvet chairs which were accented with golden finishings. To the left, there were double doors which opened up to a balcony. A warm breeze entered the room from outside. Alianna could see the clear sky, free of clouds, an inviting summer blue.
She looked to Rionan, who sat there, glowing softly as though he had been blessed by the Gods. His face was unchanged, and he wore an expression of pure pride and adoration. His eyes were fixed on Alianna, a twinkle in that familiar pastel blue.
“She is well, My Lord,” Ykava finally spoke, rising from where she had perched on the bed beside Alianna. “No obvious cause for the headache, so I can only assume it is a side effect of falling in the – ”
Rionan shot Ykava a look which caused her to pause her sentence. She looked to Alianna with a smile. “A side effect of the difficultiesshe has experienced. One that I hope will pass very soon. If you need anything further, I will be near.”
Ykava bowed to them both and swept from the room, leaving Rionan gazing at Alianna. She felt an intense sensation bloom in her chest and allowed her head to rest back on the plush pillow that was propping her up.
“How is everyone else? How is Thallax? How is – ”
Alianna stopped short, the words getting caught in her throat, as the final moments of the battle came back to her.
Ulreah.
Her eyes clouded with tears, and she looked at Rionan, whose face had become solemn.
“Ali,” he started, “Ulreah…he is gone. He could not be saved.”
Alianna felt the air leave her lungs like she had received a punch to the gut. Tears slid down her face as she remembered what had happened. She remembered himunleashing himself on the enemy forces, including the Amassa that fought for Rannirr. Being overwhelmed when he had to focus so intensely on watching both the ground and the skies. The Amassa that ended his life with such cruelty, dropping him to the ground like a child’s plaything. His final words to her as he kept his vow to his Lord.
“I’m so sorry, Rionan,” Alianna spluttered, choking on her words. “He kept his promise. He stayed with me. If I’d moved faster, if I’d hurried, maybe things would be different. I should have hurried.”
Alianna’s tears were falling fast now. Rionan sat down beside her on the bed, brushing some away with the back of his hand.
“You did not do anything to cause this,” he said quietly. “Ulreah died saving this Realm. He will never be forgotten. I will ensure it.”
