The Fairy Folk began to glow again. Their tiny bodies reminded him of the runes carved into the library walls. Talon watched them carefully. He’d only ever seen the creatures ecstatic with joy, or solemn as they awaited Arianna’s return, but right now they looked majestic. Their little heads were tilted toward the heavens, as if calling on forces unseen. As if they were every bit as sacred as the ancient texts had made them out to be.
Arianna’s body grew brighter. What if—what if this was the sendoff for The Divine? What if they were taking her to the afterlife? Was that why Rion wasn’t moving? He was usually so protective, but he’d frozen in place. Had—gods above, had the bond really broken?
The bluish light grew brighter, and Talon squinted, refusing to turn away from his friend. Maybe this was the gods’ way of finally showing her mercy. Maybe they would take her from this world gently rather than have her body devoured by monsters.
He didn’t look away. The harpies beat back their enemies. They were winning for now, but even with their aid, the Dark Fae were still too numerous. Their new allies would tire eventually. Vairik would return, too, and likely end them all with a wave of his hand.
Arianna’s body lifted and Talon’s heart sank. Rion rose too, first to one knee, then to his feet, his hands unwilling to part from her body. Arianna’s clothing and hair moved as if drifting on a phantom wind.
Her body rose higher. Higher, and Rion’s magic took him with it. Talon wondered if the male would climb all the way to the heavens just for a few more seconds at her side. Maybe the gods would smile down and take him, too. Let the pair live together in the afterlife after all the suffering they’d ignored.
Rion’s body jerked violently, and the male fell to his knees, clutching his chest. Talon took two steps forward, watching helplessly as Arianna continued ascending into the sky, her mate no longer at her side.
Rion looked up, panting. He desperately reached for her, his magic rising quickly only for it to jerk to a halt as he collapsed to his knees again.
Talon was already running. He pulled water from the earth, an action that felt entirely foreign without his own power in the mix. He launched himself into the air, jumping between disks of his own creation. Gods, had the bond just snapped? Was it delayed? He’d thought it would break as soon as her heart had stopped beating, but how much did any of them actually know about such things?
Another piercing shriek had Talon looking northward. A second legion of harpies closed in, but Talon couldn’t focus on their newfound allies. He landed on the crumbling pillar Rion had created and knelt beside the male.
Rion kept trying to rise, his gaze locked on Arianna. The light emitting from her now was hard to look at, as if she’d become a pale blue sun.
“Arianna,” Rion tried. He attempted to push up onto his hands and knees again, only to fall, crying out, clutching his chest tighter.
Talon clenched his jaw and finally wrapped one arm around the male’s shoulders. “It’s all right,” he assured, even though the world around them was anything but. Rion shook, his entire body wracked with pain. “It’s all right.”
Talon glanced down from the platform. The world moved in slow motion. Aiden, his second and lifelong friend, had fallen. Two warriors were doing their best to put pressure on a wound in his chest. They knew it was fatal.
Raevina fought with her blades, her movements sloppy from exhaustion. It didn’t stop the fierce determination written all over her face, nor that of the comrades who’d sworn to die at her side. Friends her father had never wanted the female to have.
He looked out over the horizon, the entire landscape blanketed with dark creatures they could never hope to beat.
Rion grunted again, his body a tight ball on the ground. Talon peered up at Arianna. Goodbye. This was goodbye. In a moment, he’d jump down to join the rest of them and hand Rion off to someone else. Perhaps Zylah or Sive could wake him. If not, Talon supposed they’d all be put out of their misery soon. He’d once believed this male deserved to burn in hell. He’d prayed for it. Now he prayed Rion would finally find some form of peace.
Talon stood, then light flared from above, forcing Talon and those below to shield their eyes. He tried to look up, to see past the light, but all he could make out was the dark silhouette of Arianna’s limp body floating amidst a bright circle.
Her arms hung at her sides, both wide and—Talon blinked. Then blinked again. No, those weren’t her arms anymore. They were … wings?
Rion roared and Talon leapt back, narrowly keeping his balance on the edge. Rion had gotten to his hands and knees but his eyes—Talon stepped to the side, heart pounding. They were still green, yet the pupils were larger, slitted like a cat’s rather than a Fae’s.
Talon summoned his magic and wrapped it around his body when Rion’s began changing … shifting.
He’d seen it a dozen times. The first shift was usually a little slower, but not like this.
The vertebrae in Rion’s neck lengthened one at a time and the male’s skin turned red, bumpy until scales emerged and his Fae skin shed to ribbons. His head grew, hair vanishing beneath spikes that sprouted from the top and sides. They lengthened as his body grew taller, wider, longer.
Talon let himself fall to the ground and backed away, his gaze still locked on the male’s body as it continued growing, growing, growing.
The pillar he'd just been standing on crumpled beneath the weight and Rion's four new powerful legs slammed into the earth, shattering it beneath gleaming black claws.
Talon staggered back. Others outright fled. But Rion wasn't looking at them, his serpentine-like neck reached up, up, up toward that blue light, as if even in this form, he craved to be closer.
Then large, membranous wings unfolded from his body, blanketing them all in shadow.
Raevina whispered something under her breath, but Talon was too awestruck to absorb the words.
His mouth was gaping, heart pounding as he stared at Rion.
At the true King of Alastríona.
