Yes. Carus and his father are keeping the principals at bay with fire, along with the other dragons, but we will not be able to hold Sol back forever, especially not with Janis and Bella at his side.
What of Sora? And Thanatos and Nyx?
There was a pause, and Nya cocked her head in a jerking motion, as if she could hear Varax too, curious for the answer.
They are gone. I presume to find Nya.
The pathway went silent again, and Morgen didn’t move as Nya laughed, an empty, cold sound that sent a shiver up his spine. When she spoke, her voice was nothing of the kind, stubborn woman he had come to care for. “Hello, Thanatos. And Nyx, it’s been a while.”
“What—” He heard Sora begin, but she stopped speaking abruptly. Morgen glanced back to see Thanatos’ hand on her arm. He was pale as a corpse.
“Hm,youwere always too careful,” the void murmured, eyes on Sora. Its voice jerked and rose on random syllables, as if it had not quite mastered the art of human speech. “You know, I wanted you to do this, though I am glad I waited. The demi-god’s fire made her much more well-suited for the task… Even you wouldn’t have been able to see my stars without it.”
“You want the embers, I presume?” Thanatos said, letting go of Sora and moving closer, though he didn’t venture further than where Morgen stood.
Pure shadow crept towards them, flowing freely from Nya’s hands. The magic didn’t manifest translucent like smoke, but rather like wisps of solid obsidian. She uncurled each finger slowly, and they became engulfed in the same fire Morgen had seen her hold close to her heart many times in dreams.
Nytfire, the lifeless light of dying stars.
“You’ve had your fun with this world,” the void spat. “But I’m bored and hungry. Taking that one’s embers over the years has whet my appetite, and I want the rest.”
“You’ll have to kill me first,” Morgen said, fighting to keep his voice calm. He had to keep his head here. If he lost focus, he would lose her too. “And when that happens, her soul will follow. You won’t have much time.”
“Shame,” the void breathed.
Morgen felt the earth begin to slip beneath his feet. The void didn’t have the capacity for pause and would not hesitate to destroy what it desired to.
“Get backnow!” he roared, ducking as a wave of nytfire burst from Nya’s hands, exploding in a plume and then racing their way.
He yanked hard on the embers, taking all he could from the whisper of Sol’s magic within them. When the nytfire reached them, he threw up a wall of light to dissipate it. Still, shards of the icy heat found their way through his barrier, slicing tiny cuts all over his skin. He ignored the sting, pushing back against the blaze with fire, now from Vulcan’s magic.
Nya!he roared down the pathway.Wake up.
The void only pushed harder against the failing shield of fire and light, laughing. Morgen’s breath was ragged, and he felt the wet warmth of blood dripping from his nose and ears as the pressure of his own magic built to a blinding agony. His body was still half-mortal, and it had limits the void, and even Nya, did not.
Please. Nya.
“Give up,” the void whispered, its voice all around him, echoing in his head and pressing violently against his very thoughts.
Something integral inside him was beginning to tear. Perhaps it was the embers, perhaps it was his soul, but he hada feeling once it was ripped free, there was no going back. It probably should have frightened him more, but he had never feared death. Once, not so long ago, he had even longed for it.
That changed four years ago, when he had pulled a young woman, soaking wet and sputtering, from the undertow of a waterfall. If he died now, so would she, and he would let the world crumble before he stood by and let that happen. There was a reason he had never said anything all this time, why he had let the void take embers in her place. If the principals had known, she would have hunted and put down like a dog. They would have claimed they had no choice.
But Morgen had a choice, and he made it years ago.
Her.
He’d thought they were tied by Varax and the blood binding, but as his vision began to swim and pain lanced up his muscles as they gave out, he realized what he had failed to see.
One dragon did not bond to two riders. Heles and Thessilnn bonded with Vane and Sora with a circular thread of Fate, but Varax…
Varax never claimed Nya. The dragon had accepted her long before she saw her, long before Nya was evenborn. It had occurred the day the dragon found Morgen lying half-frozen in a creek bed in Arcadia. Binding his blood to Nya’s had only brought to light what had always been true.
His breath caught, the pain so potent, he did not know how he was not screaming. He could feel the exact place where they were tied as it threatened to rip apart entirely.
Their soul.
Maybe Fate itself had done this, or perhaps this was an unintentional after-effect of his father binding Sora’s soul to his own. It didn’t matter now, not as Morgen fell to his knees, red filling his vision as he grabbed at every last piece of magic in theembers. Lightning flashed behind his closed eyelids as he tried one last time.
