“LEAVE!”Thecreatures around me retreated, and my body fell to the floor with another horrible crunch.Myhead throbbed, and my skin burned, butIfelt a warm and gentle hand on my face.
“Tori,Tori!”
“I’mstill here,Jun.”
“Wehave to get out of here.He’scoming.”
Iwanted to ask who, but again,Icouldn’t find the words.Juntried to help me stand, but my legs gave out beneath me.Ifelt his arms wrap behind my knees andIdid my best to hold his neck as he carried me.Ilay my head against his chest, andIcould hear our hearts beating in sync.Heran in the darkness, but there was nowhere to go.
“Tori, can you call mana?Weneed to find—”Theground beneath us shook with a deep tremor, then another.
“He’shere.”Jun’svoice shook in a wayIhad never heard before.Thetremors continued untilIrecognized them for what they were.Greatfootsteps of a beast beyond my wildest nightmares.Jun’shands clamped around me in a painful vise.Ipulled my face away from his chest and wishedIhadn’t.
Fromthe depths of the cave, allIcould see were his eyes, eyes that glowed a red deeper than the heart of the earth.Fromthe shadows, those eyes followed us.Ashis steps grew closer,Icould hear his talons cutting into the rock below with an ear-splitting scratching sound that made my hair stand on end.Belowhis eyes, his heartfire started to glow, the red was so deep it was almost invisible.Itilluminated his pitch-black scales, so darkIcould only see the highlights where the red light reflected off them dully.Hetook a deep breath, and his fire illuminated his mouth and fangs as heat like nothingI’deven felt before scorched my skin.
Leaveher and go, little prince.Shehas already stolen something from me.Donot make the same mistake.
Hisvoice may have been in just our minds, but it was so deep and menacing,Ifelt it vibrate through my whole body.Jun’sgrip on me tightened further.
“Never!”
Deathgave a deep chuckle,and it reminded me so much ofAbraxasmy heart spasmed.Therewas no mischief here, only destruction.
Youcannot escape me.Iam everywhere.Iam inevitable.
“Jun.”Myvoice was barely a whisper.Isaw tears glinting in his eyes asIreached up to cup his face. “I’msorry.Ishould have seen… should have seen how strong you are.Howstrong you have always been.Youare soft and kind.Inever understood how that took so much bravery.ButIsee it now.”
“Tori, stop.Stoptalking like this is the end.”Helooked up, andIcould see the deep red fire reflected in his eyes.IheardDeathstalking around us, butIwasn’t afraid.
“Go,Jun.Itwill all be alright.”
Helooked down at me. “Ofcourse, it will be because we’ll be together.Together, we can always face anything.”
Iput my hand on his chest to feel his heart beating and from beneath my fingers, a white bright light glowed.Ipulled my hand away to see the beautiful light of his heart.Isaw the shadows there too, still trying to hold his life in their deadly claws.Thislight wasn’t the mana of the earth, but something that was uniquely ours.
Itwas his heart, but it was also mine.Twobodies, one soul.Asoul split into its opposite parts, but fit back together perfectly.Andwhen those two halves collided, we were stronger than evenDeathhimself.
“Ilove you,Jun.Ialways have and always will, no matter what.Ican’t wait to see the man you have become.”
Hesqueezed my hand in his, andIsaw some of those entangling shadows burn away.Theyweren’t gone; they never would be, but they didn’t hold power over him anymore.
Deathspread his wings, and the cave was filled with deep red light.Ifelt his network of shadows closing in.Theywere just that, shadows.Wewere nothing but pure light.Itwas time to burn it all away.
Justbelow,Icould feel the deep pool of mana, the deepestIhad ever felt.Deathtried to keep that power from me, his shadows blocking it.Itwas time to show him just who he was dealing with.
Ilaced my fingers throughJun’s, and he squeezed back until my bones crunched.Death’sthroat burned as he called his dragonfire.
“Together?”Iasked softly.
Mybrother squeezed my fingers one more time. “Always.”
Death’sdragonfire swirled, ready to erupt. “Now!”
“BREAK!”
Theground below us split with a great crack, andDeathstumbled.Blue-green light shot through the cracks below us, a network of light spilling into the cavern.Ididn’t hesitate.Ipulled all of it into us.Light, pure and white burst from our hearts and the surrounding cave crumbled.AsIpulled more and more power from the earth, more and more cracks burst forth until it wasn’t mana that flowed from beneath us, but magma.
Deathstaggered again, trying to find his footing as the ground gave out beneath him, huge chunks of rock sank down and were replaced by pools of glowing, molten rock.Everywherehe moved, his substantial weight would cause more of the floor to give way.Hehissed like a giant serpent as the roof caved in.
