“What if they get through the door?”
“Stay calm!” I repeated.
“Who’s going to protect us?” The same hysterical woman raised her voice higher, looking at the others, creating unrest.
“They can only find us if they hear you through the walls,” I scolded her, immediately regretting the sharpness of my voice.
A shocked silence followed, only broken when a child cried in the distance. I bit my lip, blaming myself for it. I knew I sounded harsh, intolerant, and not very understanding, but they had to realize that this was serious and all our lives depended on it.
A heavy thump sounded outside of the door and someone screamed.
“Quiet!” I tried to stop the wailing without much success.
The door to the cellar shook, and clumps of dust fell to the floor. The room fell unnervingly quiet. Children whimpered in their mothers' arms, and I rushed toward the sword I had left leaning against the wall. In my panic, I fumbled to unsheathe it. Sweat beaded on my skin as I finally drew the blade, turning my attention back to the door.
“We’re all going to die!” someone shouted, and the next blow followed immediately after.
I clenched the handle of my sword, bracing myself for whatever was to come. In those last moments, my thoughts drifted to my family’s castle, to my brother, and to Tynan. The way he had made me feel these past few months, more alive than I had ever known. It was everything, the pleasure and the pain, intertwined with the sharp realization of what my life had become with him by my side. He had brought me back, given me hope. And if this was the end, I would cherish these moments, because for the first time, I truly lived.
My eyes focused on the door. The door splintered, rippling the wooden panels. I pointed my sword forward, readying myself for the last and most important battle.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
TYNAN
“Ty! Ty!” The indistinct, muffled sounds grew louder, more insistent, making me want to block everything out. In the peace and tranquility of the black void, I had nothing to worry about. My eyes opened wide and I found myself lying on the ground while Sol leaned over me.
“What are you doing?” I mumbled, noticing the liquid he was pouring on my injured shoulder.
“You need this more than me,” he said.
The unbearably strong, burning sensation overwhelmed everything. I was in agony, on the verge of passing out.
“Where are the others?” I managed to ask.
“They’re fighting. We got almost all of them.” Solexamined my wound and poured more temple water on it, tipping the bottle upside down.
I closed my eyes, fighting another wave of pain.
A moment later an explosion of air hit us both and a crawler dragon dropped out of the sky.
“Sol!” I shouted, but the monster’s teeth already tore into his torso, closing over his body.
With all the strength I had left I got to my feet and took off my knife. My strength was depleting even after the reviving water that closed up my wound. I had lost too much blood, and my head was spinning, but I stumbled toward the beast with my dagger ready. Sol tried to reach his axe, but his arm was now lifelessly dangling by his side.
“I’m gonna fucking kill you,” I hissed, readying my blade.
The dragon closed its jaws around Sol, plunging its teeth deeper. Sol screamed and that broke something in me. In all the time I had known him, I have never seen him being weak. With all I had left, I hit the dragon straight in its temple. It tried to move away, Sol held on to its head, not letting it move.
I roared, striking it again and again. The wave of a nauseatingly foul smell filled the space between us, making me want to empty my guts.
When the turned dragon was dead, I moved to Sol and lifted the massive head, trying to release him from its jaws. The moment I moved the body, my eyes landed on the empty space. Sol’s legs were missing. They were gone, torn from his body. His internal organs were soiling the ground,thick dark blood gushed from his torso, pooling around him.
“Leave it,” Sol sounded surprisingly clear.
“I’m getting you out.”
“No. There’s nothing you can do for me. Even the sacred water could not save me now,” he said.
