I rose to my feet, turning toward Axel and Eleana as I gave a final nod.
It was time for us to finish what was commanded of us.
Axel moved first, casting out his elemental affinity throughout the Quarter as he called any form of water back toward him, drying out the destruction we stood on. We watched as strands of water began to swirl on the ground, growing larger as he called all the water toward him, before directing it toward The Rift, casting it away. Rivulets of water spiraled through the air as he continued sucking every last drop of liquid from the Quarter, ensuring that any flames that were cast had the maximum potential to spark fires across the Quarter.
I could tell the moment his affinity began to weaken, Axel’s hands trembling as he wielded his affinity. His movements grew shakier, and the water flowed more slowly throughout the Quarter as he pulled the last drops, leaving the Quarter drier than the desert sands.
I stepped forward next, Axel standing by my side as I then called on my fire affinity, bringing the flames to the surface. My limbs felt weak as fire flickered to life around me, my affinity weakened to a breaking point as I began to direct the power to flow from me.
I could feel the heat surrounding me as I began to direct my own affinity, casting it out throughout the shattered streets of Solis. Guiding the flames through the Quarter, we watched as the fire began to lick at every available expanse of land, catching everything in flickering hues of oranges and blues.
Soon, the fire began to consume what was left of the Quarter, the crackling flames becoming a hungry roar. The flames devoured everything in their sight, swallowing the Quarter. Eleana stepped beside us then, calling upon her own elemental affinity as she began to shake the grounds beneath us throughout Solis. Her earth affinity quaked through the open flames, trembling the grounds around us. Buildings and structures—all that was remaining—began to collapse as she wielded her earth affinity, falling into crumbles as the fires began to rise . . . and rise.
We stood there, the three of us, in the midst of destruction and wreckage, alone in the Temple District, watching as the Quarter burned. Watching as our three elemental affinities, one of each elemental gifted from Aeternus, began to strip Solis so that there was nothing left—no oneleft.
When the fires began to chase toward us, their flames licking at our position, only then did we finally begin to pull on our wings, taking flight as we rose above the remains of Solis Quarter. We hovered high above the destruction, watching as the last of the Quarter fell to the fires . . . as what remained of Solis Quarter, of The Wall, fell once and for all.
Only when the last of the Quarter went up in flames, the fire destroying every last inch of Solis, did we finally begin to flyaway, leaving the darkness and corruption behind as we headed toward the desert dunes.
We flew away, leaving nothing but ashes and dust in our wake as we made our way back toward the camp—toward Aurum Quarter. Toward the light, and away from Solis . . . from a fallen city of corruption and darkness.
43
RAELYNA
I stoodat the edge of The Rift, my gaze darting between the perilous edge that dropped into vast depths of darkness and the Quarter I’d called home, currently burning away. Large billows of thick black smoke filled the air as the flames roared through the streets of Solis, burning everything they touched.
Still, I stood there, unable to take my eyes off the sight as skyscrapers came crashing down in the distance, plumes of smoke covering the grounds. Even from this distance, so far from the Quarter, I could hear the buildings collapsing in on themselves. I could smell the smoke polluting the air as it consumed everything in its grasp. But I could only watch as the Quarter I’d called home for the past century of my life burned to cinders before my eyes.
Never, in any conversation that I’d had with Callum, had I imagined this extent of destruction—of utter annihilation to the Quarter I’d called home. But as I watched Solis fall, I had nothing but gratitude in my heart as the corruption I’d grown up surrounded by was vanquished for good.
A shadowed figure stepped into my line of sight, and my head tilted up to find Callum standing before me. Exhaustionlined the corners of his eyes as he stared down at me, covered in dust, blood, and sweat. I could see the toll of the battle evident across his features. His face hardened as he stopped before me. My eyes tracked over his frame, taking in the grazes and cuts . . . from bullets or fights, I didn’t know.
For a moment, we didn’t say anything, we simply stood there, a thousand words passing between us as we stared at each other.
Time stretched on, the summer winds howling around us as sandy gusts blew by. The smell of smoke clung to the air, and yet, all I could do was stare at the male before me.
My starbound mate.
“You came back,” I whispered into the silence that spanned between us.
“I’ll always come back to you, starlight.”
We moved at the same time, his arms winding around my waist, tugging me firmly against his chest. My palms touched his cheeks, tugging him toward me as our lips collided in a branding kiss. I clung to him, our lips dancing in tandem as we stood there, lost in time.
My entire world, my entire life, had just gone up in flames, yet as I stood here, in Callum’s arms, everything feltright. It felt like it was meant to be . . . likethiswas where I was meant to be. Here, in his arms, surrounded by the light.
Callum pulled back slightly, his hand tracing down the side of my cheek, before tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “I love you, Raelyna Kingsley.” His voice was a dark whisper as amber orbs captured mine, conveying the truth.
A grin spread across my face as I stood on my tiptoes, pressing a soft kiss to his lips as I echoed his words back to him. “I love you too, Callum Blackwood.”
A possessive growl fell from his lips as his hands trailed over my skin, his lips claiming mine once more. I felt his tongue slip between my lips, exploring me as he demanded more. A moanfell from my own lips, my hands tangling in his tousled hair, clinging to him with everything in me. Time stood still, the desert winds whipping around us as we held each other, thanking the Eternal we’d made it out alive—that we were standing together, despite it all.
An alarm sounded in the distance, and we broke apart, chests heaving as we struggled to steady our breathing.
“What was that?” I asked when I finally regained my breath.
“The aerial alert for the final fleets to cross The Rift,” he stated, his eyes already scanning the desert around us.
