Chapter 217 - Chaos multiplied

Chapter 217 - Chaos multiplied

LIRA

The blast tore through the courtyard like a living thing.

I felt it erupt from somewhere deep within me, a surge of power so vast, so overwhelming, that it seemed to come from the earth itself. The ground beneath my knees shattered like glass, sending cracks racing outward in every direction. Stones flew through the air like pebbles tossed by a giant's hand. Dust and debris exploded outward in a wave that sent guards, nobles, and commoners scrambling for cover, their screams swallowed by the roar of the magic that had finally, finally awakened within me.

I heard the Queen shouting orders, her voice sharp with panic, cutting through the chaos like a blade. I heard Calista's shriek of fury, high and piercing, filled with the rage of a woman who had been so certain of her victory. I heard the executioner's axe clatter uselessly against the stone, his massive frame thrown backward by the force of the blast.

But I did not see any of them.

My eyes were closed.

My hands were pressed to the ground.

And I could feel everything.

The earth beneath me. The pulse of the stone. The ancient magic that had been sleeping for centuries, buried beneath the weight of time and lies and the blood of those who had come before me. It was awake now, roaring through my veins like a river of fire, filling every corner of my being with a warmth that was both terrifying and beautiful.

I opened my eyes.

The courtyard was in utter chaos.

Guards were dragging the Queen and Calista to safety, their faces pale with shock, their movements frantic and uncoordinated. The crowd was dispersing, some running toward the palace gates, some screaming, some staring at me with wide, terrified eyes. The commoners who had come to watch my execution were now fleeing for their lives, their earlier confusion forgotten in the face of the impossible.

And I was still standing.

I rose to my feet slowly, my legs trembling beneath me, my hands still glowing with that faint, pale light. It pulsed like a second heartbeat, casting soft shadows across my face and the ground around me.

I did this, I thought. I did this. The magic, the old magic, it is real.

It is mine.

I looked down at my hands.

The light was fading now, but I could still feel it beneath my skin, humming with a power that I did not fully understand. I could feel the earth beneath my feet, the stones in the walls, the very air around me. It was as if the world had suddenly become alive, and I was part of it.

Father, I thought. Father, I did it. I found it. I found the magic.

And then I ran.

\-—————————

I ran through the corridors of the courtyard, my feet carrying me faster than I had ever moved. People pressed themselves against the walls, their eyes wide, their mouths open. Guards shouted at me to stop, but I did not listen.

I did not know where I was going. I did not know what I was doing.

I only knew that I had to get out.

I had to escape.

I had to find Cassian.

‘Lira.’

The voice came through the bond, soft and urgent, cutting through the chaos in my mind like a blade of light.

‘Lira, I am here. I am coming.’

Luna.

Relief flooded through me, so sudden and so overwhelming that I almost stumbled.

‘I felt what happened, Luna said. The magic, I felt it through the bond.’ Her voice was trembling, filled with awe and fear and something that might have been hope. ‘You are…you are powerful, Lira. More powerful than you know.’ 

I do not care about power, I thought desperately. I care about Cassian. Where is he?

A pause.

A terrible, terrible pause.

‘Taheer has been looking for him,’ Luna said finally. ‘He is hurt. He fell from a cliff into the water. He refuses to resurface.’ 

My blood turned to ice.

What?

‘He is alive,’ Luna said quickly. ‘Taheer can still feel him through the bond. But he is so weak. He is…’ 

Where?

‘The northern passes.’

I did not wait for her to say more.

I ran.

\---

The stables were chaos.

Horses screamed and kicked in their stalls, frightened by the noise and the panic that had spread from the palace. I grabbed the nearest one, grey mare with wild eyes and a coat slick with sweat, and vaulted onto her back without thinking.

"Go," I whispered, my voice hoarse and desperate. "Go, go, go."

She bolted.

The wind whipped my hair back from my face, stinging my eyes, but I did not care. I leaned low over the mare's neck, my hands gripping her mane, my heart pounding so loudly that I could barely hear anything else.

I rode out of the palace gates, past the guards who were too shocked to stop me, past the nobles who stared with open mouths, past the commoners who pointed and whispered. I rode past the city walls, past the fields and villages that had once been so peaceful, past the smoke that rose from the distant horizon.

I rode toward the north.

\-————-

Lira.

Luna's voice again, sharper now.

I have called Kael. He is coming. He will take you.

Thank you, I thought.

‘There is something else.’ 

What?

‘Taheer says the camp is in ruins. Veyraxis attacked after Cassian fell. She burned everything and everyone in her path.’ 

I felt my heart stop. The men. I wondered if they survived. Wait… 

And Evander?

‘His dragon was burned. He is badly hurt. He is being rushed back to the palace.’ 

I did not know what to feel. Everything was happening all at once, there was barely any time to feel. 

I am coming, I thought. I am coming, Cassian. Hold on.

Please.

Just hold on.

\---

Kael found me on the road.

He descended from the sky like a shadow, his massive wings blotting out the stars, his bronze scales gleaming in the pale light of the moon. He landed a few feet ahead of me, his golden eyes fixed on my face, his presence a warm and familiar comfort.

I dismounted from the mare and climbed onto his back, my hands gripping his scales, my legs pressed against his sides.

"Take me to Cassian," I said. "Take me to him. Now."

Kael roared, a deep, resonant sound that echoed across the plain, and launched himself into the sky.

\-———————-

The northern passes were a graveyard.

I had seen death before. I had seen it in my father's eyes, in my mother's tears, in the cold, empty silence of the Vale estate. But I had never seen anything like this. This was worse than what I had imagined. 

Kael flew low over the camp, what was left of it. Tents lay in ruins, their canvas torn and blackened. Bodies littered the ground, soldiers who had died in the chaos of the attack. The air was thick with smoke and the smell of burning flesh, and I felt my stomach turn.

But I forced myself to look.

Because Cassian was out there somewhere, and I would not rest until I found him.

Where is Taheer? I asked Luna through the bond.

Over the ocean, she replied. Searching. He has not found him yet.

I am coming.

Kael flew lower, his wings skimming the surface of the water. The ocean stretched out before me, dark and endless, its waves crashing against the rocks below with a sound like thunder. The wind was cold and sharp, carrying the taste of salt and something else, something that might have been hope.

Cassian, I thought. Cassian, where are you?

No answer. We searched for what seemed to be an eternity. Taheer, Kael and Luna, covering every base and searching over the water. 

Please, I thought. Please, just…

And then I saw him.

A body. Lying on the sand.

Washed up on the shore like driftwood.

I did not need to see his face to know it was him.

"Kael," I said. "Down."

\-———————

I ran.

My feet sank into the wet sand, slowing me down, but I did not care. I pushed forward, my heart pounding, my breath coming in ragged gasps. The wind howled around me, whipping my hair across my face, but I did not stop.

I could not stop.

He was lying on his back, his face pale as death, his body broken and battered. His clothes were torn and bloodied, his skin covered in cuts and bruises, and there was a wound on his side that still seeped blood, staining the sand beneath him a dark, terrible red.

But he was breathing.

He was breathing.

He was alive.