“I can’t See them.” She was quiet, despair lacing her words. “I can’t See anything. It’s all black. There is no hope. There is nothing at all.”
How was this happening?
The Chosen Six, the prophecy had said. It had not mentioned dying. Certainly not inside a cavernous mountain, killed by horrible creatures that were neither alive nor dead.
This was wrong. I was having trouble piecing things together. Nothing was working properly. It didn’t seem real.
Xander groaned, and the sound pulled me out of my thoughts. Grief flooded our bond, the emotion so potent that for a moment, my lungs stopped functioning for one long moment. I gasped, struggling to breathe, as my bonded mate slumped to the ground. A deep, shuddering sob came from him as he buried his face in his hands.
He was… crying.
That’s when I knew. This was real. They were gone. They must have been dead. What else could have happened? The skull-spiders must have killed them and carted away their bodies before we could find them.
“Oh, my gods.” I fell to my knees next to Xander. Wrapping my arms around my mate, I hugged him as tightly as I could. His shoulders shook, and he wept.
He. Wept.
I had never seen Xander cry before, and the sight ruined me. Hot tears flowed down my cheeks, and the harrowing sounds of grief filled the air once more.
My heart ached. Everything hurt. I had never known death to feel like this. Never felt grief this deep. This potent. Every part of me had shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. I was no longer whole.
How could I be after this?
Maiela’s sobs returned, becoming keening wails. Each one was louder than the last, and though she spoke no words, I heard the sobs for what they truly said.
Your fault. Your fault. Your fault.
They wouldn’t have been on this quest if it hadn’t been for me, the stupid prophecy, and the map that seemed to lead only to death. What good was being the High Lady of Life if I couldn’t even stop my closest friends from dying?
The grief was overwhelming. Time had no meaning. Not anymore. Tears ran down our faces until we ran out of tears.
Maiela retreated to those silver planes, searching for something. Anything. Five times, she pulled on her magic, seeking any sign that we were wrong, and her twin was alive. That somehow, we just… missed them. Each time, she came back and shook her head as replenished tears streamed down her face. Every time, her words were the same. “I can’t See him. I can’t See anything, anymore. It’s all dark.”
Hopelessness filled us all.
I lost track of how many times I searched the city, running between the mourning wives and the tunnel. I ran down cobblestone streets, moving through abandoned squares and leaping over dried-up riverbeds.
No matter where I looked, the results were the same: nothing.
The silence was oppressive, hard, and painful.
Eventually, night fell—or at least, the semblance of night. There was no sun, but the glowing mushrooms dimmed. and this dreadful day ended. The spiders made of skulls never returned. I supposed they had accomplished their mission.
Bitterness filled me, coating the back of my tongue.
For once, I was happy when Xander took charge.
“Come,” he said, holding out his hand and pulling me toward him. “We can’t stay out here. It isn’t safe.”
He helped Maiela stand, then Kysha. The Fortune Elf swayed on her feet, and I darted over, wrapping my arm around her. Kysha did the same, and together, we held her upright as Xander checked the nearest home for any signs of life.
It’s empty,he said through our connection.
I would have snorted if I wasn’t so gods-damned exhausted and heavy with grief. Of course, there was no one there. Everything was empty. The four of us were the only living, breathing beings in this entire place.
The structure was probably a modest home at one point. A single story; it was small and compact. It had a bathing room—no running water, of course—a living space and a cramped bedroom. Kysha and Maiela took that, and Xander and I remained in the kitchen.
No one spoke. There was nothing left to say.