The Forsaken Hero

The wind whistled in my ears as I fell, tossing me around like a leaf in the storm. Currents of sun magic and curse buffeted my body, breaking against Adaptive Resistance. I kept my eyes closed, surrendering to the fall. There was no reason to look, no point in trying to see where I was going. That would only be--

A hand closed around my wrist, catching me mid-spin. My eyes snapped open, and I came face-to-face with Luke’s handsome, violet-eyed face. He pulled me to him, cradling me in his arms. The roar of the wind vanished into the tranquility of his aura. I collapsed against him with a choked sob, pressing my cheek against his chest. My heart pounded in my chest, and every part of me trembled, but when I felt his heartbeat, his warmth, I could finally breathe.

”Are you crazy?” he asked, his voice trembling slightly as he slowed our momentum. He could have stopped in an instant, but he didn’t, knowing how poorly I handled whiplash. ”What are you thinking? You’re not supposed to be here!”

I ignored him, wiping a tear from my eye. I couldn’t believe I’d made it. He was here, holding me, not falling himself!

He sighed, his shoulders relaxing a bit. ”Why would you jump like that? What if I hadn’t seen you?”

I snuggled closer against him, secure in the cage of his arms. ”You did, though. I knew you would. I trusted you.”

”Trust?” he snorted, shaking his head in disbelief. ”This goes beyond trust. I was about to fight the Sun Hero. I could have ended everything right here!”

My tail curled, and I looked down, biting my lip. There was real anger in his words, a sharpness he rarely ever used, especially with me.

He didn’t know. He didn’t understand what I did. But it still hurt.

Fable screeched in pain, hurtling past us into the mountains just above Amberhold. He trailed sunlight like a comet and hit the ground with every bit as much force. A shockwave of light tore across the city, toppling towers and causing soldiers and fleeing refugees to collapse to the ground, blood oozing from their orifices.

”Fable!” I cried.

Luke tensed, and suddenly, we were across the sky, streaking toward the craggy crater Fable had landed. The acceleration tugged at my organs, making me feel sick. Looking over Luke’s shoulder, I gasped as the dragon dove through where we’d been. Soltair’s sword clove the air apart, opening small black fissures in the realm wall.

They doubled back, catching us before we reached the ground. Luke shifted me in his grip, holding my waist with one arm while wielding his sword with the other. The dragon’s size proved to our advantage, as Luke used his maneuverability to keep its bulk between Soltair and us, preventing him from attacking us directly.

Luke’s sword left long scars across the dragon’s flank, driving curses deep into its flesh. They traveled through its blood like poison, pulsing a sickening violet beneath its scales. One of its hind legs seized as its mana failed there, curling up limply in a futile position.

Soltair growled in frustration, releasing a lance of light that curved unnaturally, locking on to our position. Luke dove sharply, avoiding the first pass, but it twisted and remained hot on our tails. I squirmed as it drew near, a burning itch racing across my skin. He grunted in discomfort, his curses retreated like withered vines.

”Nexus,” I breathed, hugging Luke around the neck.

He gasped in relief as the light lost its power and turned abruptly, thrusting his sword toward it. A bolt of violet shot into the lance and exploded, destroying both.

Before I could relax, he swung about, bringing his sword up. The dragon seemed to materialize in front of us, dominating my entire field of view. I screamed as Soltair’s sword crashed onto Luke’s, churning the air with spatial fissures. Their souls flared as they ground together, violet and yellow sparks flying everywhere.

I clung to Luke, feeling his power, his immovable body tremble under the strain. As he fought to deflect the blow, Soltair’s gaze shifted to me, and his eyes widened slightly. His lips parted, a temporary lapse in his focus.

That was all Luke needed. With a grunt, Luke threw Soltair’s sword to the side, flipping back. I squeezed my eyes shut as our momentum shifted, the word spinning overhead. My hair whipped in Luke’s eyes, and he cursed, quickly leveling out.

”What are you doing here?”

Soltair and his dragon hadn’t moved, its great wings holding them aloft. The sound of his voice sent a shiver down my back. It did something to me, stirred emotions I hadn’t felt for a long, long time. Memories of a kind voice, a tender touch, and warmth. A light in the darkness. Seeing Trithe had been one thing, but hearing Soltair’s voice, feeling his familiar aura...tears filled my eyes.

”Don’t speak to her,” Luke said, his fingers digging into my hip.

Soltair’s eyes flicked between us, and his expression hardened. ”I see. This is the man who now holds you leash. Some part of me had hoped you might have found the freedom you sought after betraying me, but I can see that, too, had been a part of a deception. You’ve simply run from one master to another.”

My hand crept to the soul binder hanging between my breasts. The chain rasped across my neck, the ring burning against my skin.

”If I free you, Xiviyah, will you return with me?” Soltair asked, looking me in the eye.

My tongue was stuck in my throat, my mouth to try to answer. I looked down instead, shrinking against Luke. My tail curled around his leg.

”She’s mine, now, Hero. You lost your chance,” Luke snarled.

”Such a brute.” Soltair sighed, shaking his head. ”But I shouldn’t be surprised. Your forces have brought war across the entire world. Hundreds of thousands of innocent lives lost in the last week alone. I’m grateful the gods have seen fit to bring us together, so that I might end your reign of terror. Enusia shall know peace once you’re gone.”

”Tall words, Hero,” Luke said, shifting my weight so I rested on his hip. ”From what I’ve seen, you’re nothing without your sword and dragon. You don’t have nearly enough skill to justify your strength.”

Soltair’s eyes narrowed. ”What strength could a sleazy filthblood recognize? My power has been honed on a thousand battlefields. Had you not called Xiviyah to your side, I would have cut you down in our first exchange. Your death is inevitable, apostle. Run, hide, fight, it doesn’t matter. The light will shine in your shadows.”

Luke raised his sword. ”We’ll see.”

”Fable,” I whispered.

My wolf answered, a howl rising from the pluming ash and ruin below. I tightened my grip on Luke’s neck, rising up, my breath in his ear.

”Drop me,” I whispered, shivering at saying the words alone.

Luke stiffened, craning his neck to stare at me. ”What? Xiviyah, I can’t–”

I touched his jaw, caressing it as I brought my lips to his cheek. His eyes widened, his aura flickering.

”I found out how he’s doing it. I’ll separate him from his dragon, and you’ll be okay,” I murmured, pulling away, unlacing my arm from around his neck.

”No, Xiv, what are you doing?”

My heart thudded in my chest, but I gave him a brave smile and untangled my tail from around his leg. ”I love you,” I murmured, rubbing my cheek against his chest. ”Please, be safe.”

He clawed at me, but with only one arm, he couldn’t hold me. I twisted out of his grip, leaving the safety and warmth of his arms for the frigid, autumn air. Without his protection, the winds of their auras caught me, throwing me away from them. Luke cried out, beginning to come after me, but Soltair’s patience had come to an end.

Luke twisted, giving me a panicked look as he parried Soltair’s blade. ”Xiviyah!” he screamed.

I spread my limbs, copying something I’d seen Korra do time and time again whenever she went into freefall. Surprisingly, it actually worked, and I stabilized out of my spin, plummeting face-first toward the ground. The wind buffeted my body, tearing at my hair and clothes. It was so fierce that if my wards didn’t weaken it, it might have stripped the flesh from my bones.

That was twice I’d fallen for Luke. Once that he might live, and now that he would fight. For with me in his arms, he could never stand against Soltair.

The landscape below, caught between the shadows of night and Soltair’s light, was a hellscape of ash and fire. The city burned across the foothills. The demon and divine armies had clashed together again, throwing mortal against immortal in a bloody battle.

The Last Light Company had taken the upper ridges overlooking the city and was now pouring down on the defenders. My aura was fainter than Soltair’s or Luke’s, yet wherever the stars shone, so too did my influence. Every once in a while, I felt a tug on my soul as a demon called to me. I let my power flow through my mark and watched as shining golden gates swirled open, bringing reinforcements to the front lines.

The Star Guard had located my position and streaked toward me like shooting stars, but they needn’t have bothered. Fable burst from the crater and returned to his condensed state. But even without the size, there was no margin of error. He reached my position in the blink of an eye, releasing a harmless wave of mana to kill his momentum and join me in my fall. He guided himself directly beneath me, and I reached out against the wind, grasping a handful of fur. With a soft groan, I reeled myself in, placing both my arms around his neck.

”Wings of the Archon,” I cried.

The rushing wind stole the words from my lips, but the spell resolved. Glowing wings sprouted from his back on either side of me, flaring to catch our fall just a hundred feet from the ground. With a beat of his wings, Fable carried us back up toward the giant dragon in the distance.

”Thank you,” I said, risking the grip of one hand to pet his neck. ”Now, let’s get to that dragon. As long as it’s with Soltar, there’s no way Luke can win.”