Orion walked with her to the door, holding her firmly but not tugging her too much. The guards at the entrance hadn't moved when he reached them.
"Take her and step out," he said, now in a softer tone.
The men nodded and one of them took her by the other hand. As Orion released her, he caught the fear in the little girls eyes.
"Keep her safe," he said, still looking at her.
The men left the room and took Raina outside. They stood a few meters away and looked back at the kings cloak blocking the doorway. From her vantage point, Raina could see him stretch his arms into the room. The open-air windows lit up. She and the guards backed up as they felt heat pouring out from the building. A fire surged and swirled around the inside of the sanctuary bellowing loudly through the forest around them.
Raina felt tears run down her face as she tried again to fall to her knees. This time the guard next to her let her fall but still held her hand. She began to sob.
"Cairo!" she cried out.
She kept saying his name over and over. The sound of the flames mostly drowned her out. But slowly they died down inside the windows and the king turned his ear in her direction. All at once the flames stopped and he turned toward her and his men. Raina kept desperately crying out the name of her cousin through her tears.
Orion ran towards them. Raina could see his chest plate was glowing red hot in the dark. She saw him rip it from his chest and toss it to the ground. When he reached her he dropped to his knees with her and wrapped his arms around her. Raina was hysterical and didn't know what to make of this sudden embrace. Orion held her tight to his very warm chest covered in silky black material. Her ears were covered in his arms but she could hear his muffled hushes to her cries.
"It's going to be alright. It's okay."
Raina felt her tears soak into his shirt. He was rubbing her back as she continued to weep. When her sobs began to slow he pulled her from his chest and looked at her tear stained face.
"Where did they go? What happened?" she whimpered.
He stood up and helped her to her feet.
"They were taken... " the king whispered softly.
He looked back at the stone sanctuary.
"By someone very bad."
Raina's eyes began to well up again. Orion turned back to her.
"But we're going to find them."
YOU ARE READING
The Cinders of Dezu
AdventureDezu is a world where average people become legends. But it is haunted by a story that turns legends into ashes. Cairo and Julian just graduated and they've got their whole life ahead of them. But before college and all that adulting they have to do...
